In the words of L.L. Cool J, I can’t live without my radio. I can’t get enough. I listen to news radio (old school terrestrial radio) in my car on the way into work. I listen to Spotify all day long at my desk and then turn CBS news back on again on the way home. Of course, these are just the habits of one person. But I am not alone.

Radio, by far, has more reach than any other medium. More than TV. More than – are you ready for this – mobile phones. Yes, you read that right. 93% of adult consumers use radio on a weekly basis. If you’re a tourist attraction trying to reach Gen X moms and older millennials, radio is something you don’t want to ignore.

Now it’s true – the future of radio may be shifting with younger audiences. But that doesn’t mean that you should take your advertising dollars away from radio. It just means you shouldn’t keep running the same old program year after year. Here are a few questions you should ask about your annual radio buy to make sure  you are getting the most for your money:

1. What are we spending at each station? Your core audience has changed over the last 10 years. Are most of them listening to classic rock? Or have they moved on to contemporary pop?
2. What do we get in return for our dollars? For instance, do your stations provide contesting where you can give away tickets and prizes? That’s something worth keeping. The ones that give you nothing might need to be cut.
3. What’s available in our neighboring markets? Sometimes there’s overlap in places you wouldn’t expect. Here in New Haven, we can hear stations that broadcast from Hartford, Danbury, Westport, even Long Island. That means you may not need to buy as many stations as you previously thought. Be sure to examine from all angles.
4. Are we doing streaming radio? Pandora, Spotify and other streaming radio sites represent a great opportunity to reach younger listeners in an environment where they feel comfortable and, if executed appropriately, use advertising to gain a new set of loyal customers. Another great thing about streaming radio is that it’s not just audio – your audience sees an ad for your attraction while they are listening. That’s something you can’t get in the car.

So as you ask yourself: should I cut radio advertising? The answer is a flat-out NO. When it comes right down to it, everyone (and their grandmother) listens to radio. They just consume it in different ways. If you answer the questions above, you’ll be able to figure out how to use your media dollars to effectively reach all of your different target audiences where they are most engaged – whether it’s over the air waves or online. Radio is not dead – it is more alive than ever before.