How magazines are trusted over digital media and the benefits of this for organisations
25 February 2020
We’ve heard it said that print material is dead now that everyone has access to anything they could possibly want to read, right there in the palm of their hand. We disagree, it’s clear to us that magazines are still very important and there is plenty of research to back this up. People still really enjoy printed material, there is something comforting and relaxing about sitting down with a magazine and a cuppa. Research has shown that because readers make the choice to open up a magazine, they also digest the information within it at a slower pace than their digital counterparts, absorbing and paying more attention to what’s inside. When we do take the time to sit and focus on an article, reading a magazine is also viewed as being a far more positive and healthy use of time than flicking through digital media.
Magazines – trusted, reliable and proven to engage
Importantly, magazines continue to be trusted by readers who perceive them as a high quality medium and a credible source of information gathering. In todays’ world of fast moving ‘fake news’ and information which disappears as quickly as it appeared, a magazine can provide the knowledge and professionalism that readers perceive as reliable and trustworthy having been written and produced by verified experts in their field. This relationship with the reader is invaluable for any organisation, and particularly important to membership organisations.
When members take the time to sit and read your magazine, they are making an investment to engage with your organisation, they are focused on the messages and information you choose to convey, and they have made a choice to engage. This means that your magazine results in quality engagement giving you and your organisation the opportunity to strengthen brand identity as well as cement valuable connections with your reader.
A recent report stated that ‘82% of readers trust what they read in magazines’ with 72% saying that ‘magazines are the most trusted context for news’. 1
Another report from Ofcom stated, ‘When scored by their users on measures of quality, accuracy, trustworthiness and impartiality (among other things) magazines perform better than any other news platform. Scores were lower among users of social media’.2
Although your membership magazine may not focus solely on the news, the relationship and trust gained from this more traditional medium remains.
Relationships are reinforced by allowing your membership to interact with you through your magazine. Contributions from members generate more interest and act as a conduit for meaningful and useful communications between you and your membership. Members will always be interested in what other members and colleagues are up to and what better way to find out and keep up to date than getting comfortable with a coffee and a magazine.
We could talk to you all day about the benefits a regular, high quality magazine could bring to your organisation. We work together with many of our clients to deliver effective and successful company and membership magazines, so call or message us today and let’s start talking about the best approach for your business.
1 Pay Attention! Magazines Role in the Modern Media Mix. Magnetic
2 Ofcom. News Consumption in the UK: 2018 Produced by: Jigsaw Research Fieldwork dates: November/December 2017 and March/April 2018
