• by Joe Mandese  @mp_joemandese, December 10, 2007

One of the best ways of generating word-of-mouth may be via the press. That's the conclusion of a new Millward Brown study being released today by the National Newspaper Network and the Newspaper Association of America. The study, based on online interviews of 1,501 adults conducted in September and October, found that readers of online newspapers are more likely to be so-called "influencers" - people who spread buzz and shape the opinions of others about various issues, including branded products and services.

The study comes as Madison Avenue is trying to understand the role the Internet plays in spreading buzz about brands, and how to best trigger and influence those conversations. According to the newspaper Web site influencer study, readers of newspaper sites are 52% more likely to be categorized as influencers - based on Mediamark Research Inc.'s definition of the consumer segment - than non-newspaper Web site readers.

The study found that, on average, adults who use newspaper Web sites influence 18 people weekly, 38% more than Web users who do not use a newspaper Web site.

The findings are also significant, because the study shows that readers of newspaper Web sites also tend to be "early adopters" of new products and technologies, and because advertising on newspaper Web sites are deemed "more credible" than ads on other online sources perceived as influencing word-of-mouth, including social networks, search engines and "special interest" sites.

"People don't trust their peers," says Jason Klein, president-CEO of the NNN. "They may be interested in what they have to say on social networks and peer-to-peer sites, but people tend to think a newspaper ad is more credible, whether they see it in print or online."

The increasing role of editorial content on the Internet in spreading word-of-mouth, was highlighted last week by Martin Sorrell, chairman-CEO of the WPP Group, the world's largest buyer of media, during a presentation at the UBS media conference in New York. "It's given public relations a totally different meaning," Sorrell said of the impact the rising role social networks has had on WPP's public relations and public affairs operations have had as corporate and brand marketers seek to influence their conversations. "Social networks and the growth of social networking has made editorial publicity more important than it has ever been," he said.