THE MOST IMPORTANT RULE IN BUYING LOCAL ADVERTISING!

Never, Never, Never buy local advertising based on anything but "thousands!" What that means is a ratings point or a share has never walked in and purchased your service or product. Ratings and shares measure percentages. Thousands measure real people... your current and potential customers.

It doesn't matter what media... television, print, digital or other... it should always be about how many thousands of eyes and ears you are reaching with your marketing dollars. 

Local advertising should always be about how many local eyes see your message. Unless you just want to make a charitable donation to a local media property, ALWAYS make them justify their rates with how many thousands of people the message will reach.

If it is a TV station, they almost always have those numbers and a demographic breakdown to go with it. Most print products can supply you with press run and circulation numbers... more on that in the newspapers and magazine sections... but radio stations in small markets can often be a challenge. Sometimes you might just have to trust your "gut" if you feel the need for radio advertising. Sometimes it just comes down to which salesperson you like the most.

But, remember, "thousands!" Always thousands!