Why should an advertiser buy digital advertising from a broadcast salesperson? It’s a sensible question. More businesses are investing in digital advertising, with expectations it will be worth over $200 billion in the U.S. by 2024. Advertisers understand its benefits, reach and potential ROI, but they may have challenges in purchasing it.

Some advertisers could be going it alone, which means they need a digital marketing expert on their team. Others outsource it to agencies, which can work if there’s transparency and the ability to show performance and results. What they may not realize is that they can seek the help of broadcast salespeople. On the surface, linear spots and digital ads seem like different areas of expertise. So, why should they trust you with their digital advertising dollars?

Short answer: Linear and digital are two components of a holistic marketing strategy, that you, as their trusted advisor, can help guide to success. Here are six reasons why they should buy digital advertising from you.

You understand their business.

Powerful advertising, no matter the channel, depends on a strong understanding of the business. That includes their objectives, audience, strengths, weaknesses and aspirations. You have this knowledge because of your years in the business and staying up to date on industry trends. You know what they’re trying to communicate, why, and to whom.

You’ve delivered positive results with linear campaigns, building trust in your capabilities. While digital advertising agencies know about specific tactics, they can’t compete with what know about your advertisers, their customers and your market. When advertisers buy digital advertising from a broadcast salesperson, they receive your years of experience and insight.

You’re a digital advertising expert.

You understand your advertisers’ businesses and are an expert in digital advertising. Explain the depth and breadth of your training to your clients. Make it clear that digital is not a “side gig” but an integral part of your job. Emphasize that you have the experience and expertise to advise and execute digital advertising campaigns.

To demonstrate your digital savvy, show as well as tell. Share results from other clients’ campaigns and essential data to describe how your guidance made them successful. While it’s usually a good idea to keep proposals relatively untechnical, explaining digital advertising in easy-to-understand terms will help.

Walk through how you’ll shape their digital advertising strategies and why you’re confident in their success.

Linear and digital perform better together.

Every marketing campaign works best when integrated. Radio and digital perform especially well in concert.

Why do radio and digital work so well together?

  • Radio ads reach a broad audience, while online ads enable companies to target specific segments of their audience.
  • Radio encourages sales at physical locations, while digital supports both online and in-person purchases.
  • Consumers typically listen to the radio and browse the internet at different times, so a cross-channel campaign reaches people when they may not have access to one channel or the other.
  • Radio serves as a trusted source of information, which adds credibility to online advertising.

To achieve optimal results, you should run linear and digital campaigns strategically. You alone can put together this unified campaign for them.

In addition, you can sell integrated campaigns in ways that others can’t because you have and control the broadcast inventory — a significant advantage over digital-only shops.

Bundling linear and digital is cost-effective.

Approaching linear and digital campaigns holistically makes sense strategically and financially. For example, working with a standalone digital advertising vendor often introduces higher costs resulting from separate commissions or agency fees. Conversely, linear salespeople frequently offer incentives to make digital more affordable and bring down the cost of integrated radio and digital campaigns.

Fewer vendors means fewer headaches.

Working with one vendor for everything eliminates the headaches customers may feel. Advertisers don’t need to worry about setting up another vendor in their system, another invoice to pay, more meetings and phone calls or more people to get to know and trust. Instead, they’re able to complement current efforts without increasing overhead.

You can also use one partner for linear and digital ad management and revenue. That’s a significant advantage for you with simplified proposal building, less order entry and fewer opportunities for error.

A unified platform leads to more cohesive campaigns with truly integrated operations, holistic reporting and more precise results. Advertisers gain a comprehensive view of marketing efforts and can track how their campaigns perform by channel and overall.

Their competitors are buying from linear sellers.

Many advertisers understand the points above and bundle linear and digital with excellent results. For example, a recent study showed that radio buyers are expanding the types of advertising that they’re buying. Most of those were digital, and they’re buying from fewer companies. In addition, the same study revealed that advertisers “prefer to buy from a company that can sell them a package of traditional and digital media products.”

Another study found that 47% of radio buyers plan to invest in new forms of marketing, and 66% are more likely to purchase a new type of digital marketing.

Why do these numbers matter to your advertisers? They don’t want to be left behind. Their peers see the value in a collective approach to linear and digital advertising. Failing to follow suit could put them at a competitive disadvantage.

Advertisers Should Buy Digital Products from You

Buying digital advertising from linear salespeople may not seem immediately obvious to advertisers, but the benefits are clear. Explain these six advantages to your clients to replace uncertainty with confidence. With this strategy, you and your advertisers will have the best plan for success.