Travel is a popular Instagram niche. There are lots of small and well-known influencers online who post pictures and reviews of their travel tips and destinations. And many young travelers will base their next vacation or trip on how Instagram-able this or that destination is. So there is always an audience for this niche!
In this post, we will share some insights on promoting your travel account effectively.
1. Hashtags
The first thing to consider is the hashtags that you’re using for your channel. Ideally, try not to use too many, or it might look too sales-y. Using about three per post is a good idea. If you post three times daily, you can still get nine different hashtags used during the day. You can take inspiration from Nicole Franzen, who uses only one hashtag on her posts.
2. Spending Some Money
Sometimes you have to spend money to get the followers you want. There are several ways to do this: paid advertising, photos of other creators, or engagement growth. However, advertising through the Meta system can sometimes mean you are spending more than $1.
Moreover, buying a high-quality photo for use on your Instagram account allows you to impress the audience. Numerous brands have started out this way, including Aegean, which had great success with its advertising campaigns.
However, there are other ways that you can spend some money and promote your Instagram account. You might also want to buy Instagram followers for $1, and there is an easy process for this. Organic followers will boost your account in a fast and cheap way.
3. Use Instagram Reels and Stories
Instagram reels are videos that are up to 90 seconds long. These last for only a short period but can be important for promoting your content. Use reels to show something exciting while enticing the audience that there is something else that they should follow you for.
This could be something like a competition or money-saving tricks for their travels. The blog, @thecommonwanderer uses more videos than galleries and individual pictures that bring their locations to life and are really endearing. You might also want to use Instagram Stories which has become a really popular feature in the last few years.
4. Publish Regularly
There are numerous tips online that will tell you to publish regularly and, the reason for it is because it is true. If you want to be successful, you should publish new content on a regular basis, about three times a day, seven days a week.
You should also post across the day. There are numerous Instagram travel accounts that do this, and as a result, they’ve grown their following huge, and @earthpix is a great example.
5. Create a Niche
Sometimes you need to be more than just a travel Instagram account. You should take a different direction to make yourself unique. After all, sending photos of the same places that others cover will be boring and not make you stand out.
Look at how @mr.pokee, who has amassed approximately 1.8 million followers. It isn’t just another Instagram account about traveling, it’s all about the hedgehog who does it. This account is really unique and inspiring. However, there are other options that are available such as:
- Showcasing the local food by cooking it yourself.
- Joining in local traditions without appearing to be a tourist.
- Taking images in a particular light or time of day.
- Showcase artwork you create of your travels rather than an image itself.
- Give game reviews while you travel.
6. Competition Time
Competitions are a way for you to earn followers. You can create a giveaway where you want people to follow and share your account for a chance to win. You can also have numerous ways to enter, with the more engagements they provide to your account, the more chances they have of winning.
While there are costs to this, usually, this is not always the case. Instead, you can do a free mention or product blast on your Instagram account. Competitions have worked very well for other travel Instagram influencers. You can see an example of how to run a contest with travel_photo_contest.
7. Collaborations
Collaborations are still one of the main ways to build a following. It allows you to market yourself positively with a following of another brand and you to help the other brand as well. There are numerous Instagram travel influencers out there doing this all the time.
One such example is @therarewelshbit, who regularly works with other brands in the travel industry to promote them and herself. As a result, she has more than 13 thousand followers.
8. Name Drop
Name dropping is essential for getting noticed. Name drop big publishers and companies that have worked with you for your travel plans. It can have a massive impact on how audiences view you. If you’ve worked with major media outlets, it can really make you seem more professional.
A classic example of this is Baia Dzagnidze, who names the blogs and magazines she has worked with as a freelance travel blogger. This name-dropping gives her credibility, and you want to follow her because you know she is producing some of the top content on the platform.
9. Don’t Just Publish Locations, Tell Stories
Stories sell when it comes to media and are a part of your brand. Are you going to talk about a story like how the local population overcame depression, a natural disaster, or persecution? Or are you going to be telling the story of your journey there?
Stories add context to an image and become a focal point for the images you want to share. Look at how Belgian-born @lebackpacker entwines stories from the local communities they meet on their travels with stunning landscapes.
10. Take Some Time Off
Remember that while you’re traveling, you’re going to be using a lot of energy and, from time to time, you might want to take some time off. This is when you need to rest and relax. It’s also something that you can embrace in your content. @itsbeautifulhere are a couple who travel publishing content about the wonderful sights they’re taking their audience too.
They also showcase themselves relaxing in different environments, showcasing that traveling is fun, but you can also take your time and not have to rush around so much. By adopting the same ethos, you can showcase more of the destinations and be more realistic to your audience.
11. Create a Challenge
A challenge can be a great way to grab the attention of your audience. It creates an epic struggle that audiences will want to follow, and you can grow your audience as they wait anxiously to see if you are able to complete the task you set yourself. Or you can go all out and get your audience to provide you with a challenge to solve, though this can be a little riskier.
Eva Tsang, aka @thetrottergirl, showed how a challenge can be inspiring and fun when she tasked herself with finding all the cute coffee shops in Tokyo. Considering that she is from New York, famed for its coffee shops, it seemed a very appropriate task.
