Digital and Mobile Magazines – What’s the business value? Are you ready?

I commute to work by train every day, almost spending 2 hrs on the train. In winter, this may take 2.5 hrs. So I had to spend my time wisely. A year ago, my backpack was a bit heavy!! I carried my laptop, daily journal paper, a novel, a couple of magazines and all the mobile devices (personal & work). That’s a lot!!

Today, my backpack is almost 1/3rd the weight I used to have a year ago. My backpack is light and don’t have anymore back pains. Thanks to iPad, digital newspapers and digital magazines. Today, I just carry my iPad2 instead of all the newspapers and magazines. Not sure how long will I be carrying a laptop…maybe a year or two. I now read all my magazines and newspapers digitally in my iPad. I don’t even need to have strong network connection as I download all the updates at home.

Due to this convenience, I have subscribed to more magazines and newspapers….thereby increasing my knowledge base. Recently I added ‘Zite‘ magazine app to my iPad. This is one of the best digital magazine apps in the market place. You can customize and subscribe your magazine based on your interests and topics. Once you set your profile, this app does all the magic and pulls all the relevant content from all the digital sources in the world. You can share your favorite articles to your social network. This is the future!! I will not be surprised if these type of magazine apps enter the enterprise market soon (just like the Google search appliance). Check out this app!!.

On any given day in the train, I hardly see anyone reading from the “print” newspaper, novel or magazines. Everyone seems to be having either a Kindle, iPad or other mobile tablets and devices. It’s amazing to see how Kindle and iPad have changed the entire publication market in a year. I see kids (including mine) reading more books from iPad.

How can you leverage this digital and mobile technology for business needs? What value can you get?

Digital and mobile magazines offer publishers the advantages of higher circulation, increased revenue, stronger brands and readers coming back for more. With accessing the internet becoming as commonplace as using a smart phone, iPad.. industries of all kinds are finding ways to appeal to customers online. The publishing industry is no exception. Digital and mobile magazines also offer a tremendous experience and value to readers. Your readers will be happy and thank you as they don’t have a carry a heavy backpack!!!

As you may know, the mobile market is growing exponentially and as a result the number of digital and mobile readers is growing as well.

• Gartner has predicted that by mid 2012, the number of users accessing web from mobile devices will surpass the PC. (My guess, this will happen by end of this year).
• Gartner has recently decreased the forecast on the number of PC shipments for this year based on the exploding mobile device market and demand.
• Gartner says by 2015, digital strategies, such as Social and Mobile Marketing, will influence at least 80 percent of consumers’ discretionary spending
• Gartner says worldwide mobile device sales to end users reached 1.6 Billion units in 2010; smart phone sales grew 72 percent in 2010.
• Forrester says that there will be 24 Million+ tablets that will be sold in 2011.
• Nielsen predicts by end of 2011, majority of mobile subscribers in US will have a smart phone. Click here to view Nielsen’s “State of Mobile Apps” report. Great info on mobile trends and statistics.

We recently leveraged this new & emerging technology and launched a mobile magazine (action guide) powered by Texterity’s cloud based platform for ‘Hospitals in Pursuit of Excellence‘. This magazine is a compilation many action guides on various healthcare improvement topics. Check it out @ http://digital.hpoe.org.

With the new digital and mobile edition, readers can:

• Access the information via PC, mobile devices or from any mobile browser
• Navigate easily throughout the issue via embedded search tools located within the top navigation bar
• Download the guides, read offline and print
• Share information with others through email and social networking sites
• Keyword search of current and past guides quickly and easily
• Bookmark pages for future references

This is a true example of how you can leverage a new & emerging technology to

enable and transform business

The following videos says it all…

Top Business Benefits and Value:

Increase readership and experience

• Intuitive Navigation – No learning curve here: the omnipresent navigation bar is simple to master, with easily understood icons.
• Scanning & Zoom – Quick and easy control features allow readers to scale content to their own comfort level.
• Rich Multimedia – Offer readers a more robust experience than print can’t give them. Incorporate video, audio, animation and slide shows.
• Video Channels – Show related videos and video channels without ever leaving the magazine.
• Embed, Save, Clip & Share – Allow readers to embed, save articles and ads can be saved for future reference without damaging your print copy or accumulating piles of back issues.
• Search – Readers can search for any key word or phrase in the current issue, all issues, or back issues.
• Choice of various viewing modes – Let readers customize their viewing preferences.
• Social Media – Allow readers to share pages instantly on common social media sites such as LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Digg, Deli.cio.us etc. Readers can also get the latest updates from the publishers via RSS feeds.
• Forums and Blogs – Integrate forums and blogs that relate to the issue or article, increasing reader engagement within the issue.
• Off-line Reading – Readers can download one article or the entire magazine and conveniently take it with them.
• Cover line Links – Super-fast searching and easy-access table of contents. Respect their time by helping readers find what they need.
• Mobile Ready – Digital editions run on any modern, web-enabled mobile device like the Android, Blackberry and Apple. Access to Google Maps, live phone numbers for direct dialing, latest news, reviews, and videos, RSS feeds for between-issue updates, Community-building tools for conversations, Interactive modules, such as video, slide shows, 360-degree animation and Twitter integration.

Increase circulation

• Sophisticated Tracking & Reporting – Know exactly which pages readers turn to, how much time they spend on each page, article, or video and where they are coming from.
• Look Inside – Allows guests to view pages of the magazine to increase subscription revenue.
• Virtual Blow-ins – Target blow-ins to new online readers to increase subscription rates or to target renewal offers to current subscribers.
• Social Media & Integration – Get others engaged with your publication, the first step to converting them to subscribers.
• Virtual Cover Wraps & Belly Bands – Reach pass-along readers with subscription information intact.
• SEO & Enhanced search engine visibility – Ensures your publication and its content is seen by a wider audience.

Increase revenues

• Tracking & Reporting – Offer advertisers the benefit of gathering valuable data on a subscriber level about time spent on their ads and click-through rates.
• Ads/Sponsorships – Link readers directly to advertisers’ offers or videos, another revenue-generating benefit to attract new ad revenue. Provides integrated support for Dart, Atlas and other major ad-serving networks.

Decrease Costs

• Printing – According to a BPA Worldwide study, over 40% of your current print subscribers may opt to receive your publication online, cutting your print costs accordingly.
• Postage – Reach a worldwide audience without paying the high costs of postage or passing those costs on to your readers.

So get ready for the wave of digital magazines and publications. It is coming in full force!!

Want to know what the next wave is? Check out the following videos on how restaurants are leveraging this emerging mobile and digital technology to the menus!! (Not sure how the iPads will be kept clean!!)

Appreciate your feedback and comments.

Contact Info

LinkedIn kchakkarapani@yahoo.com