In the News: Budget Travel
Like many of you, I love to travel. (Well, maybe not so much the process of dealing with airports these days, but there are few things better than experiencing different cultures and seeing the world.) When KickApps started working with Budget Travel magazine, I was ecstatic!
Last week, USA Today included Budget Travel in a list of travel resources for bargain hunters:
The online incarnation of Arthur Frommer’s Budget Travel magazine mixes authoritative, expert-driven information with a growing social media component that includes reader tips and travel journals. Particularly noteworthy: Real Deals and This Just In, a daily blog.
In my first conversation with Stephen Merrill, general manager of BudgetTravel.com, we talked about why social media is such a great fit for Budget Travel. Part of the magazine’s mission is to build a community of readers that come together around their passion for travel. That passion and the community permeates every aspect of the magazine. In fact, Budget Travel features reader provided content in several sections of every issue.
In its June 2008 issue, Budget Travel took this a step further. The entire issue, their 10th Anniversary issue, comprised entirely of reader submitted content. Every story and photo was submitted by readers. Together with this, myBudgetTravel launched as a destination for travel enthusiasts to gather and share their stories, photos and videos.
Having a ‘presence’ in the multilogue is one thing, baking it into your business, product and culture is the so-called Holy Grail. The path that Budget Travel has forged is a terrific example of how this is happening.
For more from Stephen Merrill, check out our webinar which he co-presented: A Blueprint for a Successful Social Media Website, and our recap of FOLIO Magazine’s roundtable on social media.
