The independent research company - which measures the shopping patterns and media behaviors of American Consumers - released some interesting information.

It revealed:

• 75% of adults read a print newspaper or visited a newspaper web site in the past week.
• 65% of adults read a print newspaper in the past five weekdays.
• 53% of adults read a print newspaper on an average Sunday.
• 50% of adults read a newspaper or visit a newspaper web site on an average weekday.

It is my opinion that this information reveals newspapers, or the combination of newspaper and newspaper web site (an important part of any advertising plan) advertising reaches an enormous audience.

Additional digging into the report reveals that the demographics of newspaper readers are highly coveted.

• They are educated (83% of college graduates read a newspaper in the last week).
• They are successful (81% of professionals and management read a newspaper in the last week).
• They have income (79% of the income range $50,000 - $99,999 and 83% of people making over $100,000 read a newspaper in the last week).

It also revealed that the greater the value of the home, the larger the percentage of newspaper readership.

When considering a marketing plan, these figures must be considered. And it is important to keep in mind that they are the combination of newspaper print editions and newspaper web sites. However, it seems clear that a good combination of print and web advertising associated with a newspaper provides a business with substantial reach among desired consumers.

There are a couple of problems.

It was Sun Tzu who stated that strategy without tactics is the slowest road to victory, but tactics without strategy is the noise before defeat.

Engaging in a social media effort, without knowledge of exactly what social media is and what it can - and cannot - do, is a set up for failure, as is engaging in social media without clear objectives of what you wish to accomplish.

This worries me because I fear that companies are rushing to Facebook, Twitter and other outlets because they are the "new hot thing." I also fear that these same companies will measure in a manner similar to how they measure traditional media - newspaper and radio ads, etc.

The end result being the development of an attitude that social media is "neat but that's about it."

Hopefully, this will not be the case, as social media has the ability to allow a business to engage directly in a conversation with customers and prospective customers, unlike any other method that has come before.

The person I talked to had it together. She spoke clearly and at a normal speed, making it easy to understand her over the microphone. She repeated the order back, and gave me my total. I pulled up, she took my money, handed me change and food, and thanked me for my business.

Not too abnormal.

Except, there was a friendly and professional attitude that I rarely see among food service employees. She was polite and upbeat without being annoyingly giddy. Her professionalism left no doubt that my order was taken correctly.

It was a good experience.

We've all had those. And we've all had the opposite - experiences where for one reason or another, we decide "this is the last time I ever got to XXXXXXX."

Beyond any doubt, this type of professionalism is the very best public relations you can do, in terms of guaranteeing repeat business. We tend to forget about such things when marketing our businesses, but make no mistake - whether you are selling a $1 hamburger or trying to ink a multi-million dollar deal, professionalism matters.

There are so many options out there, which include newspapers, magazines, television, and radio, as well as the "newer" media of web advertising, e-mail marketing and social media.

At the end of the day, it requires simple study.

1. What is the audience, in terms of age, gender and location? Nashville Parent may not have the subscriber base as the Tennesseean, but it is highly targeted, geared toward parents and families, and may be ideal for a high-end daycare or pre-school to advertise.
2. What is the income of the audience? When I worked at a twice-weekly paper in Texas, we had advertisers such as the Jaguar dealer in the nearest big city. Why? Our county was the 20th highest in terms of personal income in the United States.
3. Where is your audience? Odds are, if you are targeting older teens to younger 20s, you don't want certain types of advertising. But the web and social media are ideal. I mean, every teenager on the planet is on Facebook, or so it seems.
4. What is the real audience? Recently, in one town where I sometimes deal with advertising, a new online-only media outlet started up. Nothing wrong with a new start up, but they have no numbers at all to sell. So what audience are you reaching? It's unkown.

It takes time, effort and energy, but studying the possible marketing venues carefully before investing will generate a much greater return on investment.

There is an idea that the need for journalism is dead. But I beg to differ.

Just today, a young friend (the child of a good friend) posted that the high school - the one I attended - was on fire. The postings went back and forth. Even I, at 40 years of age, found myself trying to discover anything at all about the science wing being in flames.

Only it wasn't.

There was no fire. No emergency. Nothing.

Social media is a great tool. It is fantastic - so powerful.

But without responsible management, it can be a powerful tool to misinform or even cause panic.

Just some food for thought.

There is a lot going on, but when I was a newspaper editor, one of the big things was planning our coverage of Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

Here's the issue.

The awareness of the month is so very important, and it is a cause worthy of significant coverage.

But from the point of view of an editor, it is difficult. And the reason is simple. Every cancer fighting organization, every hospital, every cancer center, and various other groups, organizations and businesses all send you information. It is the shock and awe of PR.

One year, I had the typical influx of press releases and information. One young man followed up and I explained to him that we had a local cancer survivor, a local hospital and some other local sources we were using for our local coverage. I told him I appreciated his information, but we were a local paper and would use local sources.

He got the hint.

About a month later I got a call from this guy. He had information. Local information. Important information that I did not know. Turns out, our county was number one in the state in cancer cases, and in preventable cancer deaths resulting from lack of early detection.

HOLY COW!

Now that's a story. Local information I did not have resulted in a fantastic series of stories, a series in which, among local sources, I used his client as a valuable resource - a client that we liberally quoted.

It was great. Because a PR professional was professional, listened to the editor's needs, used a little hustle the paper got a great story, the readers were given an critically important service, and the public relations firm had a very good hit for their client.

Seems they are on the rise, and in a big way.

This article in the New York Times explains. My own very informal poll among Facebook friends was interesting. In my VERY INFORMAL poll, responses were:

• 59% use newspaper coupons.
• 25% use no coupons
• 1% uses Internet coupons
• 1% uses direct mail coupons

I found it interesting that Facebook users are clipping coupons from the newspaper, particularly on Sunday!

Regardless of newspaper, direct mail or Internet, a few simple things will help your coupons get used.

First, make sure your offer is strong. It is an extreme example, but you'll have a hard time selling snow blowers in Florida, no matter the offer. Likewise, 5 percent off a $2 item might not work. The offer needs to mean something to the consumer.

And don't forget those attention-getting key words.

• Sale
• Buy one get one free
• Half price
• Reduced
• Free

These, and variations, are all words that will get attention, and make sure your coupons are used.

This is the introduction to a multi-part series exploring hyperlocal content and its impact on public relations. Articles will be updated weekly and archived in my blog. The "current" installment can be found on the main web site.

One of the growing trends in journalism is hyperlocal content.

There are now web sites that offer content on a level that is about as local as you can get. Everyblock.com, WikiCity, Baristanet, and a wide range of others allow bloggers, citizen journalists and others to connect on a level as intimate as your block.

What can this mean to public relations?

It is simple. Imagine the power of a person who lives down the street, a person you know and trust, your neighbor, talking about a product, service or business in their blog - a blog which is read by everyone in the neighborhood. It is an intimate level of trust that traditional media have struggled to attain, and many would argue has been lost.

For years, community newspapers – you know, the small town weeklies – have taken a hyperlocal approach to news. When I was an editor and publisher of one such paper, the owner of the paper gave me this piece of advice – “If it didn’t happen in your town or to your town, it ain’t news!”

And unlike much of the industry, these papers have weathered the recession and transition to digital journalism surprisingly well.  An August report by the Associated Press noted that smaller community newspapers are not just surviving, but some are thriving.

I believe this is because of their focus on very local content.

And remember, hyper local is not just local. It is more than that.  Yes, it can be the city council meeting, but it can also be neighborhood association news, coverage of the block or street party, an announcement of a community-wide garage sale, or a blogger talking about the new pizza joint on the corner.

Or talking about your business.

Additionally, hyperlocal is not just about content. It can have an impact on your advertising strategy, too.

The challenge then, becomes getting that blogger, or that community journalist, or that citizen journalist, to talk about your business on a local and intimate level.

This becomes the challenge.

While you must keep up traditional public relations, PR 2.0, and social media, hyperlocal will become part of the mix.

Which sites are valid? Which sites are strong in the communities you target? Which bloggers are best read? Is a particular site legitimate or is it run by someone with a bone to pick? How do you approach hyperlocal sites?

These are the ideas we'll be exploring over the next few weeks. I hope you'll join me on this trip.

But the question becomes, what topics are press release worthy? There are many, and here is a list of just a few.

Introducing a new product
Celebrating an anniversary
Announcing a restructuring of the company
Offering an article series for publishing
Opening up branch or satellite offices
Receiving an award
Receiving an appointment
Participating in a philanthropic event
Introducing a unique strategy/approach
Announcing a partnership

Again, these are just a few. Be sure you look to employees too. For example, if a teen-aged employee earns his Eagle Scout rank, a press release announcing it would not be about your business, but could mention your business - creating an image that you support your employees' participation in worthy activities.

Look through a publication. You will begin to get a feel for what kinds of materials they are interested in publishing, and once you know that, you can tailor your releases to meet their needs.

No outlet is exempt from problems as this article about Facebook shows.

Myspace was the first biggie, then Facebook and now Twitter. Is change the only constant in social media?

In my view, some of the most fascinating has been the Eyetrack Research, conducted over several years by the journalism think tank, the Poynter Institute. Some of those results will send talented writers into a fit of depression!

Their findings, naturally, were that people scan headlines, photos, cutlines and the first paragraph of stories that interested them. Only when something really got their attention - I suspect something that impacted them - would they read on.

Related, I did a very informal survey once as an editor. I had a group of readers take a marker and highlight the phrases, words, photos or whatever that caught their attention.

The results were stunning. While a good headline or large photo was marked, so were the following words: sale, %off, save, huge values and other key words from print advertisements. Furthermore, sometimes they were in small ads, no larger than a business card.

Yet these words attracted attention.

For years, I have developed print ads with a basic premise. Each print ad must have:

• A headline
• A piece of art or visual appeal
• A "story" - better known as the offer and call to action
• Then your logo/contact information

The battle I have fought with a number of clients is to keep the headline - BUY ONE GET ONE FREE - more prominent than the business name; the photo of the product larger than the logo.

There is huge value to brand recognition and trusting a company, but people are interested in the offer first! If you run a weekly ad, it is not the name "Bob's Hardware" that draws a person in. It is the offer "Buy one bag of mulch, get the second for half price" that will get a consumer's attention.

Trust me, they'll find your business to take advantage of your great offer!

If your target market is teens, the right tool may not be Twitter. Seems that teens aren't as excited about Twitter as the rest of us.

"A press release is just a news story," I was told.

And that's correct in a manner of speaking. At least, the elements of a good story and a good press release are similar.

Make sure you have the following when writing a press release:

• A strong, catchy headline that gets attention.
• A strong opening paragraph that hooks the reader.
• Avoid jargon, hype and superlatives.
• Write in the active voice.
• Try to tie it in with a news angle or give it a "hook."

Keep in mind that a good press release, like a good news story, answers the "w questions" - who, what, when, where and why. How wouldn't be a bad question to answer either.

Taking your time and immitating stories you read in the paper or online similar to yours is not a bad route to go.

• Weekly and small-town daily newspapers and their web sites.
• Specialty/niche publications and their web sites. The Nashville Business Journal or Nashville Parent is an example.
• Websites devoted to news and information on a very local level, even a block level.
• Sites such as Baristanet, Bright Neighbor, and Everyblock.com

With so many sites, and so much focus on super-local, what is your hyper-local strategy?

This is a difficult strategy to answer, but it is one that needs solutions including a combination of advertising - traditional and online, social media and public relations. And it will take time and manpower to implement, to be sure.

Here are some links to articles that address the hyperlocal topic.

http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/138/get-me-rewrite-hyperlocals-lost.html?page=0%2C1

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/08/17/AR2009081701616.html

http://www.brandrepublic.com/News/928273/Seattle-becomes-hyperlocal-hotbed-43-sites-launch/

When I'm asked my advice on strengthening writing, I respond with two words: Action Verbs. You know, those words that denote action.

Active, or action verbs, can pack a punch. Shorter sentences become laden with strength and descriptiveness, and you eliminate the need for adverbs. A nice bonus, if you ask me.

Below is the simplest best example I can provide.

WEAK: He went to the store.

STRONG: He ran to the store. He drove to the store. He walked to the store. He crawled to the store.

The point is "went" is a weak verb. By substituting it with walked, drove, ran or crawled, you now know that he went to the store. But you also know how he got there.  It is more descriptive.

This simple point - watching out for the verb to be - can improve writing.