Community building for regional newspapers: Measures for a loyal readership

Community building is a key tool for publishers to retain readers in the long term and thus ensure economic success. When readers feel part of a community, this has several advantages: It not only strengthens their loyalty and commitment to the newspaper's content, but also helps to strengthen the reader community in the long term. Regional publishers can make targeted use of these advantages for their success. In this article, you will learn how regional newspapers in Germany promote a sense of community among their readers.

Advantages of community building for regional newspapers  

Community building is a promising tool for regional publishers as it is based on emotions and interpersonal relationships that can have a strong impact on readers as social beings. Readers feel more involved when they actively contribute to the creation of content or participate in discussions. By fulfilling these needs through community building, regional newspapers strengthen the bond with their readers, which has a positive effect on the relationship between publisher and readership.

The close connection to a publisher's content and community helps to ensure that readers remain loyal subscribers in the long term. This also facilitates the transition from print to digital subscriptions, which is particularly important for publishers in the digital age. A strong reader community can also increase the referral rate and thus promote readership growth.

In addition, the exchange between the newspaper and readers provides valuable insights into their needs so that the editorial content can be adapted in a targeted manner. Direct reader feedback forms a solid basis for better meeting readers' expectations. At the same time, a strong community increases the willingness of readers to participate in surveys and share their opinions.

Therefore, community building is a key tool for regional newspapers. Strengthening reader loyalty and optimizing content according to readers' wishes contribute significantly to long-term economic success.

Community building measures of regional newspapers

Publishers pursue various measures to strengthen the relationship between readers and editors and actively involve readers in the dialog. These take place both online and offline. The following examples of community building measures for regional newspapers illustrate the wide range of possibilities.  

Digital platforms for interaction

In their own forums and on reader platforms, regional newspapers offer their readers the opportunity to rate and comment on content as well as to create their own content in the form of photos, texts and more. Creating your own content involves readers more than just reading articles written by editors.  

In the Nürnberger Nachrichten readers' forum, subscribers have various opportunities to exchange views and help shape the regional newspaper: they can comment on current topics in the portal and initiate discussions. Reader surveys on various topics and articles reflect the mood of the region. Readers can contribute their own photos to the newspaper's Instagram channel, online presence and readers' letters pages.  

The Weser-Kurier regularly publishes the opinions of its readers on the most beautiful places and attractions in the city of Bremen in its series called "Bremen's Best".  

User-generated content  

The involvement of readers is particularly strong when they are encouraged to make a contribution themselves. The Weser-Kurier's "Mein Kiez" series actively invites readers to help create content and present their neighborhood to the city of Bremen. The content is documented in multimedia form with photos and a short video. This creates identification with the neighborhood and supports the community.  

Heilbronner Stimme offers readers the opportunity to share photos, recipes, excursion tips and much more in the digital citizen portal. The readers involved are the so-calledhome reporters. Not only is there an exchange via comments in the Heimatprotal, but meetings are also organized. With the Heimatreporters and their contributions, Heilbronner Stimme cultivates regional exchange, promotes content about the readers' home region and encourages them to come together as a community.

The "Heimat-Puzzle", which the Heilbronner Stimme called on its readers to help create, represents further added value. The photos of the region and participation in the photo competition create identification with the regional newspaper and strengthen the sense of community.  

With their project "Citizen Journalism“, Leipziger Zeitung launched an appeal to its readership in 2022 to write about topics of importance to the region. The aim was to establish a network for citizen journalism in Saxony in order to give people the opportunity to participate in reporting. Between October 2022 and March 2023, 55 articles were published and 32 readers aged between 12 and 67 took part.

Local events

Local events organized by newspapers offer readers the opportunity to interact with each other and with the editorial team. With events such as reader festivals, regional newspapers strengthen reader loyalty and a sense of community through direct interaction and promote active exchange.  

The regional newspapers Thüringer Allgemeine, Ostthüringer Zeitung and Thüringer Landeszeitung regularly offerfestivities for their club members at which participants receive benefits in the form of discounts. These events focus on different target groups - from family or wine festivals to concerts. Participating readers can find out about the digital daily newspaper at the event and ask questions about digital reading in a personal conversation - an additional measure to strengthen reader loyalty and overcome potential obstacles to digitalization.  

The Rhein-Zeitung uses the RZ Hiking Day to invite nature-loving readers to explore the Rhineland-Palatinate countryside together. The excursions create a sense of community and identification with the region and thus also with the regional newspaper and its content.  

With a "Readers' Academy", the Weser-Kurier offers the older generation of news readers in particular the opportunity to take part in training courses on advertised days. The topics range from smartphone and tablet training to GPS navigation courses and hand lettering for beginners. In this way, the Weser-Kurier strengthens the sense of community and reader loyalty, while readers improve their digital skills at the same time.  

Another measure in the community management of publishing houses are reader trips. These are offered by many regional newspapers, including the Kölnische Rundschau with its offer for readers and subscribers, the Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger and the Münchner Merkur. Benefits such as discounts and exclusive offers strengthen customer loyalty among readers.  

Social media  

Regional newspapers promote interaction with readers via social media platforms. Discussions and the active involvement of readers in current topics with reader groups and topic forums contribute to this. Bi-directional communication on social media, where users are not only consumers but also producers, enables a strong online community that newspapers can utilize.

The Heilbronner Stimme often uses the contributions of its local reporters in the form of photos for its own social media presence. The use of surveys on social media is also helpful, as the Weser Kurier shows. The regional newspaper from Lower Saxony publishes insights and opinions gained from surveys on social media in articles in the "Bremen's best" series described above .    

Membership programs  

Memberships are also a promising way for regional newspapers to unite readers in a community. The regional newspapers Thüringer Allgemeine, Ostthüringer Zeitung and Thüringer Landeszeitung cooperate with local companies such as cinemas, theaters and supermarkets by offering club memberships. Readers not only receive various discounts and benefits, but also find themselves in a community for which exclusive events are regularly organized. There, readers have the opportunity to interact with editors. Membership programs can also be offered as bundles to create an incentive for digital subscriptions.  

Community building allows creative concepts  

There are a wide range of measures that regional newspapers can take to strengthen the community of their readers. Digital platforms such as reader forums, the use of social media or local events enable publishers to actively involve their readers in the dialog. With its Spiegel Debatte concept, Spiegel magazine is creating a space for even more reader participation. Members of the community can not only leave comments or take part in votes. The editorial team also defines debate questions that readers can discuss.

Another important measure is user-generated content, which not only offers opportunities for exchange, but also gives readers their own voice. Contributing photos, opinions or even texts deepens the relationship between readers and editors.  

Through local events and memberships, publishers create space for direct, interpersonal communication and added value in everyday life. With the help of these measures, regional newspapers can build loyal, committed communities that go beyond simply reading content.  

A successful example of a creative community building concept is the weekly newspaper The Big Bend Sentinel, which is published in a rural, sparsely populated area of Texas. The building where the editorial team works also houses a café, a retail store and an event space. The newspaper is therefore also a brand that creates community for readers - and very successfully at that. Almost five years into the new concept, revenue has increased six-fold.  

Will the future demand more than just news production?  

Both newspapers and publishers benefit from community building. When selecting or combining measures, the size of the publishing house and the associated capacities must be taken into account. Shifting the focus from pure news production to promoting social engagement and readers' sense of connection to their region can be a promising way for local journalism to shape the future effectively and successfully.  

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