Brands leading the race for engagement

It was 2006 when Facebook and Twitter started hitting the masses  (I recall the discussions suggesting nothing would replace MySpace) just before the rise of the Smartphone, and well before the birth of the tablet (I also recall being rhetorically asked “who on earth would want one of them?”).

In the world of publishing over the last couple of years, I think it’s safe to say there have been two main topics of conversation: One surrounding the decline of printed publications; the other about how to best get the print content onto digital devices, as that seemed to be what consumers want.

Advances in technology have given consumers multiple choices on where, when and how they access news, articles, in fact all their content of interest. Lifestyle changes have almost made it the norm for many to access news content on the go on digital mobile devices.  It's clear to see why publishers wanted to get their printed product behind a screen, where people could swipe through the news while waiting for a bus, as opposed to wetting the tip of their finger and turn a page in the comfort of their armchair.

At IFRA in Vienna last October every single exhibitor, one way or another, was making reference to the ability of their solutions to help publishers in the digital era – this is where the future was, digital versions of publications.

A lot of publishers have opted for the page turning route – we personally feel digital has a lot more to offer than that, we see digital as being a whole new playground for publishers to immerse themselves in and not just a way of replicating what they already publish in print, but that’s for another time.

But while publishers were getting hung up on the need to have a digital presence to meet the perceived needs of their readers, and to work out the most effective way of generating revenue to do this in what is no doubt a tough time economically, household brands that we all know and love were slowly becoming publishers of their own.

Coca Cola, Cadbury, Pepsi, Nike, Ford, Starbucks… the list goes on. They knew that their audiences and consumers were actively engaging on social media channels. As Brian Madden at Hearst recently pointed out “850 million people on Facebook, 7 hours a month on the site; 250 million tweets a day; and Pinterest crossed the 10 million unique visitor mark faster than any other standalone site in history".

It is clear that this is where brands need to be, to continue interacting and communicating with their audiences. Not only do their consumers have the ability to communicate with these brands on the go with their smartphones and tablets, they can do in real time – something these brands have started to embrace. You only need to look at Coca Cola’s twitter feed to see how much real time community engagement there is.

I refer you to Jonathan Mildenhall, Vice President of Global Advertising and Creative Excellence at Coca Cola, who really does hit the nail on the head in this video. Coke's consumers are demanding to be part of a conversation, because one, these brands impact their lives and two, they now have the ability to be engaged with. 

With more user generated stories on Coca Cola than stories generated by the company itself, it begs the question as to whether Coca Cola need to bother with traditional advertising any more.

As Nike’s UK Marketing Director aptly put it “advertising is all about achieving awareness”. Nike don’t need to worry about this, instead they need “to find new ways to become part of people’s lives”. Furthermore, compared to its competitors, Apple spends the least on advertising because huge numbers of people are talking about them anyway, as pointed out in an El Pais Technology Blog article in April. With all the user generated content on social media channels, brands are beginning to harness this to their benefit.

As well working out the best tablets and Smart phones to publish their digital editions to, publishers might want to start rolling back the years to 2006 and look at how they can engage with their readers on social media channels too.

However, just as Lorraine Candy from Elle said at this year’s PPA Conference, don’t give away content on social media which you then plan to sell later on in your publications, whether its print or digital, its counterproductive. Instead, use social media to build brand content and generate conversation about the magazine brand itself and its values. Maybe this is a way to salvage the print product after all, and make it work on digital, by engaging as a brand with its audiences on social media to become more than just a publication.