This document provides tips for magazine brands to build a successful social media strategy. It outlines a 5-step process: 1) Understand audience wants, 2) Decide editorial vs advertising leadership, 3) Choose primary social media platforms, 4) Partner with social media experts, and 5) Set the right tone and execute effectively. Consumer magazines should focus on strengthening audience bonds through creative content and incentives on open platforms like Facebook. Business magazines focus on networking and actionable content through proprietary social networks while using open platforms as a funnel. Successful strategies are driven by high-quality, relevant content and deep audience understanding.

1. Social Media and publishers: a Business case
tips for Magazine Brands to Build
a Successful Social Strategy
W
hen it comes to the social media/
networking phenomenon, consumer
and business magazines—and the
advertisers and sponsors they serve—
are faced with some tough decisions. Ignoring social
media, or reducing it to an afterthought, sacrifices the
opportunity to reach millions. Viewing it solely as a
drain of time and focus away from other channels—or
even as a risk to print—misses unique opportunities for
audience interaction. However, embracing it poses an
array of challenges, not the least of which is the rapidly-
changing nature of the medium. Even for magazines
with deep pockets, it can be difficult to find a strategy
that measurably benefits the magazine brand.
The medium itself will surely endure well beyond the
fad stage simply because “social networking” is nothing
more than a digital/mobile extension of what people do
naturally: Gather together and interact around commonly-
held beliefs or interests. Although some publishers feel
eclipsed by the new medium, they are actually better
equipped than other businesses to engage with their
constituents in meaningful, sustainable ways. enduring presence. To do so effectively requires a high
This paper will share learnings from brands at Hearst, level of understanding of the audience’s needs.
Rodale, Time Inc., Condé Nast, Martha Stewart Living content is King, But the Subjects are restless
Omnimedia Inc., and b-to-b publishers Penton and
United Business Media to explore an outline for building Social media is optimized for short-form content—
a successful strategy that incorporates social media to concise, memorable and, hopefully, easy to share with
engage readers, enhance the brand and drive subscriptions. friends or colleagues. It is also one that requires creative
thinking and originality.
Step 1: UnderStand What YoUr Content for this new medium must meet some rigorous
aUdience WantS and seemingly arbitrary standards. Social media users
demand relevance to their personal interests, and tend to
The audience for any information or entertainment be resistant to heavy-handed persuasion. In addition they
medium is self-selecting. If the narrative does not meet a want some level of entertainment value, applicability and
need, the participant will go elsewhere. (hopefully) inspiration.
In other words, social media is a fickle environment, Quizzes, surveys and other sorts of interactive content
where brand loyalty is hard to win and easy to lose. It’s also are showing some promise. While the popularity “poll
crowded and full of distractions—namely, users pursuing of the day” is not a new phenomenon in the publishing
their own agendas. In this flood of individual interaction, world, it is proving to be particularly well suited to social
it is difficult for a magazine brand to create an engaging, channels because of its short form and highly shareable
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2. content. This is also true of slightly longer, opinion or
feedback pieces like personality tests and surveys. In
addition, a personal quiz result is 11 times more likely
to be shared than a static web page, according to Pangea
Media, a provider of social marketing and engagement
tools.
Step 2: decide Who SteerS the Ship
For the most part, editorial and content creation groups
were the driving forces behind the successful social media
efforts we examined. Advertisers and sponsors, when
participating as team members, benefited from editorial
leadership and innovation, arguably more than they could
have with marketing alone.
Content curation via social media is still not at the
best practices stage, but Time Inc. and other publishers
are experimenting with techniques such as polls and
research within their content verticals as ways of gauging
user interest. Although the editorial teams remain the
gatekeepers of content, social is influencing its direction.
Publishers were quick to note that reader comments and
feedback are nothing new, although the chaos of social
media poses more editorial challenges than the simpler
days of letters to the editor.
Source: L2 Think Tank’s Magazine Digital IQ Index, July 2011
Step 3: chooSe YoUr priMarY
(MyRecipes and Real Simple) have created their own opt-in
environMentS social network, with others focusing on Facebook, Twitter
One dilemma we encountered during our interviews and other open platforms. Both sites are experiencing
was the choice of venue for a magazine’s primary social significant growth.
media presence. One school of thought is to create a brand
presence on the popular open environments, currently led Step 4: picK YoUr partnerS
by Facebook, followed by Twitter and a handful of other, Most publishers do not have the technical
more specialized sites. The other choice is to create private, programmers on staff that are required to create social
members-only sites—with their own profile mechanisms media-like sites from scratch or even to enhance existing
and Facebook-like features for posting updates, joining social media sites like Facebook. In addition the data
discussions and sharing information. and analysis required to leverage social media effectively
These are by no means mutually exclusive choices, but a requires an arsenal of tools that it just doesn’t make sense
magazine’s limited resources will almost certainly require for a publisher to build in house. To that end, a new class
some strategic setting of priorities. Consumer magazines of service providers has arisen to fill in the development
we interviewed tended to favor the open approach, gap.
going to where the people gather in large numbers, while For companies looking for a more efficient, creative
business magazines were more divided on the issue, with way to create and publish interactive content to a myriad
more instances of brand controlled, member-only sites for of social networks, there is Pangea Media’s SnapApp
acquiring and sharing information. (www.snapapp.com), a marketing platform that enables
Closed platforms offer the benefit of collecting more publishers to easily create custom surveys, polls,
user demographics upon registration and a tighter link to sweepstakes and quizzes and publish these on websites,
network sponsor opportunities. However, adding another blogs, Facebook and Twitter (including mobile) among
layer to their existing interactions on social networks other places. The company works with a publication’s
could be a difficult proposition. editorial and marketing teams to understand specific
Like many consumer publishers, Time Inc. has many social media goals and then to create the quiz, survey or
social components in their multi-platform offerings. sweepstakes that can help publishers realize these goals.
However, only two titles in the company’s Lifestyle Group Publishers using SnapApp are able to use the platform to
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3. acquire customer data and analytics for future marketing
and outreach efforts. SnapApp also offers publishers some
innovative options for spicing up ad units.
One of SnapApp’s applications, online sweepstakes, has
been used by Martha Stewart Living with positive results.
Senior Product Manager Sean Hendricks described the
publisher’s first two projects, “Martha’s Ultimate Fan” and
“Martha’s Entertaining,” as promising indicators of the
potential for social media to enhance the brand.
In the “Ultimate Fan” sweepstakes, users entered to win
a trip to New York, plus VIP passes for the Martha Stewart
In a sweepstakes for Martha Stewart Living powered by SnapApp,
show and a meeting with Ms. Stewart. The “Entertaining” users signed up for themed emails at a 30 percent conversion rate.
sweepstakes offered signed copies of Ms. Stewart’s book The campaign also increased MSL’s Facebook followers by 15 percent.
to five entrants per week for four weeks. The SnapApp
platform provided the environment for creating and shop, a hang-out spot, or a bar where everyone knows
managing each sweepstakes event and analytics. Users your name. Consumer magazine social sites can actually
were given the option to opt in to themed email lists, and become such places, but only if they understand and
did so at a higher than expected rate—30 percent. respect their intimate nature.
The goals of the sweepstakes, according to Hendricks, Creative editorial engagement—integrating social
were to increase interest in the TV show, to increase the media components into print and other channels—has
number of Facebook followers and, in general, to provide emerged as a major strategy for consumer magazines
a special, positive experience for the company’s social seeking to create a popular social media presence. Ann
media following. In terms of numbers, the campaigns were Shoket, Editor-in-Chief at Hearst’s Seventeen, described
successful, increasing the number of Facebook followers their “Delete Digital Drama” campaign (http://twibbon.
by about 15 percent during each event. Hendricks noted com/join/Delete-Digital-Drama). In conjunction with a
that the first two sweepstakes were not used to gauge PSA on ABC Family, and an article in the magazine itself,
the medium’s impact on Web traffic or subscription Seventeen created an anti-cyberbullying campaign which
conversion, but that this was only the beginning. Future garnered over 100,000 Twibbon adoptions on Facebook
campaigns will be designed to test its effectiveness on the and Twitter, surpassing even Justin Bieber (“Twibbons”
publisher’s Web, print, and especially its mobile channels. are icons that can be featured on a member’s profile image
Social media analysis services—for advertisers and to promote a cause). Traffic to the Seventeen Web site
publishers alike—include the likes of Alterian (www. increased significantly during the campaign.
alterian.com), and Converseon (www.converseon.com),
who provide social media monitoring and content
management systems attuned to social networking. “...Those who see social as a drain
Analytics companies like Omniture (www.omniture.com) from their other channels are never
are also adding social to their product offerings. going to be able to harness its power
Step 5: Set the tone and execUte to increase their brand.”
Once a publisher has some understanding of their
social media audience’s preferences, where they prefer to Shoket said that social is just as important to a
interact, and whether the approach is driven by editorial magazine brand as any other channel, and should not be
or advertising priorities (or both), it is time to build the viewed as competition to print or Web. “The Twibbon
channel—with internal resources, specialized partners, or campaign was a way to use social to elevate our print and
a combination of both. dot.com initiatives,” she said. “It did not cannibalize them
in any way. Those who see social as a drain from their
consumer Magazines: Strengthening the other channels are never going to be able to harness its
audience Bond power to increase their brand.”
For consumer magazines, the ideal social media Seventeen also uses incentives such as coupons and
environment appears to be one that feels familiar, fits with exclusive video (unlocked via Facebook’s “like” feature)
one’s personal tastes, and serves as a comfortable place in to attract and retain followers, and to generally spread the
which to interact with those of compatible interests. In word on topics of interest. Measuring success in new or
other words, it is (in virtual reality) a living room, a coffee retained subscriptions has been elusive in terms of hard
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4. numbers but the impact is ultimately positive, Shoket enthusiasm and sharing among readers. According to
maintains. Above all, the social efforts have increased the Cassanos, the magazine’s Jonathan Franzen and Arrested
brand’s relevance to the audience—a fact recognized and Development gating experiments generated about 45,000
supported by advertisers like Neutrogena. new Facebook fans, over 800 million combined media
impressions, over three million Facebook impressions, and
content, customer Service and incentives over 20,000 tweets with a potential reach of over 40 million
Successful social media endeavors are not limited to people. In the Franzen example, the magazine offered an
the largest publishers. Sasha Smith, Rodale’s Executive exclusive 12,000-word piece available to readers only if
Director for Creative Services and Digital Product they liked New Yorker’s Facebook page. Note the choice of
Development, noted that most of her company’s titles have content—the bait was selected because it appeals to hard-
strong, loyal followings on both Facebook and Twitter. core New Yorker readers, not the casual ones, an effort to
Individual editors and contributors to Rodale magazines keep the fan base relevant and loyal.
also maintain accounts. Runner’s World and Men’s Health Cassanos emphasized the magazine follower’s
lead in Facebook followers, at 286,000 and 213,000, underlying passion for content that he or she would be
respectively; Women’s Health is the leader in Twitter motivated to read, enjoy and recommend or share. “No
followers (638,000), which Smith points out is far ahead of matter where people are,” she said, “they are looking
other magazines in that genre. for quality content.” She indicated that increased
The Rodale approach includes a combination of traffic, reader loyalty and satisfaction will result from
content, customer service and incentives to discuss social media, but everything has to start with content
common interests. Smith credits Rodale’s practice worth reading.
of facilitating discussion—rather than force-feeding Time Inc. officials concede the difficulty in tracking the
content—as the reason for their social sites’ popularity effectiveness of social in terms of subscription conversions
in each vertical. For example, the #WHYIRUN hashtag and other conventional metrics, noting that social traffic
continues to generate a huge number of responses, many is still relatively small, compared to the brands’ natural
of which are featured on the Runner’s World Web site. search and email marketing efforts. However, they also
Other titles, like Bicycling, have used Twitter extensively note that Time Inc. brands’ Web traffic is significantly
to report on live events, with real-time analysis and higher as the result of strategic Facebook and Twitter
expert commentary, and to offer targeted e-commerce campaigns, particularly those that involve “like-enabled”
promotions. articles and other incentives.
Some brands, like Organic Gardening already have
an audience that Smith describes as “a passionate, “Content is the new advertising”
generous bunch,” who actively share a high percentage
of Rodale’s Facebook content with their own networks.
Increased traffic to the publishers’ Web sites, plus the Business Magazines: networking and
success of e-commerce tie-ins, has proven to be the actionable content
immediate benefit. Refining editorial content, and making Business magazines’ social media presence is less
it increasingly relevant, has been another. Like other intimate than that of consumer magazines, but still
publishers, Rodale is exploring new ways to generate focused on essential content. Rather than a living
increased traffic via Pinterest and other social sites. room or other social gathering place, a business
For some publishers, the intrinsic value of the content social site is more like a virtual conference—full
itself is the central pillar of their social media presence. The of job-critical information as well as networking
New Yorker is a case in point. Conde Nast’s senior public opportunities for its members.
relations director Alexa Cassanos was unapologetic about Business publishers are not only focused on circulation
their primary goal: Increasing the number of subscribers and advertising revenue. They are quite often also involved
to their paid content Web site. Social accounts for over 16 with marketing their own events, sponsored research
percent of total Web traffic, with increases in traffic as high and other paid services. This leads to a complex business
as 96 percent from social sites to newyorker.com during a proposition, not easily served by consumer-focused social
recent promotion. platforms like Facebook. We found that major business
Gated free content, accessible via a Facebook “like,” has publishers tend to use Facebook and Twitter as a conduit
been the primary vehicle for the magazine, although they or funnel to their own, members-only social sites. Smaller
have also had success with Tumblr and other platforms. business publishers are more reliant on open platforms—
Selected content from the magazine, or new content notably LinkedIn.
written for social consumption, has generated significant
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5. a proprietary approach to B-to-B community
United Business Media (UBM) has taken a strong position
on business social media, with its wholly-owned subsidiary
DeusM (www.deusm.com). The group has developed over
a dozen online communities for verticals, sponsored by
companies like IBM and Dell, focused primarly on content
and networking. Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter are
frequently used, but primarily as a “funnel” to draw interested
users into these communities, where they can create a user
profile and participate as a member of a virtual special interest
group. Membership is free, with the understanding that the
sponsor will have access to user profile information.
Managing director Steve Saunders emphasized that high-
quality content, and strict guidelines on keeping content
and sponsor-driven information separate, are essential to
these sites. Sponsor posts are clearly identified, and, while EBN, an online community built by UBM subsidiary DeusM, relies on
the sponsor can suggest article ideas, they cannot dictate a proprietary community model, but uses the primary social media
editorial coverage. Moderated user comments are given sites to funnel new visitors.
more prominence than most b-to-b technology sites, with
the most recent comments previewed directly adjacent to
comments and feedback, are improving the quality of
the headlines on the home page of each community.
the overall experience, according to Miller. Penton’s
Content, both for external sharing and the site itself, is
content teams drive the pace, tone, and frequency of
generally short (about 550 words) consisting of analysis or
social networking activity, while the sponsors and internal
opinion on topics of interest. Paid expert contributors to
marketing teams generally tend to follow the content
each site supply most of the content, which Saunders said
teams’ lead. Users who engage with the end results are
has to be both frequent and on topic.
typically more qualified business leads, as well as more
The goal for UBM is to find constituents that are truly
active consumers of Penton’s training and event services.
vested in the site, and in the knowledge base it represents.
The ideal social media presence of a business publisher—
Sponsors obtain a source of qualified leads, to be sure, but
whether private or on one of the open platforms—is that of
the value of the site also includes market research, education
a repository of specialized information. Access to experts,
and an increase in the knowledge base. “Content is the new
standards and best practices, plus the ability to easily
advertising,” said Saunders, pointing out that both users and
network with others, are essential. In other words, it needs
sponsors can benefit from a trusted source of information.
to be a compelling business resource.
an emphasis on the Big Guys
Magazines have a head Start on Social Media
Penton Media follows an open approach to social
Despite the examples above, magazines, like many
media, adding LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, and other
other businesses, are underutilizing social media.
platforms to its long-standing online community forums
At the 2011 American Magazine Conference, NYU
for such titles as Windows IT Pro. Engagement via Twitter
Professor Scott Galloway chided publishers for their
includes frequent sponsor-involved “live chat” sessions,
“uninspired” Facebook strategies, pointing out that
utilizing hashtags to specify subjects of interest. Peg Miller,
capital allocation for social media is too low for most
Market Leader for the publisher’s Technology Group,
magazines, given the medium’s market potential. This
also indicated that discount codes and VIP event codes
is not unique to publishers. A recent study found that
shared via social media were having a positive impact on
less than 60 percent of Fortune 500 companies are on
marketing and registration for Penton events.
Facebook. Small businesses are only slightly more likely
Miller noted that social media is still in the early stages of
(63 percent) to have a social media footprint, and often
adoption at Penton, but that the company has already seen have no clear cut social media roles, responsibilities, or
its effectiveness in increasing search engine rankings, and structure for expansion.
increasing overall Web traffic. In general, social media tends Fortunately, when it comes to social media, magazines
to work best when done in concert with Penton’s overall are in a better position—at least in theory—than
engagement strategy, she indicated. This includes all aspects other businesses. By definition, consumer and trade
of the company’s value as a trusted information source. magazines are an “opt in” medium, designed to appeal
Typical social media devices, such as polls and user
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6. to a particular demographic or interest group. Content outside one’s editorial domain, which is unsettling, to be
and reader engagement are second nature to any sure. However, the creativity and teamwork that made
competent editorial team—as is the way reader feedback traditional publishing successful are the same tools that
is respected and used. Social media puts this interaction are working in this new arena.
Benefits to the Brand
increased Web traffic
An overwhelming number of publishers interviewed reported significant increases in Web traffic—to both paid and free
content sites—as the direct, measurable result of social media campaigns. This will undoubtedly affect advertising CPM
positively, although those we interviewed declined to be more specific.
Associated with increases in Web traffic are early successes with e-commerce tie-ins. A well-designed social campaign,
balancing engaging content with relevant offers, has resulted in measurable e-commerce sales increases.
Multi-channel integration
Although social is often associated with consumers who rely less on print and other traditional channels, the publishers we
interviewed agreed that social has not caused the cannibalization of those channels. In fact, when implemented creatively,
social actually adds to the overall increase in brand following. Magazines with a coherent, integrated multi-channel strat-
egy should welcome social as one of many opportunities to grow.
increased Magazine and advertiser Brand awareness
Most of the magazines we interviewed reported a high level of engagement with and loyalty to the magazine brand, as
well as that of sponsors or advertisers. For consumer titles, the engagement was expressed in terms of the brand’s value as
a source of entertaining or interesting content worthy of sharing with others. Business title brand awareness was usually
expressed in terms of its value as an information source.
new Formats for advertisers
Building on the point above, publishers are also finding ways to integrate their advertisers with their social media strategies.
increased readership and Subscribers with incentives and Special content
Enticing offers and exclusive content—readable or viewable only via a Facebook “like” or similar mechanism—are proving to
be the means of growing a magazine’s social media audience. The viral nature of the medium has proven to be a relatively
low-cost means of reaching new audiences—provided that the content is considered worthy of sharing with users’ private
networks. (Poorly-chosen or intrusive content runs the risk of alienating potential followers or, worse still, inviting ridicule.)
enhanced editorial content
Few of the publishers we interviewed have used social media as a primary content creation vehicle, via Wikis or other
means. However, several are using vehicles like surveys and polls to elicit responses about various topics and to generate
and inspire future topics. In addition, the intense loyalty or passion for a subject typical of social media users, combined
with the self-selective nature of the medium, means that savvy editors are taking social feedback very seriously. Having
such an intimate connection with readers has, in many cases, resulted in a more focused, relevant editorial product.
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