Local news publishers are hyper-focused on charting a sustainable path forward in the digital content era—and for many, that means trying new things to forge long-term growth. Some are forming partnerships with other local news media to share resources, while others are offering premium content to registered users.
However, digital advertising will always be an important driver of reliable revenue for local news publishers—and now there are new, smarter ways to go about that too. First-party audience data driven by 1:1 relationships with registered users can help local news publishers create better targeted ad experiences, driving sustainable, long-term growth. Let’s take a look at how.
Direct audience relationships lead to lucrative ad strategies
92% of marketers say that customers expect personalization—and this includes relevant, targeted ad experiences. Local news publishers with large registered user bases can leverage valuable first-party user data to better align advertisers with their audiences, creating highly targeted (and lucrative) ad strategies that don’t ruin the reading experience.
A first-party data strategy is critical for local news publishers for two reasons.
First, it helps you get a clearer view of your users so you can monetize them more effectively. Second, it’s an essential part of any sustainable revenue strategy as the end of the third-party cookie draws nearer.
So, how are leading publishers building their registered user base?
At OpenWeb, we work with more than 1,000 publishers across countless industry verticals, company sizes, and locations. Partnering with publishers from AOL to Salon.com and Taste of Home to The Denver Post, we’ve found that building a robust community experience rooted in high quality conversations is the key that unlocks the door to sustainability—and we built OpenWebOS for just that reason.
Open up additional revenue streams with OpenWebOS
Local news publishers deserve to thrive—not just survive. And those who invest in direct audience relationships are better positioned for long-term growth.
OpenWebOS is an end-to-end solution that helps publishers convert readers into registered users, gather first-party data insights, and activate and monetize that data with real-time segmentation and targeting. Through our integration with LiveRamp, publishers can offer their authenticated first-party data inventory to hundreds of premium brands to provide an even better targeted ad experience—no third party cookies required.
It’s never been more critical for local news publishers to leverage first-party data and find new sources of revenue. Find out how OpenWebOS can help.
