Archive for February, 2012

As the campaign season continues to heat up, candidates who hope to be successful in November would be wise to consider newspapers and mobile as a gateway to reach and engage voters.

According to a recent survey released by the NAA, 1 in 4 registered users plan to use a mobile device (smart phone or tablet) to check for campaign-related news. For this segment of voters, Newspapers (58%) and National TV (58%) ranked as the most popular news source on mobile- far surpassing, social media sites (41%), local TV (33%), and radio (20%).

Not surprisingly, the numbers are even more pronounced when we look at younger demographics. 48% of 18-34 year old voters intend to use their mobile device for election and campaign news.

These usage patterns point to a tremendous opportunity for campaigns to connect with the elusive 18-34 demographic thru highly contextual political ads on mobile devices. Many political pundits believe that young voters could tip the balance in the 2012 Presidential Election.  If that is true than mobile advertising on newspapers should be an integral part of every candidate’s platform.

Read the NAA report here.

Keeping up with a changing media landscape with a traditional medium.

New, online platforms are targeting customers in such accurate ways that print is left wondering if they are simply throwing a bunch of content out and hoping that it’ll reach the right set of eyes.  In reality, news starts largely in print and then people access it largely on the web, so although news is everywhere, newspapers still are the gatekeepers of information that subsequently leaks out into the virtual world.  The message is clear from consumers: they want news to be convenient AND trustworthy so newspapers must adapt. And they are, with some simple guidelines:

1)      New digital platforms demand that  journalists use each platform to its utmost advantage. Links addcredibility. Allow social interaction through blog posts, comments and the like to help people feel connected to the news and improve the ranking of the content through SEO best practices.

2)      Newspapers must keep the oath to be a) a messenger the community can trust and b) a messenger known for its accuracy, integrity, and know how.

3)      Place online fact-checking boxes on every story to make information accessible and connected to the audience.   This adds transparency that bonds the content to the community.

Overall, the values of newspapers haven’t changed. Only the way that they reach their readers has. When you think of the possibilities for people to reach BACK to the newspapers, it’s really a new and improved model for the medium.

Read more from JXPaxon’s blog on the topic.

In August 2008, blogger Albert Sun posted a list of “nine ways newspapers can make money that aren’t advertising.” Included were merchandising, consulting and customer service strategies. Newspapers today are proactively leveraging their assets in the local community to grow audiences and generate new revenue streams.

Papers are hosting their own local events that are promoted within the paper. In many markets, the these annual events include travel shows, book fairs, food festivals and roundtables for the latest film releases.  Strategies like these keep newspapers top of mind and strengthen their connection to their community.

Read more strategies here.

The NAA analysis of comScore data reveals that 63% of all U.S. adults using the Internet during the fourth quarter of 2011 visited a newspaper site. Monthly unique visitors averaged more than 111 million, average daily visitors were up more than 3 million (15%) and total minutes increased an impressive 14% during the time period. Additionally, within the 18-34 demo, newspaper website reach of Internet users remained at or above 60%. Caroline Little, NAA president and CEO said, “Web-based and other digital platforms at newspapers are capturing – and holding – attention in the marketplace.”

For more information, please go to: http://www.naa.org/News-and-Media/Press-Center/Archives/2012/Growth-Trend-Continues-For-Newspaper-Websites.aspx