The use of viral marketing in the magazine industry

Sanne Jansen (336251)

Today we find ourselves in an era where the burst of content created by lower barriers to

enter the media marketplace makes it possible for many more to become niche

consumers. In the World Wide Web where there is so much information but hard to find

people intent to rely more on news and knowledge that is moved from person to person,

which is a phenomenon that is hard to control by media companies (Lister 2009: 200-

201) Word of mouth has always been important and difficult for marketers to intervene

into but has changed with the rise of the virus, which stands for ‘the transmission of

online media in Longtail conditions’, meaning that a high quality engaged audience of a

few hundred people can earn a media company as much profits as a product that targets

a large audience (ibid.:201). Because of this knowledge media companies have on the

importance of niche markets, different forms of advertising have emerged such as viral

marketing. In the following paragraphs I will explain how the magazine industry uses

viral marketing to earn profits.

Viral marketing is the term that refers to using (pre-existing) social networks, blogs and

forum moderators to sell products, create brand awareness, inform the targeted

audience or any other marketing objective a company can have (ibid.:169). The pleasure

of viral communications for users is that it has to be something ‘new’, ‘undiscovered’ and

‘original’ (ibid.:201).

Since social network sites like Facebook, Myspace and Hyves attract millions of users,

the magazine industry has also responded to this by creating their own twitter account,

Facebook page or new online community. People always trust their friends, so a social

network site like Facebook can help glossy magazines to attract new readers. Popular

glossies like Cosmopolitan (325.059 fans), Seventeen (127.210 fans) and US Weekly

(61.930 fans) all have a Facebook account. New Facebook friends of fans join the

Facebook accounts of the glossies daily.

Lots of fashion magazines have blogs on their websites which is a way to engage with

their readers and inform people about upcoming events.

The Cosmopolitan http://www.cosmobeauty.co.uk/ website offers a lifestyle blog,

fashion blog and beauty blog that is created by their editors and especially used to

create brand awareness. Fashion or make up brands are promoting their brands and

give discounts to Cosmo readers.

Another way of viral marketing is creating a buzz, fashion brands create a buzz within

the fashion community, like the Cosmo blog and it becomes something people are

curious about, talk about and send forward. The American fashion brand ADAM created

a buzz by spreading beachballs with messages all over New York and got attention on

many online magazine forums, like for example Glamour

The given examples above show that social networks and blogs can be very valuable for

the magazine industry to earn profits. More readers are attracted and more and more

people become aware of their brands because of viral networks. Glossy magazine social

networks also function as a platform for fashion brands to sell their products in a cheaper

way than the printed version.

Sources

Lister, M, Dovey, J., Giddings, S., Grant, I. & Kieran, K. (2009) New Media a critical

introduction Londen: Routledge.

http://www.businessoffashion.com/2009/04/fashion-20-social-shopping-at-shopstyle.html#more-3796

http://leilaniching.com/2009/03/19/84/

http://www.glamour.com/fashion/blogs/slaves-to-fashion/2008/08/how-far-would-you-go-

for-love.html

http://magazinesonline.wordpress.com/tag/facebook/

http://www.wwd.com/media-news/fashions-new-circuit-social-networks-1855980?module=today#