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Last week, I was struck by two things – the lackluster performance of newspaper advertising and the fact that my mom loves Facebook.
The first leads into the second…
Newspaper circulation is declining. That much we know. The story is being told by all of the newspapers going out of business. Billboards, no matter how many times they rotate a minute or how bright they seem to light up a March night, can’t hold a candle to the traffic and interest generated by a Twitter feed.
But yet people are dumping money into newspaper advertising?!
Let me put this a bit differently… To buy a newspaper ad in our local newspaper – one ad – it’s $4,000. Put that same money in banner ads or a text link ad campaign – You’re ad will be featured by 15-20 highly targeted sites with millions of page views for one whole month!
The kicker – you can track the results of your campaigns…
On to Facebook. My mom loves it. She keeps up with her friends, the kids of her friends and her college professors. The Facebook demographic is changing. College kids are on there, sure. But so are their parents so they can keep up with their sons and daughters without always being on the phone. Those parents are friends with other parents… Get the picture?
So, let’s revisit the initial question. Is your target market reading the newspaper? Or are they on Facebook and Twitter and Youtube?
Do you want to spend $4000 for a one day ad that is limited to zip codes, or does it make sense to pursue banner advertising and Facebook ads?
The answer is simple. And it’s not going to be found in black and white pages that fold over…
JD
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{ 4 comments }
Great article JD! I think that the newspapers still have some legit advertising capabilities for a very select target market, such as seniors, but that is rapidly changing. Personally I believe if the newspapers embraced the technological change that is happening around them they would be in better shape. There is no denying the power of social media however it is either embrace it or get left behind.
You are absolutely right.. I wrote this article with colleges in mind. I have been consulting with a number of them who dump thousands into newspapers every month and think “What a waste!”
What I could do for them with that sort of ad budget!!
I couldn’t agree more! Newspapers in the college arena are a waste unless they are the campus’s paper. That in my experience has a loyal following, so that might be worth investing. As for the budget I agree it can be used in a much better way.
That is a good thought actually.. I hadn’t considered the campus paper. I have brought them online with Facebook and Twitter – trying to stoke that fire a little… In a little over a month, they have over a 1000 fans on the Facebook page and in only a couple days 150 Twitter followers. Now, I know both groups can be finicky but it’s still impressive in it’s own right…