Understanding the Difference Between Advertisers and Audiences
The Real Audience of Work Rest or Play: Connecting Local People with Local Opportunities
Many organisations assume that the audience of a local platform is made up primarily of its advertisers and members.
In reality, the greatest value often comes from the thousands of people searching online for local businesses, services, events and community opportunities.
Here’s why understanding that distinction matters.
One thing people often struggle to understand is that the people who visit the website are usually completely different from the people who advertise on it.
Think about the Yellow Pages or local newspapers. They weren’t only read and used by businesses that advertised in it. The value came from the thousands of people searching for products, services and information.
Work Rest or Play works in much the same way. It is not a closed group or members-only platform. The information shared on our local platform—including contact details, articles, events, offers and much more—is not hidden behind a login.
It is publicly accessible and can be found through search engines such as Google.
In fact, the vast majority of visitors don’t even realise they are on the Work Rest or Play website, nor do they particularly care. They’re simply looking for information.
They might be searching for a phone number to book a mammogram, a local tradesperson to carry out work on their home, details of a pub or restaurant they’re planning to visit, or a service their business requires.
These are all real examples of how people find and use content on our platform.
We are often approached with promotional offers aimed at our advertisers.
While those can be useful, promotions aimed at our readers and visitors are often far more valuable because they reach a much wider audience.
For example, an exclusive discount for exhibitors at the Bradford Business Fair is relevant not only to existing advertisers, but also to businesses actively searching online for opportunities, events and support within their local area.