TEN REASONS TO ADVERTISE ON A NEWSPAPER WEBSITE

1. Frequency. The online newspaper Web site user spends almost twice as many hours online than the general user. One-third of online newspaper visitors return to the site several times per day.

2. Credibility. The credibility of the newspaper brand extends to the advertiser. Fifty-nine percent of Web users agree that online advertising is more believable from a trusted Web site. Online, newspaper Web sites are the dominant local media site in most markets.

3. Targeted. If you want to focus on a particular backyard, advertising in an online newspaper is more personal, and more relevant because it is local. Newspapers also publish a plethora of niche sites(e.g., youth, women, movie fans, Hispanics) for virtually any demographic advertisers could possibly hope to reach. Newspapers know more than ever about their Web audience because of online registration programs and audience segmentation software.

4. Purchasing power. Seventy-nine percent of newspaper Web site users purchase online compared with 49% of general users. Thirty-nine percent of online newspaper users have incomes higher than $75,000; 65% own their homes. Fifty percent of online newspaper users have spent more than $500 online in the last six months, and 63% of online newspaper users prefer to find out about new products through the Internet.

5. Retailers prefer newspaper sites. Fifty-five percent of retailers report that newspaper sites are efficient in assisting them in meeting marketing needs compared with other sites.

6. Content. Excluding e-mail, the most popular online activities and content categories are national and local news, sports, financial information and entertainment news/things to do. Sixty-two percent of general Internet users visit online newspapers for local news, compared with 39% for the local TV station Web site and 23% for the local radio station site. Not even Yahoo!or AOL ’s Digital City can top online newspapers as a local news source.

7. High profile. Research.net reports that among top executives (CEO, CIO, CFO or owner/partner), Internet advertising ranked above all other media when measured for:“Where I prefer to find out about new products,” “Where I prefer to receive information about companies,” and “Where modern, up-to-date brands advertise.”

8. Reinforcement. Sixty-five percent of online newspaper users also read the newspaper in the past seven days, and repetition increases awareness.

9. Quality. Seventy-five percent of advertisers generally said newspaper Web sites advertising was as good or better than other Internet sites.

10. Mix. Recent studies have shown the power of online, when included in a mix with traditional media, to elaborate the brand message. Newspaper print and online products combined have the highest penetration and most desirable audience of any other local medium.

Sources: “Power Users,” 2002, MORI Research; “Online Dayparting: Claiming the Day, Seizing the Night,” 2003, MORI Research.
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