• by Sara Guaglione , May 29, 2018

Issuu has released an update to its platform used by many publishers to upload and digitize their print products: Issuu Stories. The feature will automatically enable publishers to turn their content into shareable articles on social platforms and mobile.

According to Poynter, which first reported the news, Issuu is used by 3.5 million publishers, which have shared nearly 40 million publications read by 100 million unique viewers every month.

The new free feature allows users to upload documents (usually PDFs) to Issuu, which can then organize content into individual stories or themes. Users can select pages they want to share, and Issuu creates a version optimized for “a scrolling mobile view,” according to the company’s blog post.

Magazine spreads, GIFs and scrolling articles can be shared on Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat, Twitter, Pinterest, LinkedIn, WhatsApp and Reddit using Issuu Stories.

“We are enabling creators and brands to automatically transform the elements of their publications into sharable mobile-optimized stories — fully accessible and monetizable,” stated Joe Hyrkin, CEO of Issuu.

Lonely Planet introduced a print magazine in 2015; it uses Issuu Stories to help “recreate the magazine experience and the inspiration it offers digitally. It also lets us track engagement in real time and get to know our readers better,” stated Scott Toncray, operations manager of Lonely Planet.

Nate Rogers, editor-in-chief of Flood, added that it uses Issuu GIFs and direct links in the magazine’s newsletters and on social media.

“It’s a great new way to share specific articles with our readers,” he stated.