Article by: Kosta Karakashyan

Instead of launching another think piece on print vs. digital into the vast depths of the Internet, here at D’Marie we decided to do something way more fun and analyze how the two go hand in hand. Our favorite print publications have all turned to social media to promote their editorial content, and today we’re celebrating the top 10 most valuable magazines based on their overall social media influence.

Enter Vogue, leading the pack. The fashion giant racks up a grand total of 38,896,474 followers across Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, 53% of them coming from Instagram. With 61,852 average engagements per post, we can clearly see that the visual platform is a perfect outlet for the magazine’s stunning editorials and most recently, a video shoot of supermodels dancing in their best office wear, lip-syncing to Dolly Parton. How’s that for engaging?

Our second place goes to People Magazine with a total following of 18,336,352. Their following is evenly divided 40% each between Twitter and Instagram (the other 20% from Instagram), so we can confidently say these readers love retweeting a saucy headline. People Mag’s exciting content has earned them 8,157,695 total social engagements in the last 30 days, very close to Vogue’s 9,468,263 (whose following is twice as big).

Rounding out our top 3 is Cosmopolitan, the secular bible of relationship advice according to some readers. While their total following is still an impressive 13,608,031, their Facebook fans are particularly active. On the platform, Cosmo surpasses both top 2 magazines in followers and engagement, thanks to an incredible 9,766,466 likes and an average engagement of 5,661.87 per post, almost triple that of Vogue. With topics ranging from ice cream to celebrity beauty secrets and sex tips, the Facebook audience’s dedication is no wonder.

We can’t neglect to mention our 4th place, Teen Vogue, helmed by Condé Nast’s youngest-ever editor-in-chief Elaine Welteroth and digital editorial director, Phillip Picardi. Since last year, the magazine has been continuously praised for its strong political positions, covering the government, mental health & wellness, and social justice with the same attention as fashion and celebrity. With 11,750,454 total followers, Teen Vogue’s readership obviously values the publication’s authenticity, and we have the numbers to prove it with 30,169 average engagements per post on Instagram (in comparison to Vogue’s almost exactly double 61,852 with 6 times as many followers!). 

Marie Claire is a glossy that did not make our top 10 but deserves an honorary mention. Twitter holds 28% of its total following, with 2,310,712 followers on the platform, it already surpasses Cosmo’s 1,712,374. We wanted to mention that this magazine stands out on the Twitter platform with its linguistic wit and ability to create the most attention-grabbing headlines under 140 characters. 

And what about our beloved men’s magazines? Complex and GQ make the cut at 6th and 10th place respectively. Complex, while not solely a men’s magazine, presents incredible engagement rates with 183.47 average retweets, 3,987.34 engagements per post on Facebook and 24,949 on Facebook. With a total following that is 6 times smaller than Vogue’s, Complex’s total social engagements are notably 5 times higher with a total of 9,468,263. On the other hand, it's no surprise to see GQ in the top 10 as their focus on influencer relationships has grown their social portfolio to be a favorite amongst men’s style enthusiasts.

Check out our complete top 10 list below:

1.    Vogue

2.    People

3.    Cosmopolitan

4.    Teen Vogue

5.    Elle

6.    Complex

7.    The New Yorker

8.    Vanity Fair

9.    Vogue UK

10.GQ

*Note: Data for this article was pulled September 26, 2017 at 8:00pm EST.