Fayetteville area business owners are expected to spend $6.1million on newspaper advertising in 2020. This will be 35.8% fewer dollars than were spent in 2019, according to a study by Borrell Associates, a company that analyzes local media expenditures across the country.

Of course, the pandemic is part of the reason advertising revenues have plummeted at Fayetteville newspapers. But, the more significant factor is the sustained erosion of readership.

For example, between October 2017 and March 2019, the Monday-Saturday circulation of the Fayetteville Observer has decreased by 46%. The Sunday edition suffered a 49% decrease.

Among all advertising media available to small business owners, newspaper's ability to reach adult consumers now lags significantly behind Fayetteville radio, cable, broadcast TV, and social media.

Advertising is critical to the success of every Fayetteville small business owner.  One of the most powerful elements of any advertising campaign is how many people it reaches.

Nielsen, the world's largest consumer insights company, found that advertising reach has a more significant effect on sales than branding, recency, and context.

There are many ways a local business owner can advertise. This includes traditional media like Fayetteville radio, local TV, and newspaper. It also includes online advertising options such as Facebook, Instagram, and Pandora.

They type of customer an individual business needs to reach depends on the goods and services the company sells. For instance, a daycare operator might want to reach households with young children. On the other hand, a real estate agent could be looking for consumers in the market to purchase a new home.

The charts below reveal how the different advertising options available to Fayetteville business compare in terms of the ability to reach customers with specific characteristics. This includes age, income, education, employment status, political affiliation, number of children, ethnicity, and planned purchases.

Two things are remarkable about voting day in 1920.  It was the first time, ever, women could participate in the selection of the U.S. President. It was also the first time live election results were broadcast on the radio. Not to mention, it was also the first radio broadcast, ever.

The voters' choice that night was between Warren G. Harding  and James M. Cox.  Both men had derived their political power as successful newspaper publishers.  It is quite ironic, then, that one of these men would reach the highest office in the land on the same night that the nascent radio broadcasting business began its takedown of the newspaper industry.

Nowhere is this takedown more apparent than locally, where Fayetteville radio has become, by far, the advertising medium with the largest reach.