Top 3 Ways Businesses Can Leverage the Power of the Local Newspaper

Many say that the newspaper is a lost art. As social media and online resources gain popularity in exponential numbers, it’s print media that has suffered. Yet, there is still a market for the printed word. In fact, an October 2012 Pew study of literary habits revealed the following somewhat surprising facts:

  • Roughly 60% (6 out of 10) Americans over age 30 read news or newspapers, while 40% of Americans under age 30 do the same.
  • 78% of adults over age 30 read their news on a daily basis.
  • 49% of adults over age 30 do not rely on computers or hand held devices such as tablets, e-readers, or cell phones to get their news.

It’s easy to see that, as a business owner or operator, the last thing you would want to do is overlook a target market based on their information gathering methods. But you don’t have to pay a premium for advertising space to be seen in this channel. Instead, you can use one of these alternative and highly effective methods to tap the power of your local newspaper:

  1. Press Release – Newspapers are the perfect outlet for press releases, often picking up newsworthy announcements, such as community outreach, new product or service development, hires and promotions, and noteworthy achievements. The key is to determine the right department to “target” with your release to help ensure it gets picked up and appropriately placed.
  2. Advertorials – Newspapers want and need good content. In fact, a new report just released by the American Journalism Review (AJR) reveals that people are attracted to the newspapers that are able to provide better content, especially community news. Take advantage of this by notifying your local newspaper when something noteworthy takes place and ask about an opportunity for a feature or advertorial piece.
  3. A Simple By-Line – In an attempt to get better content, there may be an opportunity to get an expert from your company featured as a guest writer, not only placing the writer in the spotlight, but also the company as a subject matter expert. Consumers are hungry for content, and if they can get good content for free, you are building trust proving your worth.

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