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Digital Advertising In Charlotte: How To Get Found Online

Sep 30, 2022 10:29:18 AM / by Larry Julius

Last year, $1.6 billion in marketing was spent online to reach Charlotte area consumers, according to projections based on the 2021 IAB Internal Advertising Report.  This is 35% more than was spent during the prior year.

There is a correlation between the massive amount of money being spent to reach Charlotte consumers online and the extraordinary amount of time that these consumers are connecting to the internet via websites and apps.

According to Nielsen, 46.6% of Charlotte adults are spending 10-plus hours during an average week online. Furthermore, 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 all, 85% of consumers say they connect at least once daily.

To successfully market and advertise a Charlotte business on the internet requires a full-scale understanding of precisely what online marketing is.  Spoiler alert, having a website or having a social media site is not enough.

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Topics social media advertising, online advertising, digital advertising, social media, web traffic, website visitor, online shopping, website traffic, internet, internet advertising, SEM, seo

Social Media Advertising In Charlotte: Should A Business Pay?

Apr 12, 2022 11:23:41 AM / by Ali Ahmed

According to Nielsen, 1.9 million adult consumers in Charlotte use social media every month, an audience that continues to expand. As a result of this growth, social media has become a crucial part of local advertising campaigns.

Social media allows Charlotte business owners to continually be in front of their target customers and to stay top-of-mind. It allows businesses to communicate daily and be the first company on call when needed. Social media has become essential for marketing local goods and services.

The best part is that social media is free to use for both Charlotte consumers and business owners.

There is no subscription service for social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram which, according to Nielsen, are used by 77.6% of Charlotte consumers each month. There are no monthly payments or premium memberships required to unlock more services.

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Topics social media advertising, instagram, small business, small business owner, facebook, small business marketing, small business advertising, social media, facebook advertising, twitter

Online Advertising In Charlotte: How Much Will Be Spent in 2022?

Jan 20, 2022 1:45:52 PM / by Larry Julius

Charlotte-area business owners are expected to spend $783 million advertising online in 2022. This, according to Borrell Associates, a company that tracks advertising expenditures across the country.

Borrell's forecast indicates that almost 50% of Charlotte's online expenditures will be in the form of paid search. The most recognizable type of this advertising is the paid ads that appear adjacent to the results of almost every search query on Google, Yahoo, and Bing.

Borrell's forecast also indicates that approximately 27% of online expenditures will be in the form of display advertising. This consists of traditional banner ads that appear across millions of websites and apps, including social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram. According to SmallBizGenius.net, the average Charlotte area consumer is served more than 1700 of these ads per month.

Video advertising in Charlotte is forecast to account for 23% of all online ad dollars in 2022. Like search and display, millions of websites can support this type of advertising. This includes sites, apps, and platforms like YouTube, Roku Channel, Hulu, Paramount+, and most social media sites.

The remainder of online advertising dollars is expected to be spent on audio advertising, including streaming sites like Pandora and Spotify; or email marketing campaigns.

So many Charlotte business owners are investing a large portion of their marketing budgets into online advertising because that's where their customers are.
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Topics social media advertising, millennials, online advertising, digital advertising, social media, streaming media, streaming audio, streaming video, ad spending, advertising options, streaming television, internet advertising, display advertising, search engine marketing, SEM

Does The Facebook Name Change Affect Charlotte Advertisers?

Oct 29, 2021 12:49:01 PM / by Larry Julius

Every month, 1.7 million adults in Charlotte use social media, according to Nielsen. Seventy-six percent of these consumers use Facebook, far more than other sites like Instagram (also owned by Facebook), Twitter, Snapchat, Pinterest, and LinkedIn.

As a stand-alone medium, Facebook is used by more people in Charlotte than watch local TV stations and cable channels. Only Charlotte radio reaches more consumers.

The large audience commanded by social media has attracted a significant amount of advertising dollars from local advertisers. According to Borrell Associates, a company that measures advertising expenditures across the county, Charlotte-area businesses are expected to spend $248 million on social media advertising, a 31.7% increase over 2022. The overwhelming majority of these dollars are being spent with Facebook.

Yesterday, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg announced the company was changing its name to "Meta".  This change, though, only affects the name of the parent company. There will be no change to the company's brands like Facebook, Instagram, or WhatsApp.

How will this name change affect Charlotte businesses that advertise on Facebook?

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Topics social media advertising, instagram, facebook, social media, facebook advertising, twitter, charlotte radio, LinkedIn, metaverse, meta

How Much Time Do Charlotte Consumers Spend Online?

Jun 4, 2021 2:16:05 PM / by Larry Julius

According to Nielsen, 2.1 million adults in the Charlotte area have access to the internet, equivalent to 95.7% of the population. On average, local consumers are spending 11.08 hours per week online.

Charlotte millennials, the first generation that grew up in a digital world, spend considerably more time online. Nielsen reports that, on average, Charlotte's 25-39-year-old consumers are clocking 13.99 hours connected to the internet.

So, how are Charlotte 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 Charlotte consumers each month.

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Topics best way to advertise, social media advertising, online advertising, digital advertising, OTT, social media, streaming media, streaming audio, streaming video, online shopping, internet

Online Advertising In Charlotte: How Much Do Local Businesses Spend?

Dec 14, 2020 3:46:10 PM / by Larry Julius

Over 95% of Charlotte adults have access to the internet, according to Nielsen. Seventy percent of these consumers spend more than five hours a week connected.

Nielsen reports that Charlotte consumers go online to stay connected to friends and family; research products and services; learn the latest news, and obtain directions to where they are going and know what the weather will be when they get there.  

Here are some of the many reasons why Charlotte internet users go online each month

  • Social Media: 77%
  • Weather: 57%
  • Online Banking: 54%
  • Maps/Directions: 47%
  • Product Reviews: 41%
  • Current Events: 35%
  • Restaurant Reviews: 30%
  • Sports Scores/News: 28%
  • Job Search: 19%
  • Real Estate: 16%

And, of course, there is shopping.  Over the past six months, according to Nielsen, 82% of Charlotte consumers shopped online for every imaginable product and service including, cars, golf clubs, office supplies, wedding rings, mattresses, tires, medicine, shoes, socks, and eyeglasses.

To reach local consumers while they are online, Charlotte businesses will spend $587 million for digital advertising in 2020, according to Borrell Associates.  Here is how the money is being spent:

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Topics radio advertising, social media advertising, small business, small business owner, online advertising, small business marketing, small business advertising, OTT, social media, e-commerce, wedding, CTV, email marketing, email advertising, online shopping

Facebook Advertising: Why Charlotte Business Owners May Be Pausing

Jul 3, 2020 8:31:40 AM / by Larry Julius

Following the lead of many national marketers, some Charlotte area small business owners are considering canceling or, at minimum, pausing their advertising schedules with social media network Facebook and its co-owned photo-sharing platform, Instagram.

According to the New York Times, "more than 400 companies, from Coca-Cola and Adidas to Ford and Lego, have vowed to halt advertising on the social network, in a growing protest over how it handles hate speech and other harmful content".

With the pandemic figured in, Charlotte small business owners were expected to spend $131 million on Facebook and Instagram advertising in 2020. This is according to Borrell Associates, a firm that specializes in the collection and analysis of local marketing expenditures in every city across the United States. But these expenditures could shrink if the protests become louder.

Every type of Charlotte business imaginable, including clothing stores, plumbers, HVAC repair, funeral homes, restaurants, dentists, and nonprofits, has come to realize how powerfully social media can contribute to their bottom lines.

Part of what makes Facebook and Instagram attractive to small business owners is the enormous reach these platforms have among consumers. Locally, the audience size for these two social media sites now rival Charlotte radio, TV, cable, and newspaper outlets.

For small business owners considering a hiatus from social media advertising, there is a viable way to redirect these dollars into a different medium without losing the marketing equity or momentum built-up on Facebook.

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Topics best way to advertise, radio advertising, social media advertising, instagram, small business, small business owner, facebook, social media, facebook advertising, advertise on radio

Charlotte Small Business Advice: Facebook Advertising During Pandemic

May 6, 2020 3:01:50 PM / by Larry Julius

Facebook usage has swelled since the onset of the Covid-19. 

According to Nielsen, before the current chaos, 75% of Charlotte area adults used Facebook each month. This was significantly fewer than were reached by local radio each week.

According to the New York Times, however, since the start of the Coronavirus, daily Facebook traffic has increased by 27%. This compares to 33% growth in the amount of time consumers spend listening to local radio during a similar period.

Based on the surge in Facebook consumption, Charlotte small business owners might be tempted to purchase advertising on the social media platform to augment their regular, free postings. Here are are few facts these businesses should consider before investing.

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Topics best way to advertise, radio advertising, social media advertising, small business, small business owner, facebook, online advertising, digital advertising, social media, facebook advertising, trust

Who Listens To Commercials On Charlotte Radio?

Apr 22, 2020 10:32:49 AM / by Larry Julius

Every week, 1,827,300 adult consumers tune-in to a Charlotte 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 North Carolina small business owners who advertise on Charlotte 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. Charlotte area 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?

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Topics best way to advertise, radio advertising, social media advertising, instagram, small business, small business owner, television advertising, newspaper advertising, facebook, spotify, pandora, online advertising, social media, streaming audio, button pushing

Local Non-Profit Drives Donations With Advertising On Charlotte Radio

Mar 13, 2020 12:33:29 PM / by Larry Julius

"As a non-profit, we have to be very thoughtful about how we spend our marketing funds," says Emily Cook, Marketing and Communications Director at The Humane Society of Charlotte.

"That's why we invest the biggest chunk of our budget in advertising on Charlotte radio. I have the data that proves it works."

Founded in 1978, The Humane Society of Charlotte, HSC for short, is a no-kill animal shelter that takes in more than 3000 homeless cats and dogs each year. "We are able to place nearly every pet taken in into a loving and caring family," says Ms. Cook.

"In addition to pet adoptions, we also have a huge commitment to community outreach," she says. "This includes having three full-time vets on staff who perform more than 12,000 low-cost spay and neuter surgeries per year. This really helps reduce the population of the  homeless animals in the area."

HSC also works with members of the community who are temporarily unable to care for their dogs and cats, primarily due to financial hardship. This includes stocking a pet food bank.

"Our goal is to keep these loved animals out of the shelter and in their homes with their families," says Ms. Cook.

It costs HSC more than $4 million each year to fulfill its mission of delivering effective, innovative services that strengthen the human-animal bond and improve the lives of companion animals and the people who care about them.

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Topics best way to advertise, radio advertising, television advertising, online advertising, digital advertising, social media, non-profit, charity, animal welfare, analytics, attribution, billboard advertising

Advertising In Charlotte: Reach Mother's Day Shoppers

Feb 10, 2020 7:01:00 AM / by Larry Julius

As Valentine's Day sales begin to dwindle, that's when Charlotte small business owners start thinking about Mom.

Mother's Day, which happens on the second Sunday of May, is second only to Christmas in terms of holiday spending. Last year, Charlotte area consumers spent more than $213-million celebrating the women in their lives. That number is expected to grow again in 2020.

To claim a significant share of this Mother's Day cash, local retailers and restaurants will need to advertise.  By almost every key metric, advertising on Charlotte radio is the best choice.

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Topics best way to advertise, consumer spending, radio advertising, small business, small business owner, newspaper advertising, facebook, spotify, pandora, online advertising, digital advertising, retail spending, retail, social media, restaurant, mother's day

Radio Advertising Drives New Clients To Charlotte Law Firm

Feb 7, 2020 7:02:00 AM / by Larry Julius

Like all small business owners, Charlotte area law firms need to bring in new customers to survive.  Unlike brick-and-mortar stores, the first contact many attorneys have with potential clients is on the telephone.

"Every day we advertise on Charlotte radio," says attorney Chris Hall of the city's Emory Law Firm, "we receive 10-12 calls from listeners seeking representation."

"We can track each of these calls back to our radio commercials," he says. "Around 25% of these callers will become paying clients. This is a very high rate of return for the money we are spending."

In the Charlotte area, there are almost 7000 practicing lawyers who compete to represent the 216,000 households who will seek legal representation this year. In all, these services will generate more than $540,000,000 in attorney fees.

To earn a fair share of this billing, area attorneys need to advertise.  As Mr. Hall has learned, by most metrics, radio advertising is a powerful way to reach potential clients.

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Topics best way to advertise, radio advertising, small business, small business owner, television advertising, newspaper advertising, facebook, online advertising, digital advertising, social media, attorneys, lawyers, legal services

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