Community Newspaper Group urges Be A Local Voice based on findings from national studies

Local is the new black when it comes to advertising your business, according to two significant national studies undertaken by News Corp.

Community Newspaper Group’s Sales and Digital Director Dawn Tingwell presented the findings to a group of 50 advertising industry heavyweights over breakfast at the Old Swan Brewery on Thursday. The overwhelming message was to understand the importance and value people place on their local community and how this differs to their engagement with digital communities.

The findings also showed how advertisers can tap into this deep connection with communities. 

The report said digital communities connect people and actively extend our physical community in a very practical way, but nothing replaces the importance of our local communities and connections, which leads physical communities to be seen as more trustworthy. By tapping into that trust, you can be seen as ‘a local voice’ – and there’s no better place to find that voice than with local news content through Community newspapers, associated web sites, social media pages and e-newsletters.

Some key findings from the research showed almost 80 per cent of people surveyed agreed “the more you support and nurture your community and those in it, the stronger it gets”.

Not only is it convenient to shop locally, it feels good to support local business, with 86 per cent saying shopping locally helps support the growth the community.

Seven out of 10 people surveyed saw their local newspaper as the voice of their community and important to a thriving community.

The research highlighted the fundamental role that the local paper plays in bringing the local community together with local businesses.

Additional research was conducted to look at the dynamics between families and communities, especially as families grow and homes are established. 

This research found that when families start and expand, 70 per cent of parents made some kind of trade off between size and location of their family home, with 45 per cent buying in a different area to where they initially intended. 

Most families, 69 per cent, move outside of their current suburbs, with 36 per cent moving more than 10 kilometres.

The research found community papers were integral both during and after the purchase of a new home.

Community papers play important roles for new home buyers, well beyond the real estate listings.

Overall, the local community newspaper is the number one source for local news with 76 per cent, followed by letterbox at 54 per cent, social media at 29 per cent and radio at 24 cent.