ACM has released internal data showing growth in audiences in December with a jump of over 12% in New Users when compared to December 2020.
ACM chief customer & marketing officer, Paul Tyrrell said “As more and more people move to regional Australia the appetite for quality independent journalism is growing. As a result, we’re seeing ACM’s network of trusted mastheads being discovered by more people across a diverse demographic profile.”
The number of people who moved from a capital city to a regional area in the June 2021 quarter was 11% higher than in the June 2020 quarter while the recent Census survey to be released in June, is expected to show a similar trend.
“Interestingly we saw a jump in our younger audiences with an increase of nearly 10% in the 18 to 24 year old segment as more young people seek out trusted content. While key buying demographics such as the 35 to 44 year olds jumped by nearly 21% year on year and our female audience grew by 14%.”
“The most pleasing thing was that most of the growth was a result of our audience coming direct to our sites rather than through any referral. Direct traffic grew by nearly 25% year on year. This shows the strength of our mastheads and the important role they play in keeping our communities strong, informed and connected. Readers know we are a trusted source of information and are now more than ever using our sites as their primary source of news and information.” Tyrrell said.
State based data shows growth in key ACM markets including 25% growth in Tasmania, 15% growth in the ACT and 8% growth in Queensland.
Engagement levels continue to improve also, helped by the ongoing roll out of ACM’s Apps, which are currently available for 10 of the daily mastheads with the remaining four (Western Advocate, Central Western Daily, Daily Liberal & Northern Daily Leader) due to launch by the end of February. Average session times on the Apps are 6 mins & 21 seconds, well above the average for desktop users.