As you are probably aware, great (and useful) content is the fuel behind good Inbound Marketing. There are lots of ways to publish content such as your corporate blog, and other online resources.
As you publish content, you'll want to be sure it gets found in search via SEO and also on social media. However, what if you could publish your own online industry-specific magazine (that's optimized for tablets) to an audience with over 100 million people?
Well, it's easier than you might think. Just use Flipboard.
What is Flipboard?
It's a social network of sorts, but it's set up to be "your personal magazine." It is designed for tablets (such as the iPad) and has an app for just about every device. Once installed, it allows the reader to design a custom newspaper or magazine by subscribing to RSS feeds from various websites (like CNN, The New York Times, etc.).
It pulls articles from all of these sources into one place so you can simply open your tablet and read the latest news and articles from the websites you care about.
Oh, and did I mention that it's absolutely beautiful?
Create Your Own
The best feature of Flipboard, however, is the ability to create magazines. A magazine is just what you would expect. It's a grouping of articles of your choosing arranged in a beautiful magazine layout.
You can create magazines for any topics and can even "flip" articles into your magazines with a handy Chrome extension (your are using Chrome, right?).
So how can this help your business?
Inbound Marketing is fueled by content so it makes sense that the more people you can invite to read your content, the larger your potential audience. Currently, Flipboard has over 100 million users and keeps growing. You may get some people who visit your website to subscribe to your blog, but you may get others to follow your content in a magazine format.
Creating a Publication Strategy
Different people like to get information in different ways. Some like to subscribe to blogs, some like to listen to podcasts (like The Digital Exec), and some prefer to read content via apps like Flipboard. Give them choices to expand your audience!
In addition to creating a magazine only from your own content, consider adding articles from other sources to add depth and variety. This will make your magazine more interesting and useful to people.
You can even invite additional curators. Invite other members of your team to "flip" content into your magazine and suddenly you have a publishing team!
So is Flipboard paying off for other businesses? Some publishers are finding that Flipboard is near the top of the list of sources driving traffic to their websites.
So if you're thinking of publishing a magazine to help expand the reach of your content, try this process...
1) Be sure you are publishing a great, high-value blog post at least weekly
In order to supply good content to your magazine, you'll need a quality source so make sure you are committed to corporate blogging. Write about topics that interest your buyer personas and solve problems for them. Make sure it's stuff that they will want to read.
This will become your primary source for content. You will also want to curate content from other sources but mixing in your own content will help build traffic and leads.
2) Create a magazine on Flipboard
The next step is to create your magazine. You do this at editor.flipboard.com. Don't make it self-promotional... give it a topic-focused name.
For example, instead of calling our magazine "The SpinWeb Marketing Magazine," we called it "The Digital Exec." This title focuses it on our personas and as a nice side effect, it also aligns with our podcast for business leaders. A persona-focused title will get more attention than an overtly company-focused title.
3) Install the Chrome extension
In order to "flip" content your magazine, you'll want the handy Flipboard Chrome Extension. This lets you add content to your magazine from any website you are viewing.
4) Start "flipping" articles into your magazine
Now, as you publish content from your own blog and viewing content from other sites, you can easily add articles to your magazine. You'll want to find a balanced schedule and get into a rhythm. I would not recommend flipping in 10 articles a day, but you also don't want your magazine to get stale. Somewhere between 3-7 articles per week might be a good place to start and you can always increase it from there.
Mix it up and balance your content between your own blog and other websites. Your primary objective is to serve your readers with the best articles that are relevant to them.
5) Start sharing your magazine on your website, in email, and on social media
Be sure to promote your magazine! Flipboard makes it easy to create widget for use on your website.
Additionally, you'll want to share it on social media and via email. After all, how great would your shiny new magazine look on Pinterest!
Magazine ideas
Looking for some magazine ideas relevant to your business? Glad you asked!
- Real estate agents: Create a magazine all about goings-on in your community
- Law firms: Create magazines with information specific to your practice areas (for example, estate planning, financial information, etc.)
- Manufacturing companies: Create a magazine for your buyer personas that keep them abreast of industry trends and legislation that effects their business
- Banks, credit unions, and financial planners: Create a financial wellness magazine
- Physicians and hospitals: Create a magazine with wellness information for prospective patients
- CPAs and other professional service firms: There is a wealth of information you can provide to business clients in the form of a magazine
Remember, the idea is to keep the title and the content focused on your buyer persona.
Publish your magazine and grow your reach
Flipboard is a great way to get your content in front of tablet users, which is a growing segment of your audience. As more people use tablets to read content, setting up a presence on Flipboard is going to be important for many businesses.
Oh, and I would invite you to consider subscribing to our magazine for CEOs and business leaders: The Digital Exec.
How are you using Flipboard?
Originally published May 22, 2014 10:00:00 AM, updated January 18 2023