Magazines and the social media phenomenon

There were three presentations on the social media phenomenon at the 38th FIPP World Magazine Congress.
 
Luke Nathan of Iris Worldwide, started off by stating that in the beginning there were ads. He said, "Topical advertisements do work for the brand, but the times have changed. The net has turbo-charged things. Individuals and organisation are an arsenal of information."
 
He pointed out: "Content was king, but now content within context rules the world."
 
He felt the way forward was to, "Adopt an editorial mindset and breed hybrid thinkers. Every team member should be able to conceptualise and act fast. Plus keep it fresh, and find innovative angles on the story. Plus be genuine and relevant. Brands should look to add to the conversation and add value. And finally grow your own fan base and sow the seeds … create content that becomes the news or the idea."
 
Sergio Zailis, who is editor-in-chief, Contigo, Group Abril, Brazil, stated, "87% of Brazilian users access social networks and Brazilians spend an average of seven hours every week on the internet."
 
According to Zailis, Orkut is very strong in Brazil, Facebook came in 2009. After Contigo's Facebook campaign, they touched a million fans in less than a week.
 
Svida Alisjahbana, president director and CEO, Femina Group, Indonesia, stated, "An app is about bringing print to life." She pointed out that in September 2011, there are 40 million Facebook users and five million users Twitter users, respectively.
 
She said: "62% of the respondents surveyed use social and have internet access, mainly through mobile, with BlackBerry ruling the market. But now it’s losing its market a bit due to a lesser priced social network accessing mobile."
 
She stated: "Social media has viral effect, dialogue, community activation. So treat them as community and not commodity."
 
She talked about the impact of Femina Indonesia, and how they utilised the social marketing phenomenon and tools to work out a better reach for their content.
 
She concluded with the mantra: "Social media is like gardening: the real hard work starts after the seeding and planting."