Beginning in 2002 and continuing through today, Elegant Island Living has firmly established itself as an exclusive must-read publication for anyone living or interested in this region. We never tire of hearing about the issues our readers proudly display on cocktail tables, hand out to visiting guests, save for recipes, or collect as part of a years-old tradition. But we produce more than just a magazine and website that beautifully capture and reflect the spirit of St. Simons Island and the surrounding area. Over those two decades, we have grown and adapted to meet the needs of our readers and advertisers, wanting to have the ability to keep the community informed on a more immediate basis and to promote retailer’s sales, local restaurant specials, or pop-up fundraisers and non-profit events at a moment’s notice.
We started our social media presence with with Facebook and Twitter accounts, and then added Instagram, and separate accounts for I’m With the Band. We are active on these accounts daily and have even added shopping and subscription purchase options. Our average page reach on Facebook is over 24,000, and we’ve been amused to see the number of our Instagram followers nearing the number of our Facebook followers, as more people turn to that platform. We haven’t jumped on the TikTok trend, but never say never. The weekly EIL Insider e-newsletter is another free resource we offer, featuring our digital content and highlighting current community and advertiser events. Community connection and engaging and informative content is what we strive for 24/7, so we can reach YOU, our readers/viewers, in whatever format you choose.
It’s a Hit!
As we’re looking back now over the events we’ve covered, and stories we’ve shared since our last big anniversary issue in 2017, we thought we’d go beyond the print issues and take a look at what’s been popular on our website.
Here’s what we discovered when we dug into the numbers. Nearly half a million people have visited our site. More than 1.5 million articles have been read. While our demographic used to be mostly women readers/online viewers, now we have a 60/40% split between women and men. We loved seeing that we have online viewers from nearly every country except two: Greenland and Iceland. Come on, Reykjavík, where ya at?! The Aussies love us. Who knew?! Approximately 80% of our online viewers are between ages 25-65, and that percentage is split almost evenly among all of the 10-year age span categories within that group. We’re still not cool enough for 15-24-olds who only make up 10% of our online viewers, but with the live music listings maybe we’ll get there.
Speaking of those listings, you REALLY like “I’m With the Band!” Our continuously updated live music listings are the most accessed page on our website. For those of you who aren’t in the know, this is the most comprehensive and up-to-date list of who’s playing where and when in the Golden Isles and the surrounding area We share information about community concerts, Coastal Symphony of Georgia performances, and more. The information from the blog is also published on I’m With the Band Facebook and Instagram accounts at @imwiththebandssi.
One of the most popular stories on our website is “Glynn Academy: A Colonial Experiment That Still Thrives,” written by Mason Stewart for our November 2015 edition. A comment on the website about the story from Leon Hugh Chittenden reads as follows: “Proud to be a former Terror. I am also proud to have been a student at Glynn Academy as my 4 sisters also were students. 3 before me and 1 after me. I graduated in 1956. What a good article this was, thank you Mason. I left for the Air Force in 1956 after graduation and settled in several small towns with my wife after the Air Force trip. I returned to Brunswick many times and pointed out my former school to my children and wife (from Greenville, S.C.) I remember Miss Howard from my 2 yrs. of Latin classes which I barely passed. I also remember that strict Mr. Lee from Algebra and Mrs. Hall my homeroom teacher for 2 years. That was and still is a Grand Ole School. I hope others read this article and add their memories.”
Our Community Cookbook recipe section in the Food and Wine category is always fun for readers to peruse and find recipes we’ve printed in the past. There are numerous contributions from local restaurants and even some celebrity chefs. The most popular of these recipes (receiving the second highest number of hits of anything on our website) is the Brunswick Stew recipe shared with us by Southern Soul Barbeque. Next up are recipes for Beef Bourguignon, 30-Minute Chicken and Dumplings, and Sweets for Santa. Y’all enjoy your holiday cocktails too, some of our top picks in the spirits category are a Bailey’s Chocolate Bunny and Maker’s Mark Eggnog. And it looks like some of you are making Gator Haters and Bloody Bulldawgs for your tailgate parties too! We rotate the recipes you see on the website, so if you’re looking for a certain recipe and don’t see it, try searching the site. We have recipes for every meal, hot and cold, savory and sweet, fancy occasions to backyard barbeques, so if you’re looking for some culinary inspiration, it’s a great resource!
When our friend Janice Lamattina is off on her world travels, we’ve been lucky enough to provide a home for her blog “On the Road with Janice,” recounting these adventures. We’ve followed her to Mongolia, visited gorillas in Uganda, and took the leap from Australia to Papua, New Guinea. It was Janice’s visit to Dubai and Ethiopia that garnered the most attention. You won’t find these stories in our printed issues, so if you want to go back and check out her amazing travels and photos from her trips, you can still find them on our website.
The SSI Archives history section of our website is another area that gets top hits. It’s where we upload the SSI Archives stories from the Coastal Georgia Historical Society that we publish in the back of the issue each month and where we archive our own history articles. Popular articles included “The Story of the Shout,” about the Gullah-Geechee shout tradition and our local shouters, and “Perseverance of a Plantation” detailing Hofwyl-Broadfield Plantation’s evolution through the years. SSI Archives articles about Hurricane Dora and Aaron Burr’s exile on the island also drew online visitors.
You can always find a digital copy of the most recent issue on the website and our archived issues go back to January 2016. Our archive of stories goes back even further than that. Occasionally you’ll find that we publish online only content or exclusive photos you won’t see in our print editions. A feature that many people may not realize exists on our website is a searchable Marketplace Directory that provides information about local businesses that advertise with us, including a map with their location and links to their website and social media accounts. We provide this as a complimentary benefit to businesses who advertise with us. If you’d like to be included in this directory, please contact us for more information. We also offer digital advertising opportunities.
