Reach hits milestone of 100m followers on social media platforms
Publisher Reach, home to 18 of the country’s biggest regional and local news brands online, has announced that its social media accounts across brands and channels have hit the milestone of 100 million followers.
Local and national titles are harnessing channels including Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, X, Reddit, WhatsApp and Snapchat, with a 19% growth across Reach in the past year.
Recent highlights include the Mirror’s feature about a transatlantic tunnel that would connect Britain and the US in under an hour, with over 15 million Facebook views. A Daily Star piece on TikTok covered the growth of phone snatching in London, generating over 30 million views.
In 2024, the company hired new social media video journalists in several of its local news titles as it sought to grow brand awareness on platforms such as TikTok.
Journalists in its regional newsrooms have also been at the forefront of its work to engage new audiences on WhatsApp, with millions of people now receiving updates via the Meta messaging platform.
Elsewhere within the company, YouTube is an area of growth too with Curiously, Reach’s social content brand aimed at 16 to 34-year-olds, recently producing an Ariana Grande video viewed more than 5 million times.
Local podcasts such as Newcastle United, Nottingham Forest, Manchester United and Liverpool FC titles are also broadcast on YouTube, while titles including the Manchester Evening News and Liverpool Echo are also devoting more time to YouTube.
Reach US brands have enjoyed success on Reddit with the Express US and Mirror US both hitting karma scores (a measure of how many times content has been upvoted by readers) of more than 500k. These accounts have only been active since May last year and are already referring substantial traffic back to news sites.
David Higgerson, Chief Digital Publisher for Reach, said: “From famous titles like the Mirror, Express and Star, regional heavyweights such as the Manchester Evening News and Liverpool Echo, to localised outlets right across the UK and beyond, it’s great to see our social media channels continue to grow and engage new audiences.
“The future is all about growth as we look to accelerate the use of video content with the build of new dedicated studio facilities. We are keen to make sure the content we create has its own distinct identity and branding so that it’s relevant to our local audiences wherever they are.”
Reach is further investing in its podcasting and video capability this year, building dedicated Studio ‘Box’ facilities across the country. Each Studio Box will enable creators to produce original, audience-specific content, which can be shared across platforms and social channels.
