Since 1939 when WFTM signed on, Southwest Florida small business owners have been advertising on Fort Myers radio to market the goods and services they sell.

Lately, some of these advertisers are voicing concerns, though, that the accelerating use of smart speakers could erode the effectiveness of commercials on local stations. Current research, however, reveals that these devices actually extend the reach of the medium and its ad content.

More than 240,000  consumers in Fort Myers have a smart speaker in their homes, according to Nielsen. This is 24.9% of the local adult population.

Smart speakers are internet-enabled devices controlled by spoken commands and capable of streaming audio content, relaying information, and communicating with other devices. 

According to the Cooperative Institutional Research Program (CIRP) data, Amazon Echo (aka Alexa) accounts for 69% of all smart speakers in use. Google's smart speaker makes up another 20% of the market. The remaining 11% of the market comprises Apple Home (aka Siri), Sonos, and Bose.

SWFL consumers can use their smart speakers to accomplish a diverse range of tasks, including accessing news, weather, and sports information; turning on lights in the house; shopping; and food delivery.

The most common use of a smart speaker, though, is streaming audio, including Fort Myers radio stations, according to eMarketer. Edison Research's Share of Ear Study indicates that consumers devote 13% of their total time using a smart speaker listening to AM/FM radio stations. This is second only to the time spent listening to Amazon Music at 19%.

Before Fort Myers radio station WFTM signed on in 1940,  local listeners were dependent on broadcasts from distant cities such as Miami and Tampa. These early stations required tall antennas and miles of buried copper cable to transmit their signals.  Most radio receivers at the time were mostly handmade and involved a piece of crystalline mineral and a wire coil.

Over many decades in Fort Myers, both the broadcasting and receiving equipment improved. In the mid-1920s this meant store-bought radios. In the 1930s this meant car radios. In the 1960s this meant transistor radios. In the 1970s this meant boom boxes. And, in the 1980s this meant Walkmen. But, despite these improvements, the fundamental technology of big towers sending a signal through the air to a radio receiver remained the same.

In 1994, there was a new way for Southwest Florida consumers to listen to the radio. That was the year local stations across the country began streaming their signals over the internet and listeners could use their computers (later their smartphones and smart speakers) as receiving devices. No big antennas, no wires, and no actual radio needed.

In 2021, according to Nielsen, Fort Myers radio reaches more local consumers than any other advertising media option.

Neilsen finds, too, that 31% of all consumers who listen to a Fort Myers radio station over-the-air will, at some point during the month, also connect to a local station via the internet. 

More than 97% of Fort Myers-Naples area adults have access to the internet.  Ubiquitous technology such as computers, tablets, smartphones, and connected TVs allow Southwest Florida consumers to go online whenever they choose, which, for some adults, is always.

The Pew Research Center, a public opinion research company, reports that one-in-three consumers say they are online constantly. A 50% increase from 2015.  In total, 85% of consumers say they connect at least one time every day.

So, how are Fort Myers-Naples consumers spending all this time connected to the internet?

According to Nielsen, streaming audio and video content, social networking, checking the weather, and banking are the top online activities for Fort Myers consumers each month.

According to Nielsen, 937,000 adults in the Southwest Florida area have access to the internet, equivalent to 97.1% of the population. On average, local consumers are spending 10.68 hours per week online.

SWFL millennials, the first generation that grew up in a digital world, spend considerably more time online. Nielsen reports that, on average, SWFL's 25-39-year-old consumers are clocking 13.35 hours connected to the internet.

So, how are SWFL consumers spending their time online?

According to Nielsen, streaming audio and video content, social networking, checking the weather, and banking are the top online activities for SWFL consumers each month.

Fort Myers consumers are expected to spend nearly 7% more at retail in 2021 than in 2020. This forecast is based on recently released data from the National Retail Federation.

To lay claim to a significant share of growing consumer spending, Southwest Florida retailers will need to advertise.

“Think you have a great product?” asks the US Small Administration. “Unfortunately, no one’s going to know about it unless you advertise.”   

“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."

Scientifically speaking, the fastest way a marketing message can reach the areas of a Fort Myers consumer's brain responsible for purchase decisions is through the ear.  That's why audio advertising can be far more potent than visual messaging.

Southwest Florida's first radio station, WFTM-AM, began in 1940.  The process of getting the station's programming from the studio into the home of local listeners required tall-transmitting towers with miles of underground copper wire in the middle of massive fields.

For the next 53 years, this massive investment in real estate, steel, and cooper was the only method of delivering a radio advertiser's message into the ears of Fort Myers consumers.

In 1993, however, new technology permitted Fort Myers radio stations to augment the reach of their tall towers by simultaneously streaming its over-the-air programming via the internet. This provided local consumers with the choice of listening to their favorite stations on their car radios, clock radios, and boom boxes or on an internet connected devices like computers, smartphones, or tablets.

Today, based on estimates from Edison Research, 11% of listening to local radio stations occurs on a streaming media device.  The ability for AM/FM to migrate from their tall towers to internet streaming allows Fort Myers radio to reach more local consumers every week than all other media.

There are 32 radio stations that reach listeners in Southwest Florida. Each provides a unique format of news, sports, music, entertainment, and inspiration. Some stations broadcast in English. Others serve Spanish speakers. Some stations cater to millennials. Others appeal to Baby Boomers.  No doubt, there is a local radio station that fulfills the preferences of every listener.

Each week, according to Nielsen, 839,400 adults tune-in to their favorite Fort Myers radio stations. This is more people than watch local TV, cable, or streaming channels. This is more than use Facebook and Instagram. This is more than read newspapers or connect to Pandora and Spotify. 

Despite the abundance of Fort Myers radio stations to choose between, Nielsen reports that, on average, adult consumers only listen to 2.4 each week.  So, which stations do local consumers choose?

Type "FORT MYERS REAL ESTATE AGENTS" into Google. In slightly over a half-second, the search will deliver 41,000,000 results. Similar searches for Naples, Cape Coral, Whiskey Creek, Villas, or Sanibel produce a proportional number of returns.

Despite the economic hardships imposed by the Coronavirus crisis on Southwest Florida consumers, the demand for real estate is booming. 

The Wall Street Journal published a trend last week indicating that mortgage applications for purchase a home have achieved levels equal to last year.

According to redfin.com, home buying demand is 16.5% higher now than it was pre-COVID-19 on a seasonally adjusted basis.

Redfin attributes this explosive growth in real estate shoppers to two factors, including record-low mortgage rates. The other primary driver is a migration trend from expensive metropolitan areas as buyers hunt for more space at lower prices.

To capture a larger share of the robust market, local real estate agents need to stand apart from the millions of Google results.  Advertising on Fort Myers radio will help accomplish this.  Here's why.

Every week, 807,219 adult consumers tune-in to a Fort Myers radio station. That is way more than are reached by other media, including local television, newspaper, social media, or streaming audio sites like Pandora and Spotify.

A more significant number for thousands of Southwest Florida small business owners who advertise on Fort Myers radio is how many of these listeners stick around when their commercials come on.

A 2011 Nielsen study discovered that, on average, 93% of listeners stayed with the radio station they are tuned-to when the commercials come on. That number amazed many advertisers at the time who believed that audiences were far more likely to defect when the music stopped.

A lot has changed since 2011. SWFL consumers have many more media options and can instantly connect to each  with a button-push, mouse-click, screen-tap, or voice command. With all of these choices, do radio audiences still stay tuned during commercial breaks?

The chaos created in Southwest Florida by the onset of Coronavirus has been a disruptive force among consumers. 

Work routines, buying habits, family life, and media consumption have all been palpably affected. These are all factors that need to be considered by small business owners who continue to advertise their goods and services during the crisis.

Before the current chaos, advertising on Fort Myers radio, by any metric, was the best way a local small business could advertise.

For instance, pre-Coronavirus, 807,000 adult consumers tuned-in to a Fort Myers radio station every week. This is significantly more than watched local TV, read a newspaper, accessed social media, or streamed audio from sites like Pandora and Spotify.

New research released from Nielsen indicates that amidst the current crisis, listening to local radio remains little changed. This is great news for those SWFL small business owners who are depending on advertising for their long-term survival.