Chances are you’ve already read this article published today in the New York Times: College Alumni Magazines Struggle to Compete With Facebook.
The article written by Cate Doty doesn’t provide any breaking news as higher ed blogger D.W. noted in her post published earlier today: News of the Obvious: Younger Alumni Turn to Facebook Versus Class Notes.
But, the piece is definitely an interesting overview worth sharing with your VP or president – especially if you want to build your case to add a digital interactive version for your print magazine (and, if you plan to do so, you might want to check out the upcoming 3-webinar series I designed for Higher Ed Experts and scheduled on June 24, 25 and 26, 2008, “Stop the Presses: How and Why to go Digital with your Magazine or Newsletter.”
Here’s an excerpt of this NYT article I found interesting – although the author might have gone a bit overboard at the end:
The advent of social networking on the Internet has created a quandary for these magazines, which want to maintain a conversation with alumni but have been slow to embrace the Web. Most schools have set up password-protected sites where graduates can change their contact information, drop a class note or donate money.
But younger alumni, accustomed to second-by-second updates from friends and classmates, are exchanging information in real time on Facebook and MySpace. Why wait for your alma mater to churn out a quarterly journal when you can Twitter all day?
I’m not sure young alums (or students) are the big twitterers we would all like them to be, but they are definitely used to getting more timely updates than any print publications will ever offer them.
That’s why more and more institutions are currently rethinking the way they communicate with alums and other institutional younger audiences.
My upcoming UB column to be published in the June issue of University Business (not yet available online – hey, it’s just June 2nd ;-) is dealing with this issue with a focus on magazines gone digital and going paperless.
But, what do YOU think? Is there a future for print magazines in higher ed?
Recent “end of printed magazines” discussion reminds me of the “end of printed alumni directories” discussion which we’ve been hearing since around 1990. Although the immediacy of the online world obviously influences alumni more than ever (especially recent alumni), there’s a huge fraction of our audiences that are accustomed to the paper versions and will expect to see them for a long time yet.
I’d be curious to find out how many alums check printed alum directories and how many associations still print them.
The end of printed magazines has already started for some institutions – sometimes just because of prohibitive costs like in the case of Michigan Today, a printed mag gone digital last September.
In other cases, some institutions have started to split their database in 2 sending the print version to the older alums and just a postcard linking to the digital version to the younger ones.
The answer is probably in segmentation and customization here like everywhere else.
I’m of the opinion that printed alumni magazines (and other printed materials) are going to continue to be important–and perhaps even more important, in a way–in the years to come. Naturally, I have no hard evidence to back up my contention, but I think that, as more and more communication goes digital, the hold-it-in-your-hand piece becomes more valued as a “real” connection to the college.
I think some version of our magazines needs to go online, but I don’t think we’re anywhere close to the end of the printed version, at least for institutions which truly want to stay connected to our alums. Convincing the powers-that-be to continue shelling out $15,000 or so a few times a year, though, for that 20,000 piece press run and postage is already becoming difficult. But I haven’t figured out how to staple a BRE to a Web page.
Print and Web communications have two very distinct marketing communication purposes. Most online readers actively seek out or subscribe to media content, with the possible exception of e-mail newsletters. In contrast, print is a physically tangible medium that arrives in alumni mailboxes at their home or office. They have to at least look at the cover before they decide to keep it or throw it away. And according to most readership surveys (including online surveys), most alumni keep and read at least half of their print magazines. Universities have to utilize both formats to reach the widest audience.
Directory information is another matter–it’s not meant for leisure reading, but as a resource for finding people. The Web is much better suited for that, which is why the alumni directory publishers also peddle their online alumni community services to universities.
Bottom line: higher ed needs to embrace both online social media and traditional print publications to effectively reach alumni.
DG’s and Mike’s observations are spot on.
A good print magazine and a good digital magazine should serve two, complementary purposes. Ginning up an either/or debate is both counterproductive and intellectually dishonest.
A good digital magazine should be built for immediacy and support platforms (video, audio, interactive) that cannot be replicated in print. It can deliver news in a timely fashion and spark direct engagement with readers at any time.
A good print magazine is a reliable friend who engages readers intellectually. It challenges them, it entertains them, it comforts them, and it engages them in a way a digital magazine cannot. Print publications support longer-form narratives that cannot be replicated online. Our readers are a bright, intellectually curious lot and they expect–and demand–such things from us.
A magazine can be taken on a train, a plane, a subway. It doesn’t require batteries or a plug. It can be read in bed. It can be read in an easy chair after a hard day’s work when the last thing a person wants to do is turn on the computer.
I look forward to the day (hopefully soon) when I can create a digital publication that is as stimulating and engaging as the award-winning print magazine I edit. But it won’t be at the expense of the printed magazine. The two are entirely different communications vehicles. After all, when airplanes were invented, did people stop driving cars?