Newspapers
A profile of visitors to newspaper sites
By Diego Vasquez
Dec 14, 2007 - 1:09:28 AM

The great social value of newspapers traditionally was that they were read by the leaders of their communities, the folks with the deepest investments, whether business owners or homeowners or civic leaders. They cared, and their opinions mattered. That's no less so in this internet era. Folks who visit newspaper web sites tend to rank higher on the influencer scale than web users who do not visit newspaper web sites. That is, their opinions are more listened to and valued by more people. That's according to a new study from the National Newspaper Network, the national ad sales firm representing papers around the country. The study found that the most influential users were what it termed crossovers, people who read print editions of newspapers and also visit newspaper sites. Crossovers, for example, are more inclined to be early adopters of new technology, and therefore influence others in their technology decisions. Nearly a third of crossovers, 31 percent, were found to be early adopters versus 24 percent for newspaper web site visitors versus 17 percent for non-visitors. The study was conducted online by Millward Brown and included a panel of 1,500 adults. Jason E. Klein, NNN's president and CEO, talks to Media Life about what it means to be an influencer, what distinguishes crossovers, and why ads on newspaper sites are more credible.

Newspaper web site users are more likely to be influencers. Why? And how do you define an influencer? What else does that say about those who use newspaper web sites?

There’s a well-known concept of influencers, invented mostly by Roper. It’s pretty straightforward, and it relates to taking public actions. The standard definition is someone who participates in three or more influential activities, such as running for public office.

Influencers lead the way Americans think. They’re the catalysts for what trends move across the American economy.

They are more likely to influence others because they’re more active information seekers. They were found to be more than twice as likely to be confident that their opinions would be held in high regard by others.

How do crossovers differ from web site users in terms of education, income, age, sex, employment status, etc.?

Newspaper web site readers tend to have higher incomes and be better educated than non-users, and crossovers tend to be even higher in terms of income and education.

Why are crossovers more likely to be early adopters?

The crossovers tend to be people who are on top of what’s happening.

They're reading the print newspaper and going to the web site, so they’re really information seekers. They’re in the know. Many of them are so-called news junkies.

One of the things they’re looking for is information on new products, and they’re the first to jump on anything that’s really new.

Why do internet users find newspaper web site ads more credible than other online ads?

I think it’s very clear that the newspaper web environment is very trusted. They trust the editorial. Consumers respect the investment that institutions are making in quality journalism, and they find real value to that.

This is the third study we’ve done that shows this halo effect, that advertising in the newspaper medium tends to be more trusted than other media we measure.

I think everyone’s interested in what their friends and colleagues have to say, but I think we also have pretty good filters for what we hear. The study shows that on balance if it’s coming from a newspaper web site people will give it more credibility on average than if it’s coming from, say, a social network web site.

How does the influence factor compare to other media?

In general, it’s very clear that printed media and in particular newspapers are much better at reaching influentials. Influentials read. It’s as simple as that. They tend to be higher educated, have higher incomes, and are bigger consumers of media.

What if any differences are there between newspaper web site users and traditional newspaper readers?

Web users tend to be a few years younger, but both tend to be fairly affluent audiences. Both also tend to be very broad. The distinguishing factors are really income and education.

What’d you find surprising or interesting about the study?

I think we were surprised by the degree of difference on measures like people's confidence in their ability to influence others. By every measure, web users and crossovers are influencing more people more frequently, and they’re confident that people are listening to their opinions.

The newspaper medium is still a great way to jumpstart peer to peer communication.

What can media planners/buyers take from the study?

I think when they're looking at different environments for their online ads, and if they want to be in a trustworthy and credible environment--if they’re trying to stimulate people not only to take action but to talk to their peers--newspaper web sites are a great place for that.