Taking a closer look at Instagram publishing; plus, magazines on Twitter, data-driven publishing, and other social media strategies
Regardless of whether you plan on participating in Facebook Instant Articles or other walled gardens, there’s no doubt that as a modern digital publisher, you must have a significant social media strategy in place to stay competitive and continue cultivating audience. Yes, that includes even Instagram publishing.
What does Instagram publishing entail, you might ask, when there’s little love for lengthy prose or links on the image-based social service with rampant popularity among Millennials and teens?
Great question! Let’s see what TheMediaBriefing.com has for an answer.
Zooming In on Instagram Publishing
Among all social media strategies, Instagram publishing is neck and neck with Snapchat as the newest for digital publishers. TheMediaBriefing.com lives up to its name in providing a good primer with recent post.
“It is vital to not compartmentalise consumer relationships according to distribution channel. Publishers should consider Instagram as a platform within its own right, with its own nuances and specialities, because it doesn’t drive traffic back to the publisher. It is an important visual marketing tool for publishing, and currently sees a 40 percent YoY growth,” Georgie Davies writes.
“Instagram has been famously cautious in rolling out ads. In August 2015, Instagram switched on its API (application programming interface) for ads. A month later, Facebook began monetising Instagram offering photo, carousel and video ads managed through Facebook’s self-serve interfaces – Ads Manager and Power Editor. This gives publishers the ability to drive people to a website, gain conversions, install mobile apps and engage a wider audience through increased mobile app activity, whilst driving awareness to a broader audience.”
Twitter Publishing and Magazines on Social Media
Twitter, on the other hand, is familiar to many digital magazines, especially Mequoda Members, but there’s always more to learn. TheMediaBriefing.com’s interview with Twitter Europe VP Bruce Daisley gives us some lessons to ponder.
“It’s true that all of us are getting news from dozens of places. ‘Newsbrands’ (what we used to call newspapers) seem to be an integral part of that news consumption process. Close to two thirds of Twitter users follow a newsbrand. But the exciting thing about digital technology is that we can now pick those brands apart. Over 2 million people follow the fashion news handle of The Times for example – it makes it a massive voice in UK fashion alongside the obvious magazine titles like Grazia and Vogue,” Daisley told Chris Sutcliffe.
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“We’re seeing gradual changes in the way we consume things – and create things. Most of us don’t turn our phones to horizonal when we film which means that increasingly images and video we create are vertical. Horizonal images are great for crowds, groups, horizons. Vertical is good for portraits and selfies. The subject matter we’re capturing is changing. I’m going to be looking at the changes of a series of behaviours ‘going vertical’ in their own ways. … More video, more visual. That means that we’re going to see challenges for people creating content. It’s hard to develop the capabilities to create video unless you refine and adapt how your business is structured. Fortune favours the fast.”
The Economist’s Digital Media Strategy
And what about The Economist’s recent exploits in social media strategy? TheMediaBriefing.com’s interview with Community Editor Denise Law sheds some light.
“Law revealed that until she joined The Economist nine months ago, the marketing team was in charge of all social media. She now heads up a team of ten aiming to increase awareness of the paper across social media and recruit new readers using tools like video and chat apps,” Isolde Walters writes.
“The strategy has proved successful. In the last six months The Economist has gained 25% more followers and 61% more engagement. The paper now has more than 20 million followers across all platforms and Law is deciding which platforms are worth her team’s time and investment. While the BBC and other news organisations focus on Whatsapp and Snapchat, The Economist has turned to Line, one of Asia’s fastest growing messaging platforms.”
Evolve Media’s Audience Engagement With Brands
Do big social followings mean successful e-commerce content strategy? Not necessarily, but Evolve Media is trying to make the connection more direct, as TheMediaBriefing.com reports.
“It’s really around how people use the internet now, how they consume, for example. Long has gone the day you actually type in a destination URL, unless you’re looking for some viral gold whether it’s BuzzFeed or YouTube,” Maria Cadbury told TheMediaBriefing.com.
“[Our model] really pairs up well with Google, and how they’re rewritten their algorithm. That’s really quite core to our passion-based publishing model.”
How’s your feel for Instagram publishing? Give us a snapshot of your experience in the comments!
To read more about Instagram publishing and other news, visit TheMediaBriefing.com.
