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The general business rule is that marketing departments are out to increase brand awareness and build solid sales leads for their company. Many of these professionals are unaware of the power that PR can bring to their marketing efforts. What happens instead is lots of money is spent in advertising. You can save quite a bit of money if you use public relations through appearing as a guest on a talk radio show. This is an excellent way for companies to gain excellent local and national consumer exposure. No matter if you are a local or national company - appearing as a guest on a radio show will get your consumers interested. " Do as many talk radio shows as possible ", says Friedman , Managing Director of EMSI , a national PR firm. " There are so many "pros" to talk radio that I want to share with you." So let's have Friedman educate us as to why talking about your company on a radio show is such a publicity goldmine:

1. Attractive Target Audience and Demographics. " On the AM dial - most listeners are 35 to 64 in age, 55% male to 45% female, a large percent graduated high school and went onto college", says Friedman . "Besides these great demographics there are so many specialty shows so you can easily identify shows whose listeners are a match for your business ."

2. It Won't Break the Bank. Many people think that if you have a talk radio interview you will have to travel to the station. Friedman says, " Almost all interviews on talk radio are held by phone so you won't have to jump on a plane in order to be interviewed in-studio. If you are being interviewed by phone you can be anywhere and doing anything as long as you are a stone's throw from a landline. "

3. An Effective Sales Tool. Although PR is not advertising , if you get good coverage, it can really boost your exposure which in turns can boost your sales . " When interviewed on talk radio you are having a live conversation with a plethora of consumers ", says Friedman . "If you give a great informative interview, you can get your message across to consumers without them even knowing it! Listeners will want to know how to get whatever the guest is talking about. And most hosts will freely mention your website address or toll free number for you so you don't sound like an infomercial."

4. A Solid 3rd Party Endorsement. As you can imagine, talk radio shows have loyal followings in order to maintain their terrific ratings. And listeners tune in daily to hear what their favorite host is talking about. Friedman says, " Talk radio hosts are viewed as old friends by their dedicated listening base As that host is often thought of as an old friend or trusted advisor, when you appear as a guest on their show, so when you appear as a guest on the show, you get a fantastic endorsement almost instantly. Credible by association if you will. "

5. Credibility. Talk radio supplies this in bucket loads. Friedman says, "One of my PR firm's clients told us, '! almost every time I am a guest on a talk radio show - the host tells his listeners about my great expertise, my many accomplishments and how proud they are to have me as a guest on their show! Of course, the more important I am as a guest, the more important the host appears to be. As far as promotion and credibility goes - it just doesn't get any better!' Now that is some great PR!"

6. You Will Have an Entire Conversation. With advertising you have a specific amount of space (in print) and time (on radio and TV). " As a guest you will often have ten to thirty minutes of time (sometimes more) with a very targeted and attentive audience to effectively tell your story, talk about the quality of your products or services and how it can benefit the listeners" says Friedman . Hopefully these reasons will compel you to give talk radio a try. It really is a fabulous way of getting consumers educated about your product and interested in finding more about you. If you would like to learn more about gaining national and local media exposure for your company, product or service, without the financial burden of monthly retainers, Friedman would love to help. Feel free to contact her directly at mfriedman@emsincorporated.com or visit her firm online at http://www.emsincorporated.com. As a PR expert Friedman has the ability to get the media attention that you desire without monthly retainers .