Newsletter startup theSkimm developed a feature for fans to save and upload quotes of the day to Instagram to raise greater awareness in the millennial demographic. 

Created by former NBC News associate producers Danielle Weisberg and Carly Zakin, theSkimm focuses on providing news through daily email newsletters to busy younger women in a concise matter that they can quickly digest while on the go. A quote of the day is featured in the daily email that readers then save to their phone and post to Instagram. 

?The millennial demographic is much more apt to sharing information, making it an important demographic for theSkimm to focus on in their pursuit of marketshare,? said Shuli Lowy, marketing director at Ping Mobile, New York. ?The method through which news spreads today is dramatically different than it was before the smartphone era.

?One of the key competitive advantages news sources used to be defined by was their speed to market,? she said. ?The pace at which news spreads through social media has put a lot of pressure on news sources and forced them to roll out articles a lot faster than they used to.

?Millennials are used to getting their information quickly which is why theSkimm condenses breaking news to a short summary. This enables people to pick up on the news quickly and explore additional links, should they be interested in further information.?

Social media and mobile are important tools for the publication to reach their ideal demographic. With Instagram being one of this most popular applications, theSkimm is able to access a much greater potential fan base.  

Skimming the surface
Many advertisers jumped on board with this growing publication right away, including ABC, Buzzfeed and Homebrew. Although the news service is just starting, these brands know to invest now because the niche reader of theSkimm is the ideal consumer to reach and the number of partners are growing.

The founders at theSkimm are very careful not to alter the content of their stories to match advertisements. Instead the publication changes the header of the newsletter to reflect the advertiser.

In example for ABC the header reads "theSkimm brought to you by ABC" and the logo changed to reflect a famous character from the TV network such as Olivia Pope from Scandal. 

The newsletter is sent out at 6:30 a.m. through email to subscribers. It summarizes the big news stories of the day in a clear concise manner so that readers can quickly get the gist of the story while commuting, working and continuing their routines. 

A quick synopsis of the news story is listed, followed by an explanation and answers to common questions that a typical reader would ask. The publication even tells fans what to say during a conversation about the topic.

For instance, March Madness is a recent topic found in the newsletter. The article explains what it is and what you need to know.

The writers even use the phrase, ?I'm not into basketball. Bye Felicia,? a reference to a viral vine video.

Developing the news
Ms. Weisberg and Ms. Zakin met abroad in Italy and years later reconnected as associate producers working for NBC News. 

Living together, the two realized a need for a way to deliver news to the younger demographic which is always on the move.

The publication integrates all forms of social media into posts. 

Every story is shareable through various apps such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. 

Leveraging Instagram is a growing market trend.

Recently, women?s shoe designer Jack Rogers started holding flash sales through its Instagram account and mobile-optimized Web site (see more).

News publications are now developing their mobile reach as well. CBS News launched a live-streaming video news channel CBSN and is driving omnichannel engagement, with 26 percent of viewers consuming content from mobile devices (see more).

?Smartphone penetration amongst millennials in the U.S. is over 80 percent,? Ms. Lowy said. ?Additionally, millennials often find about news on social media because others are always sharing links.

?TheSkimm is making an effort to package its material nicely so that it can seamlessly be shared on social media,? she said. ?The company is particularly focused on getting people to share these quotes through instagram photos. 

?This plays into a sharing mode which consumers are already actively using and therefore is likely to see success with quotes which interest or speak to theSkimm?s readers.?