San Francisco, Jul 17 (IANS): Strengthening the sales teams digital expertise, improving campaign monitoring and reporting, and identifying what makes your publication unique are some of the steps that local media can take to attract more advertisers, says a study.

The recommendations come at a time when the coronavirus pandemic has accelerated a dramatic decline in advertising revenue that supports local media.

The findings are based on a study by Google News Initiative (GNI) and Local Media Consortium.

Market research firm Magid led this analysis and gathered insights from national and local advertisers and agencies across the United States to understand their perception of local media, Fran Wills, CEO, Local Media Consortium, wrote in a blog post on Thursday.

Magid found that more than half of advertisers think trustworthy relationships with publisher sales teams are extremely important when making investment decisions.

While advertisers see value in local media because of their market proximity and unique relationship with communities, many find their digital expertise to be a barrier.

This digital knowledge gap is preventing advertisers from spending more with local news, said the study titled "2020 Advertiser Assessment of Local Media Digital Advertising."

"Local media companies should prioritise equipping their teams with digital sales training, so they can more effectively provide advertisers with campaign recommendations and insights, as well as serve as credible consultative partners," Wills said.

Local media companies should also focus on developing more streamlined processes and campaign reports that are timely, intelligible and solutions-oriented.