So, you’ve already discovered the benefits of working with a professional radio partner. Fantastic decision! It relieves a burden on your time and resources. Unfortunately, if your radio partner doesn’t also bring digital solutions to the table, you may be inadvertently undermining your results, holding your brand back from achieving the best possible ROI.

What separates a good radio partner from a great one is one simple fact — you need digital, too! Strong partners will leverage digital solutions as part of their radio strategy. Here’s why:

4 Ways Radio and Digital Can Work Together for a Well-Rounded Strategy

Radio and digital complement each other. Using them together in an integrated, cross-channel strategy not only opens new opportunities to reach your audience, but ensures you see optimal results from each, as well.

1. Radio Boosts Search

Radio and digital both function in very different ways — radio provides mass reach that can be relatively targeted, while digital solutions provide hyper-targeting with relative reach. Targeting digital ads is a great way to hone in on specific segments, especially when they’re looking for a business just like yours. In addition to other elements that provide consistency, the creative for your radio spot needs to work in or even emphasize pertinent keywords. That way, when audiences turn to their mobile device or computer, the keywords in your radio spot act as a guide to point them to your brand.

2. Radio Extends Social Reach

Both radio and social media focus largely on reach, emphasizing frequency and encouraging engagement. However, the immediate and direct nature of social media is nurtured by the consistent and trusted exposure of radio (especially since it’s often a captive audience). Radio can amplify your social reach by pointing listeners to your social pages. It’s a great choice when you’re offering exclusive content or experiences (e.g., a Q&A via Twitter), drive traffic at responses to Facebook events, or promoting social quizzes and contests (e.g., Instagram contests where a posted, tagged photo is the entry).

3. Radio Echoes Digital CTAs

Consistency is powerful, and using it across both of these channels strengthens the responses to each. Digital banner ads can be a reminder medium for on-air CTAs that pushes your audience toward conversion. Similarly, radio can point the audience toward landing pages for specific information or promotions, which builds leads and encourages conversion.

4. Radio Supports Online Video

Integrated campaigns allow you to tell your audience a complete story. Radio plays to the theater of the mind, while video creates a visual experience that can make complicated concepts or processes easier to understand. Each appeals to your audience in different ways, allowing them to take something a little bit different and memorable away. Each will reach them at different times and different kinds of moments, meaning the way they perceive your brand is bolstered.

What If Your Radio Partner Doesn’t Do Digital?

Quite simply, there are two possible outcomes. In the first, your radio results suffer. You may not realize it, especially if it’s a well run campaign, and you may feel like it was a smashing success. However, you cut out a channel that would have amplified your message and boosted frequency with alternate touchpoints throughout the audience’s journey to a purchase decision. Even good results will fall short of their full potential, and ultimately, that means losing out on customers and ROI.

The second outcome is this: You have to hire a digital marketing partner. At first glance, that may not sound so bad — each team is specialized, offering the benefits of two different sets of expertise. However, the costs to your business can be steep. You have to pay for double the professional help, and spend double the time in meetings. The entire process becomes less effective, especially when you consider the fact that an extra process will be necessary to coordinate these two media channels and maintain branding consistency.

Really, the answer to the question we posed in the title of this piece leads to one last question: Are you partnering with the right radio team? You should choose a team that provides digital promotions as well as social media management, enabling you to build an integrated marketing strategy with top results.