News media connects businesses with their audiences by offering flexible and customized advertising options that maximize reach and minimize disruption to the reader’s experience. The content product of this industry provides highly visible sponsorship opportunities that can significantly impact revenue growth, regardless of the size of the business or organization.
In addition to providing crucial information, news media outlets offer platforms for companies and organizations to communicate with a broader or targeted audience. This isn’t breaking news; however, revenue leaders must be constant out-of-the-box thinkers with a strong understanding of its impact to help develop a layered advertising strategy that accommodates advertisers of all sizes. A layered strategy can serve as the cornerstone of growth for a sales organization and should be tailored to suit varying business sizes within the community. A constant multilayered approach relative to advertisers within the area is necessary to be a successful revenue leader. Numerous strategies and techniques exist that may fit advertisers’ needs within the area, but a few ideas have been on my mind lately if you’re curious.
Large
Large advertisers must overcome significant obstacles to reach their target audience effectively while maximizing their returns on investment. Therefore, as a revenue leader, developing an effective advertising strategy that can cut through the clutter and deliver results is powerful. One approach is to match the target audience that your news outlet reaches with national brands, organizations and causes that align with their needs. By doing so, revenue leaders can tap into the tremendous potential of sponsorship opportunities with more prominent national brands and even government agencies.
To fully capitalize on this potential, assessing your sales team’s performance in acquiring new advertising sponsorships and facilitating large regional or national direct sponsorship advertising campaigns is paramount. If your team has yet to sign a more significant contract, it’s time to consider positioning your organization better to close these opportunities. Partnering with national brands, large regional organizations and local government agencies in need of communicating important projects or information to your audience can be a successful sales strategy. Although laws regarding government advertising requirements are changing, many community- or nationally-funded projects still require mass communication. To stay ahead of national, civil and government developments requiring advertising, keep informed on local events, and seek legal counsel before approaching any agency. Consider incorporating significant multiple-figure advertising sponsorships into your revenue growth strategy, as this can lead to increased revenue and position your organization for future success.
Midsize
Midsize organizations often need help establishing a solid brand identity within their designated market area. To overcome this challenge, partnering with news media companies in sponsored content-style advertising opportunities can be highly effective. By featuring their brand in a subsequent calendar format, midsize regional organizations can increase their visibility and generate new business. These sponsorship opportunities can be published daily, weekly or monthly in print and online, with premium placement and limited availability. This type of advertising enables midsize businesses to promote their causes, missions, projects, or initiatives and position themselves as thought leaders in their respective industries.
This approach also allows companies to showcase their brand and offerings, attract new customers, and generate revenue while strengthening relationships with existing clients. In today’s competitive market, midsize organizations must explore new promotional avenues to reach their target audience. Sponsored content or advertorial opportunities with news media can be a great way to gain the exposure they need to sustain and succeed.
Small
Small businesses often struggle with advertising and marketing their products or services due to limited budgets and resources. As a result, they may find it challenging to compete effectively with larger enterprises. Connecting with local influencers is one way to overcome the challenges faced by small businesses in advertising and marketing. Revenue leaders can partner with social media influencers with a specific focus or niche, such as coupons, and offer them a partnership opportunity to feature their brand in a special section. This type of collaboration creates a mutually beneficial opportunity that helps the community, the influencer, the advertiser and the media organization. This approach also exposes news media outlets to new audiences and generates increased revenue through subscriptions and advertising sponsorships.
When looking for local influencers to partner with, choose someone whose brand aligns with your organization’s values and target audience. By carefully selecting the right influencer and creating a compelling sponsorship opportunity, you can leverage their following to expand your reach and connect with potential customers in the local area.
Generating revenue is essential for businesses, and news media is vital in connecting these businesses with their local audience. A layered advertising strategy can significantly impact revenue growth, but it’s often overlooked in daily news media operations. Revenue leaders must adopt unconventional and comprehensive approaches to help businesses of all sizes establish a competitive edge through advertising in news media outlets. These layered advertising strategies can achieve significant revenue gains and long-term success by refocusing on broader objectives.
Remember, these are just a few approaches to consider, so keep exploring and innovating to stay ahead, stay motivated and stay committed to your mission.
Richard E. Brown is a News Media Alliance Rising Star recipient, the former director of renewals and digital sales strategy at LPi, and the former director of digital operations and sales of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. He recently served as the head of digital subscriber churn for Gannett | USA TODAY Network and is now the senior director of retention for The Daily Beast. He is a member of the board of directors for the Wisconsin Newspaper Association Foundation and is the owner of RE Media Holdings, LLC. He is available for consulting and can be reached at www.richardebrown.co
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