According to Nielsen, 866,403 Southeast Michigan consumers listened to or downloaded a podcast during the past 30 days. This is 24.7% of the adult population.

A podcast is a downloadable digital audio file available to listeners on an internet-connected device like a smartphone, tablet, or computer. These files are typically part of series focusing on a particular theme such as true crime, professional football, politics, or pop culture.

Detroit consumers can listen to their favorite podcasts whenever they choose using apps like Spotify, Pandora, Google, and Stitcher. The most used podcasting app, though, is Apple Podcasts.

Research from PodcastHosing.org indicates that Detroit consumers can access more than 2,000,000 podcast series comprising over 48,000,000 unique episodes. According to data compiled by Edison research, the top 10 podcasts during the second quarter of 2021 were:

Southeast Michigan business owners are expected to spend $427,763,000 on streaming video advertising in 2021, according to Borrell Associates, a company that tracks online marketing expenditures across the country. This spending will be 20.9% higher than in 2020.

Streaming video advertising expenditures are accelerating as Detroit consumers continue to abandon shows on local TV stations and cable systems in favor of programming streamed via an internet connection. These online channels include Netflix, Hulu, Prime, Disney+, Paramount+, Peacock, Prime Video, Roku Channel, SlingTV, PlutoTV, and dozens more.

This type of streamed video content is known collectively as OTT (Over-The-Top-Television) or CTV (Connected-Television). These two terms are sometimes used interchangeably but do have a subtle difference.

OTT generally means the video is watched on a small device like a computer, tablet, or smartphone.  CTV, on the other hand, typically means the content is viewed on a smart-TV or a regular television using a streaming device like a Roku or Amazon stick.

In Detroit, according to Nielsen, OTT/CTV has exceeded the weekly reach of local newspapers and streaming audio services such as Pandora and Spotify. The medium is rapidly approaching the reach of local cable and broadcast TV stations.

According to Nielsen, 3.3 million adults in the Detroit area have access to the internet, equivalent to 94.4% of the population. On average, local consumers are spending 10.19 hours per week online.

Detroit millennials, the first generation that grew up in a digital world, spend considerably more time online. Nielsen reports that, on average, Detroit's 25-39-year-old consumers are clocking 12.65 hours connected to the internet.

So, how are Detroit consumers spending their time online?

According to Nielsen, streaming audio and video content, social networking, checking the weather, and banking are the top online activities for Detroit consumers each month.

Each week, according to Nielsen, 62.5% of Southeast Michigan consumers watch video programs that aren't delivered over-the-air by local TV stations.  They aren't coming from a local cable company or by satellite.  Instead, these programs are being streamed directly to viewers via an internet connection.

This type of streamed video content is called OTT (Over-The-Top-Television) or CTV (Connected-Television). These two terms are sometimes are often used interchangeably but do have a subtle difference.

OTT generally means the video is watched on a small device like a computer, tablet, or smartphone.  CTV, on the other hand, typically means the content is viewed on a smart-TV or a regular television using a streaming device like a Roku or Amazon stick.

In Metro Detroit, OTT/CTV has exceeded the weekly reach of local newspapers and streaming audio services such as Pandora and Spotify. The medium is rapidly approaching the reach of local cable and broadcast TV stations.

Southeast Michigan business owners are expected to invest $964-million during 2021 to advertise to consumers connected to the internet. This forecast was produced by Borrell Associates, a company that tracks business advertising expenditures across the country.

These online marketing dollars will be spent on banner advertising, search engine marketing, email, as well as audio and video advertising. This is all to capture the attention of shoppers and buyers as they go about their connected days.

According to Nielsen, 92.9% of adult consumers in the Detroit area have access to the internet. They connect, primarily, with desktop and laptop computers; smartphones; or tablets.

Ninety-six percent of Detroit adults spend at least one hour per week online, with most spending at least 10 hours connected.

Facebook usage has swelled since the onset of the Covid-19. 

According to Nielsen, before the current chaos, 59% of Metro Detroit adults used Facebook each month. This was significantly fewer than were reached by local radio or television each week.

According to the New York Times, however, since the start of the Coronavirus, daily Facebook traffic has increased by 27%. This compares to 33% growth in the amount of time consumers spend listening to local radio during a similar period.

Based on the surge in Facebook consumption, Southeast Michigan small business owners might be tempted to purchase advertising on the social media platform to augment their regular, free postings. Here are are few facts these businesses should consider before investing.

If you were one of the 2,985,400 adult consumers who listened to  the radio in Southeast Michigan last week, then odds are you heard a commercial for the Law Office of D. Todd Williams. The firm specializes in criminal defense cases involving traffic violations, probation matters, expungements, and serious felonies.

Mr. Williams has been advertising on Detroit radio every single month for the past 23 years.

"Radio advertising has been critical to building my practice," he says. "I can tell the days when my commercials run because those are the days my phones ring."

Shortly after passing the bar exam in 1995, Mr. Williams opened his firm operating from the basement of his Rochester Hills townhouse.

Mr. Williams's first cases came from friends and their referrals.

Suppose a Metro Detroit small business owner woke up one morning and found a 100-year-old machine in the basement of her store. She soon discovered that every time a dime was put into the machine, one dollar came out.  Imagine, now, how profitable that business would become.

Good news: such a contraption exists,  and every business owner probably has one in their car, in their store, in their home, even on their phone. It's called Detroit radio.

Over the past few years, Nielsen has conducted more than 20 studies to determine what type of return-on-investment (ROI) a business owner  can expect from radio advertising.  Although the results varied by industry, the average company generated $100 in sales for every $10 invested. Turning dimes into dollars.

Retailers in Southeast Michigan rang-up $78,314,821,000 in retail sales last year, according to Nielsen. But wait. It's about to get better.

The National Retail Federation forecasts that in 2020, sales will increase by as much as 4.1%. This will create another $3.2 billion for local small business owners.  

“The economy is growing at a more modest pace, but the underlying economic fundamentals remain in place and are positive,” stated NRF chief economist Jack Kleinhenz. “Consumers remain upbeat and have the confidence to spend, and the steady wage growth that has come with the strong job market is fueling their spending. The state of the consumer is very healthy.

To claim a fair share of this enlarged pool of spending will require Metro Detroit small business owners to advertise.

“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.”  

Many times the difference between winning an election and losing is a handful of ballots. This is true in races for almost every elected office, referendum, and issue on the national, statewide, and local level. 

To win a modern election requires advertising. Successful advertising requires reach. In Southeast Michigan, the most potent way to reach voters is on Detroit radio.

The Detroit radio metro includes the Michigan counties of Lapeer, Livingston, Macomb, Monroe, Oakland, St. Clair and Wayne.

Last week, for instance, 92.3% of all registered voters in these counties tuned-in to a Detroit radio station.  This is significantly more than were reached by local TV, newspaper, social media, and streaming audio sites like Pandora and Spotify.