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Neal Butterworth
Let’s deal with the elephant in the Neal Butterworth, Editor-in-Chief of the Bournemouth Daily room right from the start.
Regional newspapers got it spectacularly wrong when it came to diversifying into the worldwide web as it became clear that advertising revenues through the medium of print were going to decline.
Editorial teams were targeted with introducing their readerships to the website’s offering… and they did it brilliantly.
Urged on by newspaper group bosses anticipating future digital success, they grew audiences that might have terrified newspaper sales managers, but they opened the door to advertising teams to capitalise on this mighty beast, instantly accessible from your home or work computer.
Surely as the print revenue fell, the increasing money made through digital advertising would meet it going down?
Not quite. In fact, nowhere near it, which is just one of the reasons why regional newspaper groups are struggling.
Advertisers should follow the audience. If you’ve got an awful lot of people that advertisers want to reach using the web, then advertisers will go there. But why aren’t they?
To be honest, the medium is quite often misunderstood as much by the people selling the advertising as those paying for it.
But that’s still a hefty audience and strategic advertising via print and online can be extremely beneficial if you’re getting the editorial support to go with it.
It’s lovely to open the paper and see that photo and press release given a decent amount of space.
But these days, keying in your business name in the website’s search header and seeing that name pop up should be just as satisfying.
So ensure your editorial is featured both in print and online. Find out who deals with the digital input and develop the same relationship with them as a reporter. After all, if speed’s the need, digital has it.
Use your own website to link to theirs, with links via your Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.
By Neal Butterworth, Neal Butterworth Media
by admin