More and more, magazines are focusing on multiplatform media – and finding success in the process
Multiplatform media is the answer for publishers: If we didn’t believe that, we wouldn’t be in business – because we wouldn’t have any client success stories! The best part about a multiplatform strategy is that it can be integrated into both legacy and niche business models.
Below, you’ll see some stories of big-name magazine brands capitalizing on the promise of diversified content distribution – all three articles are from our friends at AdWeek.
People‘s Multiplatform Media Propelling ‘Crazy’ Metrics
In the past few months, we’ve made it a point to relay the Association of Magazine Media’s recently implemented 360° Audience Report, and Time Inc.’s People has figured prominently in the positive results. As AdWeek reports, in February, People.com welcomed 72 million visitors, marking a 78% increase in traffic year-over-year. Meanwhile, social referrals jumped more than 300%, and its video streams saw similar staggering growth.
So, here’s the big question: How did this happen?
The answer: Nimble multiplatform media deployment.
“We don’t look at it like the digital product and print product anymore. We tell stories and then figure out how to distribute them across the platform,” People and Entertainment Weekly Digital Editorial Director Will Lee told AdWeek.
“For example, one of the website’s highest-performing stories in March was something People‘s team saw bubbling on social media about a father who was taking care of quadruplets ever since his wife died during childbirth,” writes AdWeek‘s Michelle Castillo. “In the past, the magazine’s publishing schedule would have dictated that the story wait as long as a week to run, but People.com secured the exclusive interview and published a piece within 72 hours. The multiplatform coverage – which included videos, digital stories and print stories – resulted in an exclusive partnership segment on the Today Show.
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“Going forward, Lee is betting on video to help continue the momentum, not only through People.com’s daily news show, People Now, but through experimenting with emerging digital platforms like Snapchat, Periscope, Meerkat, and Facebook video. He said creating content for apps will help People’s audience grow but also reach new, younger readers.”
Self Looks for More Millennial Engagement Via Events
Publisher events are a crucial part of any multiplatform approach. Interestingly, Condé Nast’s Self is centering its efforts on affluent Millennials by producing a fitness program including classes as well as activations sponsored by the likes of Chantelle, Ortholite, and Tampax, AdWeek reports.
This new campaign comes under the auspices of Self‘s Up & Out studio.
Slate Focuses Digital Revenue Efforts on Creating Podcasts
Second to video, podcasts might be the biggest thing going in content creation for publishers. Slate is making an art out of it, AdWeek reports.
Panoply – its podcast network of writers, media companies, artists, and other brands – grew out of exponential popularity, to the tune of 6.5 million downloads recorded in December of 2014. Now, big-time ad buyers are flocking to the service, and niche publishers should like the sound of that.
Are you distributing multiplatform media in the best ways possible? Download our free Multiplatform Publishing Strategy Handbook for the best advice in the business.
To read more about publishers’ push toward multiplatform media, visit AdWeek.
