Economist.com looks to become more social

Posted by Emma Heald on December 21, 2009 at 3:10 PM

The Economist intends to acquire 750,000 Twitter followers and 500,000 Facebook fans within six months, reported the Financial Times. The weekly news magazine has allocated a budget of tens of thousands of pounds to help boost numbers: currently the publication has 93,000 followers on Twitter and 181,000 Facebook fans.

The Economist is planning to implement Facebook Connect on its website, which allows readers to long in an make comments via their Facebook accounts. The website will also "take on features similar to social networks itself," according to the FT, allowing readers to create profile pages and earn a reputation through other users' recommendations of their comments on the site.

Economist.com publisher Ben Edwards told the FT that making the website more social is "the core of our strategy," and he hopes that Facebook will help his site acquire new readers and develop a deeper level of engagement with existing ones.

Edwards also said that the Economist will be more active on Twitter and said that this would be a "full-time job." The changes should be introduced within three to four months.

The FT described the Economist's plans as "another sign that traditional publishers are looking to social media as a substantial source of web traffic and new readers." Twitter offers a clear range of benefits to news outlets, and it is becoming more and more obligatory for journalists to use the service. Facebook has been slower to take off as a way of promoting news but it undoubtedly has advantages.

The BBC recently appointed a dedicated social media editor, a position which the New York Times also created earlier this year. Sky News has a dedicated Twitter correspondent. In a further tribute to the importance of social networks, Google just started integrating real-time social network updates into its search results.

The Economist recently extended its paywall.

Source: Financial Times