Fashion and beauty magazines on social networks in 2021. Strategies, content and connecting with audiences through Instagram

Abstract

The emergence of the internet and social networks has pushed the media to reorient their communication strategies. Fashion and beauty publications in Spain have been no exception and have entered this new media ecosystem in which they have found a very attractive potential audience for their content. The aim of this research is to examine the content strategies of magazines on the Instagram social network. To this end, a quantitative content analysis has been carried out of the publications made by the four Spanish newspapers with the highest circulation according to the EGM during 2021. A coding code was developed to analyse the content, topics, technical and stylistic elements, and the presence of brands in their publications, as well as the impact of their messages and the relationship with their audience. The results indicate that each magazine presents its own style of communication with varied themes, but where fashion is the most repeated subject. All of them exploit the high visual component of this social network and establish synergies with their print versions.