Running an Instagram page is one of the most competitive mediums out. Not only is it something everyone wants to do, but also something incredibly hard to vie for attention with. And if you’ve been running a travel blog or just thinking about starting one and want it to take off on Instagram there are a few strategies you should know. That’s why we’ve compiled a few of our favorites to consider. Check them out below:
Implement More Digital Marketing Tools
Digital marketing is one of the most vital tools for any Instagram marketer. No matter if it’s learning how to buy views or utilize an analytical system that enables you to track likes and other forms of engagement, you’ve got to get familiar with these to make your travel blog take off. Not only will they help you keep track of who’s engaging with you on a regular basis but also when you travel as well, with a hyperfocus on where you’ve been going as well as who’s engaging with you there. Take the time to learn a few of these tools (including some for improving your visual skills as well) benefiting your overall image moving forward.
Have A Focused Vision On What You’re About
As a travel blogger, it can be easy to get digital ‘wanderlust’. With the opportunity to travel any and everywhere, being focused on what you stand for as a brand can be a hard task. Especially if you feel like you’re constantly trying to go after new locations or sites for exploration, having a vision on where you’re trying to go and what your followers can expect is crucial, which all falls into what you stand for as a brand.
While it might be odd to think about yourself as a brand similar to that of a Nike or Coca-Cola, it’s actually much more commonplace than you might think. These days, influencers are often taken in the same light as that of a brand, only with a more significant advantage in that they are trusted much more. As people relate to other people more than they do a logo, your opportunity to create influence as a brand is much higher, as long as you know what you’re about and how to showcase it.
A big part of showcasing your brand is knowing why you decided to start a travel blog, to begin with. Obviously, it’s not enough to just say that ‘you like to travel’ as that’s a common answer virtually amongst every travel blogger. Instead, hone in on what you’re trying to educate people on, as well as what your overall strategic goal is with the places you visit.
Although it’s true that a lot of travel bloggers will simply go wherever the job takes them, having a sense of intent behind your actions will not only help you in creating content but give your audience a better understanding of where you’re at as well.
Give Your Followers A Chance To Engage
For how much fun it is to post travel content, it’s important to give your base a chance to engage with you on the content that you’re creating. No matter if it’s having them choose your next location or where you should go next on vacation, giving your base a say will complement the educational aspects of your journey in that you now have an actual engaging piece to use as well.
Brainstorm a few strategies that you can use for your base to start interacting with you, providing not only a medium for other people to be a part of your travels but possibly have a say in where you go next as well.
Tag More Locations
For a travel blogger, location tagging on Instagram is everything according to ViralRace. As the primary tool for showing people where you’re going and what you’re doing, location tags not only are a means of documenting your journey, but also a part of advertising. Ideally, the goal is that you eventually can use your base and following to convince businesses that tagging their location is worth a certain amount of money, getting an ROI out of where you go in return. However, building up to that can take time, which is why you need to start making it more of a habit, to begin with.
While it sounds counterintuitive to start tagging places when you eventually want to charge for doing it, travel blogging is a lot about building clout before you can start charging. For this reason, it’s smart to hone in on places that you eventually want to build a relationship with, providing content or a network that they can’t produce for themselves. Even if the first tag or two is free, with the right communication strategy, you can begin to show the ROI of you tagging a place, providing value an owner didn’t know you had. Take this into consideration as you start conversations with different restaurants and cultural establishments, highlighting what the return on each post is going to be.
Throw More Contests
Contests are a simple but effective way of marketing yourself on Instagram. While you might not be able to afford an all-expenses-paid trip somewhere, you can afford to offer your base a free lunch or dinner at a restaurant of their choosing in the area you’ve traveled.
Take this as an opportunity to curate engagement; for example, making people comment or like a post (as well as follow the partner restaurant/event spot’s page), and then choosing a winner based on engagement. With enough effort, contests can grow your base tenfold.
Find A Partner
Finally, as brand partnerships are vital to any company’s success, knowing who you can partner with and why is vital. Not only will you end with those who you can build a long-term relationship with, but also expose yourself to another base as well. Take this as an opportunity to learn and grow with other companies, highlighting where you can breach new territory. With enough of an effort, you’ll be rolling in new followers from different places in no time.
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