When you think of “national radio advertising,” chances are the word “expensive” also comes to mind. For years this was very, very true. The price to reach a national audience was dictated by some very well-padded gatekeepers who could command incredibly high prices if you want to get your message out in front of the masses. Because of this, many start-ups were forced to grow slowly in small towns before they could carry their message on a national scale on the radio.

While this is still the case with many syndicated radio shows that air over am and fm dials, satellite radio doesn’t have the same gatekeeper or price points of years gone by. In fact, the cost of advertising nationally on satellite radio is lower than advertising in many large and medium-sized cities in the US.

The tradeoff and reason for this is the fact that your audience is widely spread out and not in a select pocket. If you’re selling a product or service that doesn’t have a selected geographic target and you want to spread your message far and wide, this makes for a great medium to advertise while keeping your marketing budget at realistic levels.

However, if you need to target a select city or state, the reach of satellite radio advertising may not be strong enough for what you had in mind. For example: a car dealer or boutique store owner who has storefront locations and only sells out of that location would not benefit from a low-cost national advertising plan on satellite radio. They would be better on your local AM or FM radio stations.

However, let’s say the car dealer can ship their inventory nationwide or the boutique is powering their unique website and can ship nationwide, satellite radio suddenly becomes a very attractive option to reach to a national audience that in the past would have been off the charts. range for any of these companies.

To be clear: If you have a product or service that can reach a national scale and you can get it to your customers at a low price, then satellite radio advertising should be something you and your marketing department can explore. If you’re only looking for a select city or region, then it’s not an option you should include in the mix for your next marketing meeting.