Runner’s World gains 100,000 followers in 100 days

The magazine goes beyond just tweeting headlines and links to articles.

Ragan Insider Premium Content
Ragan Insider Content

Between the launch of Runner’s World magazine’s Twitter account in May 2008 and Senior Multimedia Editor Meghan Loftus’s taking the Twitter reins in July 2011, the publication gained a very respectable 100,000 followers.

Where that accumulation took more than three years to accomplish, the magazine accrued 100,000 additional followers in just 100 days this year. Over the past year or so, Runner’s World’s Twitter following has ballooned to nearly 320,000.

“I think that’s an indication of how Twitter has changed,” Loftus notes.

There are more runners out there, and they’re hungry for information. Loftus has aimed to satiate that hunger with links to a new news blog, inspirational quotes and hashtag campaigns. Runners are eating it up.

Why such huge growth so fast? Loftus attributes it to word-of-mouth among runners about the content.

“They just love talking about it,” she says. “We’ll get a lot of people spreading our word without us having to do it ourselves.”

Changing pace

To read the full story, log in.
Become a Ragan Insider member to read this article and all other archived content.
Sign up today

Already a member? Log in here.
Learn more about Ragan Insider.