An airline magazine has lessons for anyone publishing a magazine on how to engage an audience and grow revenue

 My iPad is fully charged, my favorite tunes on my headphones and headed back home from a great weekend on the west coast, courtesy of Southwest Airlines. I have plenty of things to keep my attention for the next several hours, including their in-flight magazine Southwest: The Magazine.

Normally, the magazine doesn’t get my attention but this is a long flight. Picking up the March issue, featuring Valerie June on the cover I was impressed with how good the product is. Other airlines have excellent magazines too, but I’m partial to Southwest as an airline and thus I see their magazine more than most.

The forecast for magazine advertising revenue like all non digital products is tough. In the case of in-flight magazines, they have a somewhat guaranteed distribution number. Though they also suffer from digital disruption like computers, iPads and video games that keep us occupied. But they are also doing some good stuff, including four things that others producing magazines on the ground can learn from and profit.

1) Group pages abound in my publication on this flight. Who has the best steakhouse in the US? They have a great list of paying restaurants who made that list including St. Elmo’s in Indianapolis, one of my favorites. Not surprising, the steakhouses are virtually all in markets served by Southwest. They obviously know their audience and have done a great job of selling that benefit to these businesses. The same is true for the best plastic surgeons, and lasik and cataract surgeons in the US.

2) There is an obvious connection between the sales department and editorial. I’m not suggesting that the wall is down between the two, but common sense cooperation is a must for a successful magazine, and that is on display here. Editorial has developed an editorial calendar, and the sales department is working with that information in advance. There are features on Greenville, South Carolina, Baltimore, Maryland and other places. Advertising has done a great job of adding to the content for the reader by providing appropriate advertising to enhance the feature story.

3) While not identified as such, the magazine definitely is using native advertising to drive content and revenue. Well done native content is hard to distinguish because it does all the things normal editorial content does. A feature story on how your dog can be featured in a picture at Chuy’s Restaurant is a fun quick read, and yet a commercial at the same time.

4) The layout and content for the magazine is well done and FUN! The content has a positive attitude about it, and I appreciate it. Magazines can sometimes take themselves too seriously, and that is not the case here. Maybe that is a by-product of the airlines itself, which tends to be a little anti-establishment. Either way, I like it and believe others can learn from them.

Magazines need to learn from these types of examples. Serve your purpose and niche, but still make the reader smile with great content. That great content is both editorial and advertising!

The impact advertising has on consumer behavior, even in this age of track-ability, is still difficult to define. The old saying, "Half of my advertising doesn't work. I just don't which half," remains in play for anyone with an advertising budget.

But we can all agree that not advertising is not the answer. 

I was reminded of that basic rule today when I saw a study published at heatst.com. That website highlighted a recent study done by the Wesleyan Media Project that suggested that Hillary Clinton ran one of the worst-run political operations in years.

This is not a political post or commentary, I can assure you. It is the marketing data that they identify that I find interesting, and something that media outlets can use in the next election cycle.

For all the talk of social media and fake news's impact on the election, the report points out it was a lack of advertising that might have cost Clinton the presidency. 

The story points out that "the directors of the study dispute the argument that 'advertising doesn’t matter' in elections. Clinton’s failure to advertise in certain key states, they argue, was the biggest reason for her defeat by Donald Trump." Clinton's losses in Wisconsin and Michigan are specifically pointed out. She did not advertise until the final days, when Trump advertised for weeks prior to the election. He eventually won those key states and thus the presidency. 

This study focuses on broadcast television, since that is the outlet that receives the vast majority of major political revenue. There are also some very persuasive stats on the impact of newspaper advertising for political campaigns too.  

NMA (News Media Alliance) offered research that every newspaper should be leveraging for political advertising. Of those who always vote in local elections:

--27% are more likely to read the daily newspaper than the typical adult.

--7 in 10 read newspaper media in print, online or on mobile devices in an average week.

nearly 8 in 10 also contribute money to political organizations. 

Politicians need to tell their story in advertising to win at the polls. And media outlets, especially newspapers need to tell their story well in advance to their politicians on how their message in print equals success at the polls. 

Aggressive marketing by the newspaper industry in the era of fake news

Aggressive marketing by the newspaper industry in the era of fake news

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Tonight's Oscar broadcast is an opportunity for the movie industry to show off. It is also a prime time event that brings a premium for ABC and their advertisers.
One of the companies buying airtime during the Oscar broadcast might surprise you. It's the New York Times. 

Advertising Age is reporting that The Times will run their first TV ad since 2010 in the broadcast. I've seen the preview, and think it is a great spot that many newspaper publishers should adapt to their local market. You can view it for yourself at https://youtu.be/gY0Fdz350GE.

The truth is hard campaign, I hope, is the start of a growing campaign to help the industry. The Washington Post and the Wall Street Journal have also done a lot of marketing. I've seen a lot of digital ads, especially on Facebook at they all try to find credibility and a new audience in this age of fake news. 

http://www.petevanbaalen.com/single-post/2017/02/26/Aggressive-marketing-by-the-newspaper-industry-in-the-era-of-fake-news

Facebook is trying to be newspaper's friend while going after recruitment advertising revenue

Facebook has made some news this week. On February 16, founder Mark Zuckerberg posted a 5,000 word essay on a wide variety of topics. As Facebook tries to tackle fake news, their leader talks about the importance of the local news industry.  Yet that same week, Facebook announced that they were beginning to focus on recruitment advertising as a part of their evolving business plan.

The use of social media, especially Facebook needs to be an aggressive part of every newsroom's plan to drive page views and audience engagement. So of course I am encouraged by Zuckerberg's writing when he pens his support, ""...From growing local news, to developing formats best suited to mobile devices, to improving the range of business models news organizations rely on."

I genuinely believe that Facebook wants to see local news organizations succeed in gathering content. Facebook thrives on content, particularly from reliable sources like local newspapers.  But make no mistake, there is no olive branch extended when it comes to advertising revenue.

More and more, sales reps of every legacy media outlet are being told how businesses are working with Facebook; to post special and engage with their fans as well as promote their business to new customers. Digital marketing dollars continue to go up nationally and locally each year, but the market share is being gobbled up by Facebook and Google.  That grab for cash continues, as Facebook now sets its sights on recruitment advertising.

Job seekers in the US and Canada can search and apply for jobs through Facebook. This is a direct assault on LinkedIN and Monster, but certainly has a negative impact on the newspaper industry. Recruitment advertising is a mere shell of what it once was for newspapers, with the digital disrupters Monster and CareerBuilder. Even though two early innovators have been taken over by others including Indeed and ZipRecruiter.  

This competition isn't coming in the distant future. It has arrived in your market and on your Facebook feed right now. A quick search in my market found 26 different posts for employment. Many were part time jobs or lower paying full time jobs, which traditionally are not typical Monster posts. 

Many options available for sales training for little or no budgets

I was sitting in a restaurant, getting caught up on email and social media waiting for a former colleague to join me for dinner. As I did my thing, I couldn't help but overhear a conversation from the table next to me.

It was an older gentleman in a conversation with a teenage boy. I first thought it was a grandfather and grandson having dinner, but as things developed, I realized it was a formal mentoring program, perhaps Big Brothers / Big Sisters taking place. 

"That's good to hear. You don't want to be defined by your past," was a statement from the older gentleman that brought a smile to my face. The boy was truly trying to improve his life, and thankfully he was involved in a process that helped him achieve that goal. 

With your sales team, are you an organization that has a process to help your sales team achieve their goals, both personally and professionally? Too many times, the answer is no.

Finding sales talent is extremely difficult. Sometimes that means you have to 'grow your own' so to speak. That means finding someone with the personality and character traits that hopefully will translate to a quality sales person, and then teach them how to be that superstar sales person. 

Too many sales organizations are hiring, but doing very little to enrich and improve the people that represent their company in the field in front of their customers. I would suggest there has never been an excuse for sales managers and companies for not offering training, but that is especially the case today.

A quick Google search of "free sales training programs" returned about 6,240,000 results. Of course many of those training options are not necessarily free or even industry appropriate. But the point is that there are resources available for a manager or company if they are willing to devote the time.

Specific to the newspaper industry, there are several excellent free resources for sales training that you can consider. Sales training in general is abundant online, if you're willing to invest the time in developing your team. Many media associations, including the Hoosier State Press Association have resources online to help in this process.

1. If you're a member of the Local Media Association, check out their archives of training at http://www.localmedia.org/archived-webinar-access/
2. If you're a member of the Hoosier State Press Association, consider signing up for the weekly training email from Sales Radio. For more information on that, check out  http://www.hspa.com/sales-training-for-hspa-members/

As a manager, you don't have to go it alone! No money to pay for training? --no problem. Use one of the resources available online. Better yet, have one of your more experienced reps take on a quick training session on a topic which they excel. It is a way for you to acknowledge their skills and help to make them a leader with your team. There are several books that you can either buy or get at the local library on sales training and training games. Find something you like and adapt it to your team's strengths and needs.

With limited budgets and resources, you can still find ways to enrich your sales team and quite often you end up enriching yourself in the process. Don't be defined by your past! Become the mentor you are suppose to be as a manager and a leader for your sales team. And be sure to find your mentor as well, so you keep growing.

http://www.petevanbaalen.com/single-post/2017/02/01/Many-options-available-for-sales-training-for-little-or-no-budgets

Using social media to help build relationships and sales

"Before anything else and above anything else, we are relational creatures." For many years, that was a banner that hung at a church I attended. Today even in this digital era with social media driving many aspects of our lives, that phrase still holds true.

Social media has changed our perception of relationships, but have also underscored the need of all of us to connect with each other. For sales, social media offers a unique opportunity to connect with our customers, and potential customers. It is a tool that most of us are not maximizing the potential on presently.

With a small investment of time, a sales rep can end the era of the cold call. A quick Google search and a trip around LinkedIN, and you can very quickly have a wealth of information about the company and the key people you need to connect with to do business. Researching online helps that offline connection over the phone or in person more likely to pay off, by learning the basics about the organization before picking up the phone and merely asking who is in charge of marketing.

1. Find out general information about the company, including their history.
2. How digitally savvy the business is can be learned based on their digital footprint with a company website, blogs and social media.
3. Learn about their company and the industry trends.
4. The "About Us" or "Contact Us" section, if they have one, may tell you the person you need to reach for your sale. Much better to have a name in mind when you call the company instead of having to asking who the person is blindly.
5. Possibly learn how the company sets up email for its employees through their website. For instance, if they do firstname.lastname@companydomain.com for their email protocol, then you can often times determine the email address of the person you need to reach out.

Connecting with people on social media, especially LinkedIN, is about building a relationship. Amassing a large number of friends online doesn't add to your bottom line as a salesperson. Starting and building that relationship is the reason you connected with someone, especially on LinkedIN. The sales opportunity will come eventually, but it is best to not lead with that.

It's tempting, I know. You have discovered the person that can say yes to your sales pitch and you've successfully connect with them on LinkedIN. The next email or LinkedIN 'inbox' from you is a sales pitch. I've been guilty of this, and perhaps you too. I also receive a lot of these unwelcomed advances on a pretty regular basis in my LinkedIN or Twitter inbox, and all they do is act as a turn off. Sending a message is a good thing, but not a sales pitch.

The initial goal is to build a relationship, add value to the partnership and gain their trust. You do that by engaging with them when they post something on their page. You send them relevant information you found about their industry. And you post information about your industry, showing that you are an expert in your own industry. The goals and tactics of using social media for sales isn't any different than traditional sales. Only the platform for the relationship has changed. 

http://www.petevanbaalen.com/single-post/2016/12/23/Using-social-media-to-help-build-relationships-and-sales

New Nielsen study shows once again that print is not dead; evolving

http://www.nielsen.com/us/en/insights/news/2016/newspapers-deliver-across-the-ages.html?cid=socSprinklr-Nielsen

A lot to digest here but well worth the time, I believe. And something that people associated with the newspaper business, or media buyers who have forgotten newspapers, should pay attention to!

69% of the population in the US read a newspaper in the past 30 days according to a study from Nielsen released last Thursday. That nearly 170 million in the US.
81% of monthly newspaper readers engage with the print product, with 51% reading print exclusively.

Translated -- if you are buying print only you are missing out on a huge segment of readership.

30% of those that read read both print and digital 49% read a newspaper on at least one digital platform