The Languaage of Advertising

Newspaper Websites Gaining, Holding Interest

comScore Data: Newspaper Websites Gaining, Holding Interest

Published on February 03, 2012

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Newspaper websites in Q4 2011 averaged more than 111 million monthly unique visitors (MUVs), up by more than 6 million compared to the same period in 2010, reports the Newspaper Association of America (NAA), citing comScore data. Fully 63% of adult Internet users visited newspaper websites.
A comarison of newspaper website usage data year-over-year (YOY) revealed that average daily visitors increased by more than 3 million, or nearly 15%. Unique visitors increased nearly 6%, while total minutes increased 14%.
The comScore data demonstrate “The growing appeal of newspapers’ online content,” said NAA President and CEO Carolline Little, “particularly for engaged, informed and affluent users whom advertisers…seek to reach.” As Little described, 70% of Internet users with household income (HHI) above $60,000 are reached by newspaper websites, and 75% when looking at HHI above $100,000.
Other key findings about Q4 2011: Among people 45 to 54, newspaper website percentage reach climed to 67%. In  the 18 to 34 demographic, website reach remained at or above 60%.
Newspapers are answering these numbers with a steady stream of what NAA calls “innovative strategies designed to maintain and build their digital audiences.” For example, the Star-Ledger of Newark, N.J. launched animated editorials, and the New York Times launched a fashion-focused niche app.
“During all of 2011, the percentage reach of Internet users enjoyed by newspaper websites never dipped below 61 percent,” Little said. “Web-based and other digital platforms at newspaper are capturing—and holding—attention in the marketplace.”

Millennials Look to Digital Word-of-Mouth to Drive Purchase Process

FEBRUARY 2, 2012

Younger consumers more likely to share purchase experiences with the masses

In a few short years, millennials—consumers currently ages 18 to 34—will account for a sizeable portion of US purchase decision-makers. Yet Bazaarvoice found these digital natives are already using and creating online content to recommend or dissuade friends, family and anonymous site-visitors from a brand, product or service.
Compared to their older counterparts, baby boomers, millennial internet users showed a greater reliance on anonymous recommendations and reviews when making purchase decisions. Bazaarvoice found 66% of boomers ages 47 to 65 turned to known parties for information and recommendations to influence their purchase decisions over user-generated content. Millennials, on the other hand, were almost equal in their reliance on friends and family (49%) vs. anonymous user-generated content from company websites (51%) to influence their buying decisions.

Bazaarvoice defined user-generated content as any on-site content created by internet users. This included reviews, comments, stories and questions. Like with traditional word-of-mouth, internet users seek out these insights to compare products, services and even brands.
The study also found millennials more likely to share their own purchasing experiences—both positive and negative—with the masses. Aside from company websites, forty-two percent of millennial internet users said they preferred to post comments on social networking sites about positive product, brand or service experiences in order to share their experience, compared to just 17% of baby boomers. And slightly more millennials (25%) preferred to share positive information on third-party sites such as CNET and Consumer Reports than did boomers (21%).

When trying to learn more about a brand, product or services, millennials and boomers were likely to trust user-generated content (51%) significantly more than any other form of information, including brand messaging, news articles and advertisements.

“Whatever brands do, they need to follow the general principle of transparency, understanding there’s a huge group of consumers right now who just don’t trust them,” said Lisa Pearson, VP of global marketing at Bazaarvoice in a January 30 interview with eMarketer. “There’s only upside to opening up and giving people the ability to talk about your brand. That’s going to become the expected norm.”