Ask an Expert: Newspaper ads can be important part of your media mix
— -- Q: More and more real estate companies are relying on Web advertising rather than newspapers. They claim that advertising in newspapers is a waste of money. What is your opinion? — Claude
A: You are certainly correct that the conventional wisdom is that newspaper advertising, being on the wane, should be viewed with caution. And, as is generally true with the conventional wisdom, there is a grain of truth to it. But if you are looking for someone to pile-on against newspapers, you are reading the wrong guy. I love newspapers and found success using newspaper ads.
Now let's agree up front that online advertising is great, and powerful. I am a fan, have written about it many times, and will continue to do so. But that is not the question today. Today the question is – should small businesses continue to use newspapers as part of their advertising mix?
The answer is, for the right sort of business, you betcha'.
Of course it all depends upon whom it is you are trying to reach, whom your customers are, and if you can reach them in a newspaper. For example, if you are trying to reach young people, then no, newspapers are probably not right for you; people under 30 are getting their information online for the most part. (But even then, advertising in the online part of the paper may be the way to go.)
So it all depends upon who you want to reach. According to StateOfTheMedia.org, newspaper readers:
• Educated: "62% of those with postgraduate degrees said they read a newspaper in an average week"
• Older: 40+
(Note: Statistics are for the years 2007 and 2008.)
Newspaper readers also now tend to be upper income, so if some of these factors match your target demographic, then newspaper advertising still offers several definite pluses.
The first, is the value of being contrarian. One thing I am in favor of in business generally is going against the grain because, if done right, it makes you more noticeable. That might be the case here where the problems in the newspaper industry can actually work to your advantage.
