1. Make it a party people want to join.
Appeal to your existing readers by showing them that social media is just a new platform to find the same great content. Your social media voice should match that of your publication: If your publication is fun-loving, make sure your posts are, too. As a city or regional magazine, you can use the shared sense of community among your readers to appeal to new readers. Play up shared jokes; highlight regionalisms; celebrate your community’s successes. Facebook is especially well suited to this thanks to the ease of interaction. When new followers or fans join, welcome them and show them how to participate in the conversation.
2. Build a better product through feedback.
Those who participate in social media don’t just want to be the recipients of broadcasts; they want to participate in meaningful conversation. Solicit their ideas for future articles. (What should you cover? How?) Get their recommendations. (What’s the best spa in town?) And ask them for feedback on new changes. (What do they think about your new blog?) By taking their input into account, the users will be more invested in your magazine and, ultimately, you’ll create a more diverse and well-informed product, and ultimately, one that people want to read.
3. Show ‘em you care.
Once your Facebook fans and Twitter followers have shared their fabulous ideas and engaged in conversation, show them that you value them. First, if you featured their ideas in an article or blog post, tell your audience about it! If you asked for feedback on a new blog, tell them how you made the changes they suggested (or why you didn’t). When readers see that you really do pay attention to comments and ideas, they'll be more excited to engage with your publication via social media.
Second, thank your social media users for their participation and motivate them to stay involved with exclusive discounts, give-aways, or deals. For example: Give a free subscription to every 1,000th Twitter follower, and be sure to publicize it. What you lose in giving away one free subscription, you’ll more than make up for in good relationships with your social media users. You can give away your own product, or partner with advertisers or community partners to create cross-promotions.
4. Tweet and Re-tweet.
Re-tweeting (indicated by “RT” before the post) simply means re-posting something of interest. Re-tweeting can assist you in broadcasting your content and building community.
First, make your own posts re-tweetable. If your followers like your posts, they’ll send them on, creating a ripple effect through Twitter-sphere. This can increase your message’s reach dramatically and can introduce your magazine to people far beyond your normal audience. To be re-tweetable, include a hyperlink for more information, make your posts even shorter than the allowed 140-characters (most people will add something original to your post), and be memorable. As a city or regional magazine, you’ll likely find success with event and news postings about your area.
Compare:
Get your creep on! #ABQ Haunted House, 10/31, 10 p.m. http://bit.ly/xxxxxx
There’s a haunted house this weekend, October 31 at 10 p.m. in Albuquerque. http://www.hauntedhousesarecool.com
Second, search for relevant posts and re-tweet them. Your publication isn’t the only source of great information—community members know about happenings and news events, too. By sharing these posts, you’ll flatter the person who originally posted it, provide information to your followers, and show you are a valuable member of the social media all at once. (Just be sure to verify the information is correct before re-posting it.)
5. Make a list.
Twitter lists are a relatively new feature for the platform; they allow users to group followers by category. Track who’s listing you and how to discover and track your influence in social media. To participate in the community aspect of this feature, create your own lists to acknowledge individuals whom you want to recognize as having great information to share.
6. Make it a true two-way street.
Most online interactions are positive. However, opening up another medium for your readers to communicate with you means they most certainly will. They may offer constructive, and occasionally unconstructive criticisms. If you get complaints or suggestions, acknowledge them. Thank the reader for sharing his/her opinion. If his concern has merit, fix the problem, then tell him you did. If it doesn’t have merit, explain your thinking. Most readers will appreciate the acknowledgment—even if you don’t follow up on their suggestion—and will continue to interact positively with you online.
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