The iPad has become the poster child for a new emerging device category: tablet computers. Much debate about this new device and category exists, but the numbers don’t lie. In the third quarter, Apple
sold more than 3 Million iPads
, meaning they sold almost as many iPads as Mac computers. The success of the iPad has also led to an accelerated amount of competition. HP is planning to release
multiple tablet computing devices that will run Windows 7
as their operating system, while
Dell has released a tablet called the Streak
that runs Google’s Android operating system.
Tablets Are Here to Stay
The iPad’s success has likely solidified the tablet as a consumer device category. This new device category that fits between a smart phone and a personal computer presents both challenges and opportunities for marketers.
Tablets provide a new way for people to consume and interact with media. If it is easier for users to consume text, audio and video while on the go, marketers have new opportunities to reach and interact with prospective customers. The problem is that most marketers already have a full plate of tasks, and adding another screen to the mix will be a daunting task.
As marketers, we need to examine what we are currently doing and determine what we can stop doing to make time and resources available for marketing on tablets and mobile devices.
The Next Big Thing for Marketers: Social Magazines
Today,
Flipboard
, a new social magazine application for the iPad, launched and has created sweeping buzz and conversation on the web. In less than a day, it has become the second-most popular free iPad application. Flipboard turns an iPad into a social magazine. It creates different magazine sections from online news sources, Twitter, Facebook and curated content from online thought leaders like
Robert Scoble
.
Flipboard organizes tweets, links, blog posts and news articles into a digital magazine that readers can flip through with a flick of the wrist. Flipboard isn’t the first social magazine to be available for the iPad.
Pulse
, a social magazine that allows people to curate important news from 20 different sources has already become one of the most popular paid iPad apps.
3 Reason Social Magazines Are Important to Marketers
1. Noise Reduction - Many marketers today are working to get social opt-ins on Twitter and Facebook in hopes of getting their content included in the information stream of prospective customers. The problem is that, for many people, their social streams are filled with too much content, and much of it gets lost in the crowd. Because social magazines help to filter and better display social streams, it is likely less content will be lost to noise and companies will have better opportunities to connect.2. A Return to Visuals - Successful traditional print and offline marketing has been dominated by great visuals and tight copy. Today Twitter streams, RSS readers and online news sources are dominated by catchy headlines and bullet points. Social magazine prioritize the value of powerful images in online storytelling. Blog posts with powerful images that help illustrate the message of the post will translate well to this new method of media consumption. Pictures now have a greater impact on who reads your content.
3. Social Segmentation - Many large companies still publish magazines and distribute them to their B2B customers as a method of nurturing and educating potential buyers. Social magazines allow potential buyers to create their own magazine that is most relevant to them. This relevancy means that potential customers are more likely to read the magazines they create instead of the magazines that marketers print and mail to them. Marketers will need to shift focus and make it easy for content to be included in social magazines by providing RSS feeds and aggregating content through social media.
We now live in a world in which every tablet owner has become the editor of their own personal digital magazine. Our challenge as marketers is to create interesting content for our perspective customers and provide simple methods for them to include it in their own social magazines.
Inbound Marketing Blog Feed
Mark 12:26 PM on July 21, 2010
1) this is sounds like the potential re-birth of the RSS feed.
2) Seems like, from a B2B/customer magazine perspective, this could all be incorporated into a blog and then an app built for the blog.
Sudeep Singh 12:39 PM on July 21, 2010
Grrrrrrrreaattttt tool for marketers...huge time saving and optimized efficiency.
Lynn Anne Miller 4:48 PM on July 21, 2010
Thanks for this thoughtful post - can't wait to check this out!
This trend also reaffirms my belief that all marketers will be (if they aren't already) in the publishing business. With so much of mainstream media dead, marketers need new venues (ie, up till now blogs, but perhaps now digital magazines) to be outposts for the content they will create for clients.
Kyle Psaty 5:21 PM on July 21, 2010
Very cool insights, Kipp. I have to agree with Lynn Anne about the idea that marketers must be the new publishers. Over time, social magazines will become a more important channel to release content to, so it's great to see HubSpot thinking about this now. I'm also pumped to see the potential return to visual value as a selling point... There's just nothing that better complements good copy than a great graphic layout. Great content is great on all points, and this display system reinforces that fact in the minds of content consumers.
Ron 6:11 PM on July 21, 2010
Although I have been in the information technology industry for over 30 years... at the risk of sounding "out of sync" I must say that "at the rate this is all going... there will be no need to talk or develop social in-person skills!!"
Develop and Promote Web Design 4:39 PM on July 22, 2010
Hi, Very interesting that Apple have created a niche in the hardware market that others have failed to do. Allowing great software to be developed for just about any need. This will change the way which we Design Web pages for example the dispute between Apple and Adobe means we should use little or no Flash.
zach 9:49 PM on July 22, 2010
I can see why this has been so popular already and been overwhelmed, looks awesome! Creating a magazine out of a user's social media accounts is a such a cool idea. I love the way all your favorite info is arranged at your fingertips and reads like a magazine. Once I get my hands on an iPad, I'm definitely going to be getting this app. Hope it stays free!
Sterlin Mckinley Baltimore SEO & Internet Marketing 1:31 PM on July 23, 2010
O, I like this idea.
Arthur Charles Van Wyk 9:33 AM on July 28, 2010
I have a question. As a voracious consumer of information, I literally read everywhere I go. Will I be able to read the "next big ting" whilst having a bath?
Peg North 10:39 AM on July 28, 2010
Social magazines will take off with the Hispanic populations. Many are very tech tuned (especially youth and business folks), already very social, shop-a-holics, have money even now and love to share culturally tuned material.
Peg
PNorth@EthnicTechnologies.com
Elisa 11:52 PM on July 28, 2010
The return to visuals is the greatest draw of the social magazines. A catchy title with an attractive visual will definitely hook many readers. The idea of creating your own social magazine is cool and the use of visuals will definitely have a say in what users choose to be part of their magazine. The challenge that you speak of is going to be a very interesting one.
ManPuppy Men 1:24 PM on August 12, 2010
Someone will do well contructing an easy-to-use, affordable layout app...