There are 69,498  small businesses in the Las Vegas-Henderson-Paradise, NV Metro Area, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Almost every one of these businesses is competing for a portion of the $45.1 billion of local retail spending expected to occur in 2023.*

To capture the largest share of this giant pool of consumer cash, Las Vegas small business owners will need to consider advertising.

"Think you have a great product?" asks the U.S. Small Business Administration. "Unfortunately, no one's going to know about it unless you advertise. Advertising, if done correctly, can do wonders for your sales., and you know what that means: more revenue and more success for your company."

One of the best ways to advertise in Las Vegas may be on local radio, a fact not lost on the world's largest advertiser, Proctor & Gamble. Last year, P&G upped spending on the radio by 43% to $235 million, according to Vivvix (formerly Kantar Media), led by a big jump in local radio.

Las Vegas radio reaches more local consumers each week than any other advertising medium.

According to Nielsen, 1,475,493 adults tune in to their favorite AM/FM stations every week.  This is significantly more consumers than are reached by Las Vegas TV, cable, streaming video, streaming audio, social media, or newspapers.

AM/FM radio's dominance among local consumers is driven, in large part, by the 1.7 million Las Vegas area adults who take to the road in their car or truck every week, according to Neilsen.

Las Vegas area business owners have an abundance of options for marketing their goods and services to local consumers. New research from Nielsen, however, indicates that advertising on Las Vegas radio is still the best way to reach local shoppers.

Every week, according to Nielsen, Las Vegas radio reaches 1.5 million adults. This is significantly more than are reached by social media, local TV stations and cable systems, newspapers, streaming video and audio, and podcasts.

In addition to listening to their favorite Las Vegas radio stations over the air, Nielsen reports that 447,352 adults also listen to local stations online every month.

As a matter of fact, according to a study conducted by Edison Research during the third quarter of 2022, among Adults 25-54, 17% of all time spent listening to local AM/FM stations occurs online. This share of online listening has nearly doubled since 2016.

Nevada business owners have depended on Las Vegas radio to market their goods and services since KGIX, the city's first radio station, went on air in 1930. Despite the advent of new media and technologies since then, advertising on local radio stations is still the best way for the area's 69,498 small business owners to create and maintain customers.

Here are five facts every business owner should know about advertising on Las Vegas radio in 2022.

To ensure success, every Nevada business owner needs to advertise.

"Think you have a great product?" asks the US Small Business Administration. "Unfortunately, no one’s going to know about it unless you advertise.”

The SBA goes on to say, “Advertising, if done correctly, can do wonders for your product sales, and you know what that means: more revenue and more success for your business.”

There are dozens of ways for local small business owners to advertise. By most metrics, the best way to advertise is on Las Vegas radio. These measures of effectiveness, however, are often obscured by the glimmer and glitz of newer technologies. 

To help reduce the glare that often blinds business owners to the potency of advertising on Las Vegas radio, here are the top five things many local business owners get wrong.

When KGIX-AM became Las Vegas's first radio station in 1930, there was no Facebook, no Cox Cable, no Sirius/XM, no Netflix, and no podcasts. It would be 23 years before there was even a local TV station.  Consequently, it was pretty easy for radio to become the number one reach medium among local consumers.

Over the past 91 years, Las Vegas business owners have come to depend on the mammoth reach of radio among local shoppers to successfully market the goods and services they sell. Advertising on Las Vegas radio has helped Nevada companies to survive and thrive during world wars, natural disasters, recessions, depressions, and even a pandemic.

Heading into 2022, local consumers have more media choices than ever before. But, despite the overabundance of social media, video streaming, audio streaming, cable, and other technological marvels, Las Vegas radio is still the most used advertising medium.

In 2020, there were 85,314 new cars and trucks registered in the Las Vegas metro area. This number is based on projections from the National Auto Dealers Associaton (NADA) and the U.S. Census bureau.

In all, says NADA, there are 97 new-car dealerships in Nevada. Despite the pandemic, these dealers, including those in the Las Vegas area, sold $8.3 billion worth of new vehicles.

Through June of this year, these same dealers have already rung up $5.4 billion in new car sales.

When it comes to buying new vehicles, Las Vegas consumers have a broad range of preferences. Some buyers want Fords while others want Chevrolets, Toyotas, or Teslas.  Some buyers want pick-up trucks, while others want sub-compacts, SUVs, or sports cars. Of course, some want blue vehicles, while others want pearl white, orchard green, or redolent red.

There is one purchase criterion, however, that most Las Vegas car buyers can agree on. They want an AM/FM radio smack-dab, in the middle of their dash.