Our mission: In 2012, EW kicked off a continuing campaign to leverage the magazine's unparalled access and our robust social media presence -- specifically, the Fans Only tab on our Facebook page -- to boost traffic to EW.com and digital subscriptions to our weekly magazine. Our four-pronged approached was designed to: -Reward existing Fans with exclusive content -Acquire new Fans by tapping into topics with mass reach -Drive Fans to EW.com to engage further -Convert Fans into readers by increasing awareness of individual issues Our methodology: We looked at our editorial calendar and identified upcoming cover story subjects (including Big Bang Theory, The Hobbit, True Blood, Sons of Anarchy, and Magic Mike) that we knew would resonate with our readers, as well as potential readers who occasionally visit EW.com, but haven't subscribed to the magazine. We also gave priority to franchises with a large and active social media following. During the reporting of each cover story, our editors identified several tantalizing pieces of exclusive content -- photos, video recorded during a cover photoshoot, a Q&A with a star -- and, over the course of the week leading up to the publication of the issue, slowly posted them on our Facebook Fans Only tab. Each "reveal" was teased on EW.com with a link to our Facebook page, where readers were required to "Like" Entertainment Weekly to get access. Once they gained access to the Fans Only tab, users were hit with an offer to buy individual copies of the upcoming issue (some issues featured multiple "collect-them-all" covers) and discounted subscription offers, and offered a link to "more coverage" on EW.com. Our various campaigns quickly went viral, as fans shared the link to our Fans Only tab. Also, the various celebrities and shows we covered posted a link to our exclusives on their Facebook pages and on their Twitter accounts, driving tons more traffic to our Fans Only tab, and ultimately to our site. The results: -We completed 12 campaigns in eight months -Combined, all campaigns generated 141,000 new Facebook Fans (that's 60 percent of our total new fans for the year) -Our campaigns generated 3.5 million referrals to EW.com, contributing more than 15 million pageviews -We experienced a 1,400 percent life in digital sales of subscriptions
EW.com's Fans Only tab on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/entertainmentweekly/app_138939626175118
