Next year marks the 80th anniversary of WFTM, the first radio station in Fort Myers.

Since 1940, Southwest Florida small business owners have depended on radio advertising to market their goods and services to local consumers.  During the next 12 months, these consumers are expected to spend $22.5 billion.

By any measure, radio is still the best way to advertise in SWFL. Last week, for instance, significantly more consumers tuned-in to a Fort Myers radio station than watched local TV; read a local newspaper; or logged-on to Pandora and Spotify.

To buy radio advertising effectively, there are some terms every Fort Myers-Naples area small business owner should know.  Here is a list of helpful definitions.

This year marks 79 years since WFTM became the first radio station in Fort Myers.  From that time, Southwest Florida small business owners have depended on radio advertising to market their goods and services.

So, it is a fair question for a 21st-century business owner to ask: Is Fort Myers radio still relevant in the life of SWFL consumers?

"You wouldn’t know it from all the media coverage focused on streaming video and streaming music," said media expert Doug Schoen in Forbes Magazine, "but recent Nielsen data shows radio actually has the most reach among American media consumers." 

Last week, for instance, significantly more SWFL consumers tuned-in to a Fort Myers radio station than watched local TV, read a local newspaper, or logged-on to a streaming audio site like Pandora and Spotify.

Forty-percent of contractors nationwide report that they have turned down jobs this year because they don't have enough skilled blue-collar workers. In Florida, over one-third of contractors say they would add 25 more employees this year if they could recruit qualified candidates.

The labor crunch isn't confined to construction. Overall, half of all Southwest Florida employers say they are having difficulty hiring enough blue-collar employees to fulfill the increasing demand from customers. This includes truck drivers, plumbers, HVAC technicians, electrical workers, machinists, metal workers, landscapers, janitors, and mechanics.

SWFL business owners can benefit from a study by The North Carolina Works Commission. The NCWC found that the recruitment efforts of many employers in that state are failing because they depend on hiring strategies from a time when qualified candidates were plentiful.

These failing strategies include posting on job boards like Monster and Indeed; publishing employment ads in local newspapers; and pleading on social media pages. Some small business owners still depend on hanging help-wanted signs.

What many local business owners on the west coast of Florida have discovered is that the best way to recruit blue-collar workers is by advertising on Fort Myers radio stations.

Advertising on Fort Myers radio stations is the best way for local small business owners to reach the lucrative, local mother market.  Here's why.

Southwest Florida consumers will spend $22 billion over the next 12 months. Forbes magazine reports that it is moms who control 85% of all household purchases. Locally,  there are more than 143,000 mothers with children under the age of 17 at home.

SWFL small business owners need to pay special attention to these mothers and their wallets. For example, compared to the general population, over the next 12 months, local moms live in households that are

• 122% more likely to purchase a mattress
• 92% more likely to buy furniture
• 15% more likely to purchase a car or truck
• 44% more likely to take a family vacation
• 50% more likely to buy a major appliance
• 48% more likely to look for a new job
• 44% more likely to move
• 42% more likely to buy a house or condo
• 59% more likely to get married
• 35% more likely to purchase a pool or hot tub

There are two reasons why advertising on Fort Myers radio stations is more effective than advertising on TV.

The first reason is reach.  In a study conducted by Nielsen, the number of consumers who are exposed to a commercial contributes profoundly to the number of sales it will create.  This is discussed in depth in the free eBook, "Seven Steps For Advertising Successfully In Southwest Florida"

Among all media available to local business owners, Fort Myers radio offers the biggest reach.

The second reason why radio advertising is so powerful has been revealed in a new study Mindshare, an advertising agency that buys media for some of the most successful companies in the world including General Mills, Nestlé, Domino's, IBM, Rolex, and John Deere. The Mindshare study indicates that when a brand tells a story using audio media, it elicits a 21% higher emotional intensity than the same story told using visual media.

Advertising is critical for Southwest Florida small business owners looking to cash in on the $22-billion local consumers will spend at retail this year.

To successfully stay top of mind, many business owners advertise on Fort Myers radio stations. These local companies depend on radio's reliable reach, recall, and return-on-investment to convert listeners to customers.

For those local business owners who do not advertise on Fort Myers radio stations, here are five facts they need to know right now about the power of advertising on radio. 

Radio advertising is processed by the brain profoundly faster than visual advertising.  This is valuable news for Southwest Florida business owners who depend on radio to market their goods and services.

SWFL consumers will recognize the first few notes of Jingle Bells five times faster than they can identify a picture of Santa Claus.  That's because it takes the human brain 5/100th of a second to process sound.  On the other hand, it takes a full quarter of a second to process visual stimuli.

This difference in processing time may seem inconsequential. But, for a local small business owner who is fighting to inject their advertising message into the mind of consumers, that .20-second gap can be the difference between success and failure.

Everybody in Southwest Florida used to watch TV. Commercials and all. But, as media options proliferate, viewers are fleeing. This is not good news for television advertisers.

Last week, for instance, according to Nielsen, only 79% of SWFL consumers watched broadcast television. To put this in perspective, 93% tuned-in to their favorite Fort Myers radio stations.

Compared to two years ago, according to Nielsen, the C3 rating for CBS, NBC, ABC, and Fox have plummeted by 27%, especially among 18-49 viewers.