This morning I was asked, “How do you and your friends listen to radio?” It was a thought-provoking question. I operate on autopilot while listening to the radio, but there are so many options that every advertiser should know if they’re chasing the young urban demographic.

Do young minorities listen to radio?  Of course! Mornings are sketchy. Many young people are in college and tend to sleep in, but if they drive daily then mornings are dedicated to terrestrial radio. Any good morning show operates by an imaginary clock which, in turn, keeps us on schedule. Every Monday at 8:00 AM I know what segment my favorite morning show is doing; and I know if I’m not at a certain place while that segment is playing I’ll be late for work. Terrestrial radio in the morning keeps us informed and on schedule.

During the mid-day/afternoon, terrestrial radio is less important. My friends and I pull out our cell phones and play music from our devices. Most of my friends prefer to play music that they’ve already put on their phone, while others play their favorite Pandora or iHeartRadio station. At night our ears are all over the place. Some pull that cell phone out again, while others turn the radio up. Why? At night, especially on Friday & Saturday, most urban stations are having extended mix shows. Listening to the popular hometown DJ mix records on radio is something you can’t get anywhere else and our ears tend to be glued to the radio. Mix shows keep up with our high energy and excitement on the weekends.

What do we listen to when we’re home? SPOTIFY! PANDORA! iHEARTRADIO! It makes no sense to plug up a radio when we can type in a website as we surf the Internet. We love digital radio.

So enough with the hide and seek games. You now know where to find us.

Jazmyn Gilliard is Trafficking Coordinator at The Radio Agency. Please follow The Radio Agency’s Blog “Sounding Board” by subscribing to the RSS link above. Visit our website TheRadioAgency.com