Where Your Advertising Dollars Go Matters

Impressions matter. Cost matters. Every business wants its advertising to reach as many potential customers as possible without wasting money. Those numbers should absolutely be part of any advertising decision. But they shouldn’t be the only part.

When you advertise with a locally owned media company, your investment does more than purchase impressions. It helps support an organization that is invested in the same community you are.

Local media companies employ local people, cover local stories, promote local events and give a platform to the businesses, nonprofits, schools and individuals who make the community what it is. They attend the meetings, support the fundraisers and understand the issues that matter to the people you are trying to reach. That local knowledge also makes your advertising more effective.

A national platform may be able to tell you how many people saw an ad, but it probably can’t tell you what matters to those people. It doesn’t know the personality of your market, the relationships within it or how your business fits into the larger community. A good local media partner does.

There is also something to be said for where your advertising dollars ultimately go. Money spent with a locally owned company is far more likely to stay in the area, supporting local jobs, local vendors and the local news and information ecosystem. That benefits every business that depends on a healthy, informed and economically strong community.

This isn’t an argument for ignoring cost, reach or measurable results. Those things remain essential. It is an argument for looking at the complete value of an advertising investment.

The lowest cost per thousand impressions is not always the best value. Sometimes the better investment is the one that reaches the right local audience, connects your business with the community and helps strengthen the market where your customers, and your business, live.