Study Breaks College Media Presents Must-Read Information Regarding the Relationship Between Magazine Readers and Social Media and Explains How Publishers Can Benefit

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Creating a Facebook page or Twitter account is an excellent way for a magazine to forge closer connections with its readers and enhance their overall engagement

The results demonstrate that social media doesn't distract from the magazine experience...It enhances and amplifies the magazine reading experience, allowing magazine media readers to truly engage with their favorite magazines more than ever before.

Austin, TX (PRWEB) March 07, 2013

A benchmark study conducted by the MPA (The Association of Magazine Media) on the relationship between social media platforms and magazine media readers of the 18- to 34-year-old age range confirms that social media--rather than discouraging interest in print and magazines--actually enhances consumption of and engagement with magazine content. The study, dubbed "Magazine Readers Are Social," investigates the way social media users both consume and interact with different forms of new and traditional media.

The results of MPA’s new study demonstrate that social media doesn't distract from the magazine experience. Rather, it enhances and amplifies the magazine reading experience, allowing magazine media readers to truly engage with their favorite magazines and the editors of these magazines more than ever before. Overall the study reads as encouraging to publishers, but it’s not necessarily surprising. Users read magazines because of their unique personalities (an advantage magazines have over "un-baised" newspapers), and with print content somewhat limited to the number of issues distributed, readers strive to connect more frequently with their recognized form of entertainment.

Some key stats from the research include:

Magazine readers (18-34) are highly connected social media users--

•     68% believe that technology has improved the experience of accessing various media
•     62% feel that the more media they can access to learn about a story or topic, the better informed they become
•     An overwhelming majority use Facebook (91%), followed by YouTube (61%) and Twitter (40%)
•     The majority (80%) own a personal mobile device.

"Avid" readers tested higher than any other category in social media interaction. They are the most engaged, "following" their magazine of choice across multiple social interfaces--

•     38% of respondents described themselves as “avid magazine readers”
•     95% of avid readers read printed titles, while 43% read digital editions
•     59% of readers (66% avid) enter contests on Facebook or Twitter in order to win products or receive discount
•     53% of readers (63% avid) download coupons from companies’ Facebook pages
•     63% of avid readers have visited a magazine's Facebook page, 62% have posted magazine articles to Facebook, and more than a third have uploaded content to a magazine's Facebook page
•     69% of avid readers use Twitter to follow a magazine brand on Twitter

Many readers use a particular magazine's social media pages for the same reason they pick up the print in the first place: They want to enter contests, check out promotions, and cash in on coupons. The data conveys that a publisher can share similar information across multiple interfaces, and users will remain interested. This finding reinforces the idea that social media integration is a strategy every publisher should look to maximize, as proof continues to surface on how digital sharing can escalate content views.

More findings…

Facebook--

•     59% of total respondents visit a magazine's Facebook page because the content is relevant to them.
•     41% for special offers, contests and games
•     32% for special offers from advertisers

Twitter--

•     54% check out Twitter for special offers, contests and games
•     30% for links to articles

Study Breaks College Media provides a one-stop solution for small businesses, providing them with big marketing strategies and delivering college students.

Study Breaks magazine is an award-winning line of monthly entertainment magazines for college students with a mission can best be explained through its slogan: We are college life. Published by Shweiki Media Printing Company, it is distributed in five Texas cities (Austin, Houston, San Antonio, San Marcos and Lubbock) and two southeast cities (Athens, GA; Columbia, SC). (Studybreaks.com)

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