Daily Newspapers No More

In 2009, during the worst year of the recession, it seemed as if most newspapers were destined to fold. More than 100 publications went out of business that year due to decreasing advertising and subscription revenues. Those that remained had to rework their business models, which for some included a reduction in frequency for the print edition and multiple staff reductions.

During the past two years, newspapers have mostly gotten by with continued staff reductions and other cost-savings measures to stay in business, but nothing approaching the carnage of 2009 has returned. Until today.

News today of the (New Orleans) Times-Picayune’s planned reduction to three print editions per week was followed by news of a similar cutback at several other dailies in the Gulf Coast states. Starting every morning with the local paper waiting on your front porch will no longer be part of the life in these cities, and it’s likely a sign of things to come.

The journalists who remain will continue to cover news in these markets and across the country, but today is a sobering reminder that while things are better than they were in 2009, the newspaper industry is far from impervious to future turmoil. Let’s hope newspapers can find a business model that works so we aren’t faced with more days like today in the near future. 

-Chris McMurry, VP, Public Relations Director

GM STOPS ADVERTISING ON FACEBOOK; FREAK OUT ENSUES

Earlier this week GM announced that, while they will continue to maintain a presence on Facebook, they will no longer be utilizing the social network’s paid ad platform. The mega-advertiser cited low consumer impact as a reason for discontinuing the medium, which has sparked a frenzy of speculation – such as this and this – that many companies would (and should) follow suit.   

It doesn’t take Zuckerberg to figure out that seeing a Facebook ad for a Chevy Malibu isn’t going to cause someone to think “Man, I should really go out and buy one of those Malibus this weekend.” Cars are high-decision purchases and a 90-character Facebook ad certainly isn’t enough to sway opinion. And that is because Facebook ads are not meant to be the dominate way to communicate to an audience on social media. They’re an invitation to get the conversation started. Ford put it best, when they tweeted: 

So, before you jump ship, check out these three reasons why we’re still on board with S.S. Facebook Ads:

1. Low Cost: Facebook’s self-serve platform makes it easy for advertisers to continually make adjustments to their target audience, as well as their creative, in order to achieve the lowest possible cost per click for every campaign. And it doesn’t take a high-investment to get started with Facebook ads. With a few bucks a day, smaller businesses are able to continually grow their network of subscribers (or directly send some new traffic to their website).  

2. Highly Visible:  Recently, studies such as this have come out stating that 44% of users have never clicked on a Facebook ad. Well, that still leaves 294 million daily active Facebook users to click on your ads. With Facebook’s self serve ad platform, you’re easily able to get in front of your target audience and provide users with social context by demonstrating that their friends have already interacted with your ad or brand. 

3. Able to drive results: Through Facebook ads, we have been able to exponentially grow our clients’ Facebook user base, with people who have opted in to receive brand-related content on a daily basis. And, in turn, this continual Page growth has provided more opportunities to: engage with potential consumers and answer questions, to make things right and retain consumers who may have had bad experiences, to drive website traffic (Facebook has become the number 1 site referral for many of our clients) and, yes, more opportunities to make sales.  

Are Facebook ads right for every company? Absolutely not. Are they the end-all-be-all for growing your Facebook Pages or directing web traffic? Nope! But, when strategically integrated, they can certainly be a powerful tool in a social media marketing mix. 

-Kimberly Ritchie, Social Media Marketing Senior Account Executive