Welcome to the first of a bi-weekly (that means once every two weeks) series of blog posts, aimed at those with a vested interest in Safari interactive magazine and anyone else in the industry who’d like to know more about what we do.
Why take the time to write these posts? Well…
In the world of digital media, things change so quickly that sometimes even I can’t keep up. Like a cheetah chasing its confused and petrified prey, we, the publishers, need to be as supple and movable as possible, changing direction – adapting to our surroundings at every turn.
So the purpose of the posts is simply to keep you in the loop – and, of course, for the sake of complete transparency.
So let’s get started. We have recently had a few exciting developments at Safari that I think you should know about.
Firstly, we have finally cracked the code that allows us to attractively share individual stories in Safari. This means that when you are browsing a story about horse riding in Namibia and you would like your social network to know about it, you can press the share button on the right of the screen and the picture and title of the story will show up on your Facebook news feed for all your horse-loving friends and fans to see. Neat hey?
The potential for viral sharing has just been turned up a notch!
There are very few digital magazines that allow you to properly share stories – mostly because they are hidden away from social networks as downloads and apps. Not Safari – we are looking to have the best of both worlds.
But more about that later.
By the way, have you seen the Safari blog?
Who would have thought that the blog would become such an important foundation to an already vibrant digital magazine? But it has. Not only is it a great place to put back-stories and extra information, but it’s also proving to be an excellent SEO-friendly way to lead traffic to the magazine and keep our community entertained while the next issue is in production.
Africa Geographic director Steve Boyes (one of my distinguished bosses) utilised the blog for his recent expedition across the Okavango Delta, updating a substantial following about his daily tussles with crocs and hippos. Thrilling stuff.
But back to the magazine. Things are going well here in the halls of Safari. Our readership is growing along with our subscriber base as Africa-fanatics and media junkies become more and more aware of this next-level digital product. I recently received an email from a friend who works in the Media24 building in Cape Town informing me that his boss had sent an all@ email raving to his colleagues that Safari (link attached) was the best magazine he has ever seen.
Likewise, Peter Borchert (another distinguished senior) went for a meeting with the CEO of SanParks recently, to show him Safari, only to find out that he knew all about it already.
Even the community in far-away Maun, Botswana were well clued up with the magazine when Steve passed through after his expedition a few months back.
It seems Safari’s reputation is preceding itself, which shows one very important thing: Beyond our marketing efforts, Safari is being shared and is now taking on a distribution life of it’s own. Long live the power of digital.
So congratulations to those who have recognised the potential and are coming along for the ride.
Until next time,
Paul
Safari Editor
