How to be an Instagram Travel Blogger
So you want to be an Instagram travel blogger?
It seems so simple. Take the photo, throw a preset on it, tag the location, and post. It doesn’t matter where you are, as long as it is anywhere but home. Lavish locations, beautiful views, and grand adventures.
Yeah right.
Being a creator in a specific genre is always easier said than done. We get inspired from other creators in our space and hurry to establish our own account. Then reality sinks in. We find out it isn’t that easy. We get discouraged when our posts don’t perform well or we aren’t gaining the attention our hard work deserves.
Shouldn’t it be as easy as 1,2,3?
That’s where I come in.
I have spent weeks researching, analyzing, and interpreting successful travel bloggers on Instagram. Although no two accounts are the same, there are some tips and tricks I have compiled to bring you the ultimate creator’s guide.
1. Take advantage of Instagram tools
We all know the power of an individual post in someone’s feed. It is pretty, simple, and displays on our profile for every visitor to see. However, this is not the only way some of the most successful travel accounts are creating on Instagram. Instagram has a plethora of tools for content creation. Taking full advantage of these will optimize your space on Instagram.
One of the most useful tools as a travel blogger is stories. It gives your followers access to your life at their fingertips. They don’t have to wait for a post to be made to see where you are and what you are doing. By creating stories in between posts, it is socially acceptable to be constantly creating content. Not only does it give you another outlet to post on, but it also increases your account’s engagement and reminds your followers of your presence - even if you haven’t posted in days. Most content creators use their stories as an unfiltered look into their life, as well as creating videos in a vlog style.
If you look at almost any travel account, you will notice a feature they have taken full advantage of - story highlights. If you want to be successful on Instagram and are already creating stories, why not highlight them? A common thing for travel creators to do is create a highlight for each location (see @readyjetset). If you head over to my Instagram Travel Inspo post, you will see how you can really make this Instagram tool your own. Some creators choose to highlight specific cities, while others may categorize their stories by continent. This is a fantastic way to showcase a collection of content for new followers to look back on. It also encourages viewers of your profile to scroll down to your feed to find posts from locations showcased in your highlights.
The last Instagram feature that people tend to forget about is IGTV. This new feature allows creators to upload videos that can be up to an hour in length. This is a great tool to use if you already create travel videos. Even if you share them on other platforms, the more places. you can share, the better. It may even attract attention to your other platforms.
2. Build a community
A community in any niche is important. Our society thrives off of feeling important. Building a community in the travel genre can seem like a difficult task. After all, don’t you just post pics of pretty places? That mindset, however, is the first limitation in the possibilities of an Instagram travel blogger account.
Your followers want to feel like they have a say. Respect is built when a creator does not just focus on themselves and their unique lifestyle. When a creator is able to open their account up to others, that is when they take their profile to the next level.
One of the best ways of doing this is by encouraging comments. A lot of successful travel creators will use their caption space to pose questions for their followers. Some of these include:
Where should I go next?
What is your favorite place to visit in the insert season here?
Any recommendations for insert location here?
Can you guess where I am?
Why do you love traveling?
Where should I stay next time I visit insert location here?
These are just a few of the questions I have seen in the captions of travel creators. Not only does this give your followers a chance to feel like the experts or a part of your adventure, but it also increases engagement. Valuable comments are hard to come by, but with questions, your followers can’t resist contributing to the conversation - not to mention the excitement that comes when your followers see you at a place they recomended!
3. Establish a consistent feed
Scroll through any successful account on Instagram and you will see consistencies in their feed. Whether it be an aesthetically-pleasing preset or a reoccurring composition, consistency is key in success on Instagram. This is no different in the travel genre of content creation. There are a few easy ways to establish consistency in your posts.
One of the hardest things to achieve on Instagram is a cohesive feed. Specifically, with travel posts, it is hard to do so when you visit vastly different locations with various colors and lighting situations. A preset is an easy way to fix this problem. There are many travel creators who even sell their presets and instruct their followers on how to use them. One account like this is @doyoutravel. Not only does this tactic beautify your profile and make your photos look more professional, but it also creates a brand identity. Your loyal followers will be able to distinguish your posts in the midst of their scrolling with a unique preset and color scheme.
Another way to establish consistency is by coming up with a signature composition. One of my favorite creators that does this is @muradosmann. To explain this concept, you can see how his account utilizes the #FollowMeTo composition. This is characterized by a photo from his point of view, holding his wife’s hand. This is a very obvious signature composition, but there are other ways to do this. Simply taking pictures of a certain angle or orientation is one way of creating consistency. You could also create a pattern of images that are focused on a person in the foreground.
4. Participate in trends
Trends do not have to be cheesy and bandwagon-y. They can actually be as simple as talking about a location that is hot in the news or commenting on a trending movie. It may seem difficult to focus on trending topics in the travel genre, but it actually is easier than you think.
Again, using the example of @muradosmann, he has recently posted content that is very on-trend. For example, on Halloween, he posted a picture that was digitally edited and looked like it was from the movie Maleficent. Not only was this a trending topic because of the movie’s recent release, but he also captured the trend of Halloween by asking his followers what they were dressing up as. This imaginative approach makes trending content possible for travel creators.
Another way to participate in trends is when a topic is based in a certain location. This is a perfect way for travel creators to comment on a situation and use their content to establish credibility. For example, @heynadine posted a picture of her in the Bahamas amidst Hurricane Dorian. Not only was this an important topic to discuss and people were following, but it also shows the personal connection she has to the location. To make it even better, she used her influence to encourage donations to help with relief efforts.
A good way to look for trending topics is by using Google Trends. This tool tells you what topics are hot at the moment and what regions they are popular in. By participating in trends, you are contributing to a conversation. It makes you appear like you are aware of the things happening in the world around you - especially considering that is what your content is based on, anyway.
5. Let your creativity run wild
Travel posts can be so much more than a pretty location and geotags. You do not have to be limited to presets and image quality as your only elements of creativity. Many successful travel bloggers achieved their success with creativity. They took on the basic role of a travel creator and took it to the next level by letting their personalities and talents show.
I know I keep coming back to him (maybe that is why he is successful?), but @muradosmann does this really well. He not only created the #FollowMeTo project, but he also uses his artistic talents to make his posts stand out. One way he does this is by creating digital illustrations as overlays on his image. He still shows the destination in the background, but he adds to it to make his content unique. One of my favorite posts of his is this one. He shows the lavish pool and tropical location, but he created a swipe-over collection of different swimsuits drawn on his wife.
Another creator who brings her passions to the table is @the_essentialist_. She combines her love of fashion with her travels to create the ultimate travel account. When she posts her usual travel pictures, she always links her outfit pieces. This allows her to not only be limited to partnerships in the travel industry. By combining her passions, she is able to speak to multiple audiences simultaneously.