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.

Striking a wrong note is a potent tactic that a Southwest Florida small business owner can use when advertising on Fort Myers radio stations. This can ensure commercials are heard and remembered.

At the very second a radio commercial starts, 10,999,950 other pieces of data are battling for the attention of the listener's ear. To win the fight, an advertisement must do the unexpected. Why?

Humans don't have earlids.  This means every sound a person is exposed to makes it as far as the brain. But, the brain can only process about 50 pieces of information at a time. If you do the math, that means 10,000,050 bits of information per second are turned away.

Making it past the brain's gatekeeper requires the information to strike a wrong note or violate what is expected  This filter supports the basic survival instinct. It's why someone will leap out of bed if they hear a stranger's soft footsteps while sleeping, but will snore right through their clanging alarm clock.

Southwest Florida consumers are expected to buy $22.5 billion worth of local goods and services over the next 12 months. To claim the largest share of those dollars requires small business owners to advertise.

“Think you have a great product?” asks the Small Business Administration. “Unfortunately, no one’s going to know about it unless you advertise.”  The SBA goes on to say, “Advertising, if done correctly, can do wonders for your product sales, and you know what that means: more revenue and more success for your business."

According to the eBook Seven Steps for Success, "There are many ways for small business owners to advertise. Options include local newspapers, local magazines, local television, and online."

"But to achieve the “3-Rs” of advertising success, Reach, Recall, and Return, no other medium delivers results as effectively and efficiently as advertising on Fort Myers radio."

For budget-conscious small business owners, there are three tactics that can be employed to make sure every advertising dollar spent on Fort Myers radio stations works as hard as possible.

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

Thousands of Southwest Florida small business owners depend on radio advertising to claim their share of the $22.5 billion local consumers will spend this year. Cha-ching.

These advertisers have, typically, 30 or 60 seconds to convince the 807,219 listeners who tune-in to Fort Myers radio stations each week to become customers. So, it is essential to know how to use that time effectively.

Gathering a sample of 6003 respondents, Westwood One in partnership with audio testing experts Veritonic studied how different elements of award-winning radio commercials affect a listener's intent to buy the products or services advertised. 

Here are the results of the study that SWFL business owners could find useful.