Adding Radio to TikTok Can More Than Double Advertising Reach
Digital platforms are powerful marketing tools. They can target specific audiences, generate engagement and place a brand in front of consumers at the right moment. But new research offers advertisers an important reminder: even the largest digital platforms do not reach everyone.
That is where radio changes the equation.
An analysis from the Cumulus Media | Westwood One Audio Active Group found that adding AM/FM radio to social media, digital audio and television campaigns can significantly increase total audience reach.
For adults ages 25–54, the most dramatic example involved TikTok. The platform reached 34% of the audience on its own, but the combination of TikTok and AM/FM radio reached 72%.
That is a gain of 38 percentage points—or a 112% relative increase in reach.
Radio Reaches Consumers Digital Campaigns May Miss
The study found that AM/FM radio reaches 86% of adults ages 25–54 in a typical week. That is especially powerful because most digital platforms in the comparison were measured by monthly reach, while radio and television were measured weekly.
When radio was added to popular social platforms, combined reach among adults 25–54 increased substantially:
- TikTok: From 34% to 72%—a 112% relative lift
- Instagram: From 50% to 80%—a 60% relative lift
- Facebook: From 62% to 83%—a 34% relative lift
- YouTube: A 46% lift in incremental reach
This does not mean advertisers should abandon social media. It means social media can work harder when radio is part of the plan.
Every platform has consumers it reaches well—and others it misses. Combining channels allows advertisers to reach more of the market instead of repeatedly serving messages to the same limited group of users.
Radio Makes Television and Digital Audio Stronger, Too
The effect extends beyond social media.
According to Nielsen data cited in the analysis, adding AM/FM radio to a television campaign increased reach among adults ages 25–54 by 32%. The lift was even greater among younger adults: radio increased television reach among adults ages 18–34 by 65%.
The same principle applies to digital audio. Edison Research data showed that ad-supported Spotify, Pandora and podcasts collectively reached 32% of U.S. adults in a typical day. When AM/FM radio was added, total daily reach climbed to 72%.
The lesson is simple: buying one type of media does not automatically mean an advertiser is reaching the entire audience available in that channel—or in the market.
Reach Builds the Brands Customers Remember
Advertising works best when a business becomes familiar before a consumer is ready to buy.
A customer may not need a new vehicle, a roof, an attorney, a healthcare provider or a restaurant recommendation today. When that need arises, however, the brands that come to mind first have an enormous advantage.
That kind of awareness requires reach.
Highly targeted digital campaigns are useful for finding consumers with specific interests or behaviors. Radio adds the scale needed to introduce a business to more potential customers, reinforce its message throughout the day and build familiarity across the local market.
Radio also reaches people during moments when screen-based advertising cannot: while they are driving, working, commuting, shopping and moving through their daily routines. That gives advertisers additional opportunities to create recognition without relying on consumers to be looking at a particular app or device.
The Best Strategy Is Not Radio or Digital. It Is Radio and Digital.
At Max Media, we believe the strongest campaigns use each platform for what it does best.
Radio can provide broad local reach, trusted personalities, repetition and emotional storytelling. Social media can add interaction and shareable content. Search can capture active demand. Streaming video and connected television can add sight, sound and motion. Digital display can reinforce the message across websites and apps. QUU in-dashboard messaging can even add a visual component to a radio commercial inside compatible vehicles.
When these tools work together, the advertiser is not simply buying more media. The advertiser is building a more complete path from awareness to action.
The latest research reinforces a point we see every day: digital can make radio more actionable, and radio can make digital reach farther.
If your current marketing plan depends heavily on one social platform, one streaming service or television alone, it may be reaching fewer potential customers than you think. Max Media can help identify those gaps and build an integrated campaign designed to reach more of the people who can grow your business.
Ready to make every part of your media plan work harder? Contact Max Media LLC to start building an integrated radio and digital strategy.
Sources: Radio Ink’s analysis and the original Cumulus Media | Westwood One Audio Active Group report. The analysis draws on 2026 data from Nielsen, MRI-Simmons and Edison Research. Radio and television reach figures are weekly; most digital-platform figures are monthly.