Youth magazine’s Instagram account engages, provides information and enables peer support

A joint study by the University of Jyväskylä Department of Social Sciences and Philosophy and Jyväskylä University School of Business and Economics analysed 281 posts by editors posted over a period of about one year (between 1 January 2019 and 20 January 2020) to determine what kind of posting strategies encourage young people to like and comment on a post.

The study is part of the project #Agents – Young People’s Agency in Social Media funded by the Academy of Finland, which studied the Instagram content of the Demi youth magazine, targeted specifically at girls and young women.

The study found that (printed) youth magazines like Demi can create an audience community on social media, where journalists can interact with their young readers, and the readers can communicate with each other. An audience community can create a deeper connection between the readers and the editorial staff, provide the editorial staff with valuable information about the young people’s interests and provide the young people with information about important topics.

Interested in stories and social topics

The study found that on the magazine’s Instagram page, young people showed their support with likes especially for informative and emotional topics that were close to their lives, such as bullying and mental health.

Social topics such as human and animal rights and politics also received likes and comments. The most popular posts covered news, information and stories about the world of the young – especially from the perspective of young women – such as abortion or sexual harassment.

Competitions and polls were popular

The young were not particularly interested in advertisements for the magazine’s printed editions or other content, or in entertainment and celebrities. What was popular were competitions and polls that were fun and quick to complete.

More demanding campaigns involving replies by means of text or any other actions that require time and resources did not engage the young in the fast-paced culture of social media. A positive approach to the topics discussed was likely to generate affective engagement, i.e. likes, emoji comments and tags.

Surprised by the broad scope of participation

“It was interesting to see the wide range of topics in which young people are interested on the Instagram page of a youth magazine, and how they show support to each other in all kinds of issues ranging from bullying to body image issues and self-acceptance,” says postdoctoral researcher Niina Sormanen.

“Although one might have expected entertainment and celebrities to attract the interest of the young, the interesting topics were largely social in nature. However, the fact that climate change, which is one of the main concerns for young people, did not attract their interest in this context requires further research,” she continues.

Although Demi was discontinued and its social media channels were closed in the early spring of 2021, the magazine’s Instagram page still had 30,151 followers at the beginning of 2020. The results of the study can therefore provide tips for all those targeting young audiences on how to create an audience community on social media, and which strategies will activate and engage young people on platforms such as Instagram which are popular with the young.

Published research:

Niina Sormanen, Hanna Reinikainen & Terhi-Anna Wilska (2022): Strategies of Eliciting Young People’s Affective and Quick Participation in a Youth Magazine’s Instagram Community, Journalism Practice (ahead of print). https://doi.org/10.1080/17512786.2021.2016070

Further information:

Niina Sormanen, postdoctoral researcher, niina.e.sormanen@jyu.fi, +358 40 188 2945

Terhi-Anna Wilska, professor, head of the research project, terhi-anna.wilska@jyu.fi, +358 40 805 4201