Want to know which platforms to choose as a travel content creator?
Does a travel content creator need a website, blog, or podcast?
Be present on platforms that pay content creators?
Perhaps a strong social media presence?
So many questions, so little answers!
Overwhelming I know!
I had the same problem starting out.
My mind was all over the place. Just like that exploding head emoji.
If you are having the same questions and doubts, then you are at the right place.
It is hard to keep a clear head without wondering where to start in such a saturated market.
Where it feels that everyone is creating content. Where almost every second person is a luxury travel content creator and Instagram influencer or a travel Tiktoker, or famous Youtuber and vlogger, has a podcast and a blog that creates 4-figure revenue …
Mind. Blank.
Overheating …
Which social media platforms should you be posting on as a travel content creator? Tiktok or Youtube, Instagram or Facebook, Twitter or Snapchat, maybe Pinterest? All of them or just one, two, three?
You might be thinking that the more platforms the merrier!
Right?!
While the more the merrier might work elsewhere, having your presence on all the platforms (especially when starting out) is NOT the best approach. It is going to cost you a lot of time to learn the platforms. It may cause burnout. This could result in a low engagement rate and could lead to social media fatigue. So no, we don’t want that.
The goal is to post on platforms where your ideal travel audience spends time on. Where brands are present and active.
Here I am going to cover which are the best platforms for travel content creators. Platforms content creator needs to have an edge and stay ahead in this very competitive market.
ALSO READ:
TRAVEL BLOGGER, INFLUENCER & CONTENT CREATOR | WHO IS WHO AND WHAT THEY DO
Disclosure (being transparent and honest should be fun): You know the way I run this blog. I only recommend experiences, hotels, etc. that I personally tried and products I actually own and use. On my site, you will see pretty colorful links which are known as ”affiliate links”. If you click on this link and buy something you like, I’ll earn some money. I’m talking huge bucks here, like a new Tesla, yacht, and 7-bedroom mansion. Ok, honestly, most of the time it will be enough to help me buy treats for my dog and parrot, eco-friendly travel products or to help me build a time machine, and travel back in time to see the dinosaurs, do an interview of stone crafters on Easter island and have a serious chat with masterminds who ‘invented’ Maths. Thank you for your support!
Don’t have time to read now? Pin it for later!
Which social media platform to choose?
With so many social media platforms and apps, it can be hard to decide on only a few. A good bet is also to assume that you are using more than just one. So which one should you choose for travel content creation?
Different social media platforms have different purposes.
Some are more video focused, like Youtube and Tiktok. Some apply more to visuals with stunning images, like Pinterest and Instagram. Some platforms are visited mostly by women, and on some, the gender mix is equally distributed. Some appeal to younger generations while others are used primarily by young adults. Some social media apps are focused more on entertainment and others offer more educational content.
When selecting a platform to post travel content on, there are important things you have to ask yourself.
What are your goals? Who will be seeing your content? Who is your audience? Which social media platforms is your audience active on? Where are your competitors and what are they doing? Once you know the answers to this, it will be easier to determine where to go.
If you want to be a travel content creator, I already have a list of key platforms you will need.
When selecting a platform to post travel content on, you have to know two main things. Where your audience lives and what your competitors are doing.
Pin this for later!
1. An active and attractive Instagram profile
Instagram – as a visual platform – seems like an obvious choice. And since travel is highly visual, Instagram is a perfect fit for visual content creators.
Instagram is a free to join social media network, focused on sharing photo and video content. It is one of the most popular social media apps and has more than 1 billion active monthly users. Ii is popular in the United States and India but what makes it wanted by marketers is the audience. Users are predominantly young adults, the majority from teens to mid 30ies, with their own income and ready to spend money.
The most popular Instagram features are Reels and Stories. Together with sharing photos, it allows many to send their message and strengthen their brand recognition. This is also a platform that pays content creators. As a travel content creator on Instagram, there are many ways how you can earn income from it. From the app itself or from sponsored posts.
Are you wondering why you need an active and engaging Instagram profile as a content creator?
- MOST OF THE PEOPLE ARE VISUAL LEARNERS
According to research, more than 60% of people need to see the information. Myself included. And travel is very visual indeed. Instagram is for sharing photos and videos of your beautiful destinations, famous landmarks, best Instagram photo spots, must do’s, sunsets, and sunrises. Make the most of Stories to nurture your audience and build that know, like and trust factor. Share helpful tips and show behind the scenes.
- EASY TO REACH AND INTERACT WITH YOUR AUDIENCE
Instagram is designed in such a way that regular use of hashtags and keywords can help you to be seen. It helps if you post consistently and focus on posting various types of content; posts, carousels, Reels and stories. Various content and keywords will expose your content to the desired type of audience. They will help you to build your community, build relationships and facilitate more engagement. It is a personal platform allowing you to send a message to (almost) any profile and interact with them.
- GREAT TO SHARE VISITED DESTINATIONS
When you create a post, Reel, or even a story, you have the option to tag a specific location on the Globe. Location tagging is great for letting your audience know where a certain photo was taken. It is amazing for showcasing a location of brands (for example hotels, and restaurants) that you worked with. Geotagging can help your exposure, so your content can get noticed by more people.
An awesome feature is also tagging relevant profiles or adding a collaborator (hotel). By doing this one post can be published and shared on both of your profiles. The brand will benefit from your audience and you will gain from the hotel’s followers.
- EASY TO USE AND FREE
You can become an Instagram travel content creator with only your phone. Snap a photo and post it online. It is not the recipe for success but it is simple and free. While most websites need to spend money before they even start posting, Instagram is free. Posting and utilizing your Instagram account is already a type of advertisement for your products and services. Without any monetary investment (except time, energy, and effort) posting on Instagram can lead to conversions and partnership deals.
- CAN BE A SOURCE OF (A LOT OF) INCOME
It is true that you can earn from Instagram. It is also true that you no longer need 10k followers to earn from this social media platform. The number of followers is not the main indicator of when you can start earning or how much you can charge. With so many profiles created daily, what counts the most is the engagement rate. A profile with a high number of engagements is definitely going to be preferred over one with lesser interactions.
On Instagram, you can get paid from the app itself, with Reels bonuses, or open your own shop. You can also earn from sponsored posts, sponsored Stories, and affiliate marketing … possibilities are endless. It is up to you how you will use it.
Instagram – as a visual platform – is perfect for travel content creators. Travel is highly visual, and a photo is worth a thousand words … start using it to your advantage.
The great thing about Instagram is, that you can easily reshare your Instagram Stories, and Reels to your Facebook account! Or repurpose it for or on other platforms. In that case, just make sure to remove the Instagram logo.
Now, I am positive you already know and follow a dozen travel influencers and brands. I know I do! But it scares me to see how many travel content creators and influencers rely on a single platform. Solely on Instagram.
Don’t get me wrong! Instagram still has a huge potential and it can benefit you when used with the right strategy. But not if you use it as your sole and only platform. A lot of creators learned that the hard way on October 4th 2021, when Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp were inaccessible.
Now it is time to start building your online presence and audience outside of Instagram too.
I know you will remember, but just in case, Pin those!
2. Well structured Website
Website is your space in the online world.
Truth is that running a website or a blog is harder than running an Instagram profile. It is more time-consuming and more costly. It takes technical knowledge, time, and investment when setting it up,… But a website can give you so much more in the long run.
There are travel bloggers who earn more monthly revenue with their blogs than they earned in their regular jobs. And apart from making you more accessible and look more professional, your website can daily attract new audiences through search engines, like Google, Bing, Baidu, or Yahoo.
Are you curious what are some of the benefits of having a well-structured website?
- EXCHANGE OF INFORMATION
An average website will usually contain important and useful information about its owner. It will also provide opportunities to exchange information and contact forms.
Let’s say a brand is interested in partnering with you. They found you on Instagram and liked what they saw. Now they want to know more about you, and you can’t exactly put everything “About you” on your Instagram bio, can you?
Having a website in this scenario would serve a huge purpose. The brand would likely click on your website link. Here they would learn more about you, more about what you do, study your media kit and your previous work … They would also have the option to send you a formal message through the info you provided on your website.
- GREATER EARNINGS POTENTIAL
While there are different ways to monetize your Instagram, options to earn with your Website are even bigger and more diverse. From selling your own courses, templates, downloads, presets, insert affiliate links, guest posts and/or ads … So many options! And the best part is, that website works for you 24/7. On Instagram, it matters when you post, but with proper use of SEO, the website will work for you even in your sleep.
In this scenario, a hotel provider from Santorini, Greece, found you on Instagram and you got a deal to promote it on Instagram with a location tag Santorini, Greece. You agreed to X amount of posts on your Feed and Stories plus Reels. This same hotel is now checking out your website. They see that you write about a certain destination, offer hotel reviews, sell images, offer social media management … And ‘ka-ching’! They are interested in that too! So now you can upsell and earn more for writing a review about it, sell them photos, link this to other blog posts about Greece and earn even more for delivering a message to a different audience.
After your sponsored stay, you shared all about it on Instagram. Now you can write a sponsored hotel review, and publish it on your blog. With the article, you can then also earn a passive income from ads positioned on that site and add affiliate links. Win-win-win.
Website is your space in the online world. It works for you 24/7, even when you are out on holiday or in your sleep.
- LONG CONTENT LIFESPAN
Websites and blog posts can be found (with proper SEO) years after you write them. Considering your hosting and domain name are up and running. They will attract long-term inbound traffic. Which is much longer than posts on your Instagram profile.
On Instagram, feed posts and stories have a fleeting shelf-life. Stories (unless saved in highlights) last for 24 hours. Single posts are promoted for a day, carousels and videos for 48h. Reels can go viral later (that is why you should create them) but they get promoted for a day or two. What I am trying to say is that when you create more and more content on your Instagram, the chances that someone will open and read your caption from every single photo are small. People will usually look at the first 9 posts, read a few and … move on … and if you have 217 posts … well, you get the point.
While on the other side, even if after a year or 5 a person types in the title of your blog post, it will still show up. Instagram is more fast-paced mass production and blogging is a long-run race.
- YOU OWN IT
Your website will be ‘present’ for as long as you will have your domain name and hosting sorted. The content you produce and posts on your blog and website are yours.
On the other hand, while you own the content posted on social media platforms (FB, IG, TikTok …) you do not own the platform. Although those social media platforms are pretty solid, they might go out (like in October 2021) and your content could be gone (for an hour, 2, a day, month …).
Having a website is great for building an email list, another owned media. You can potentially offer a freebie, or simply give people an option to subscribe to your newsletter.
But there is still one key platform you should be utilizing, to get even more traffic to your website.
Pinning is winning!
3. Pretty and powerful Pinterest account
Pinterest is a place where people search for inspiration and ideas to enrich their lives.
You might be surprised and wondering why this platform is included in this article, however, don’t be. Pinterest is not really a social media but it leans more toward a search engine (like Google). Pinterest is a visual search eangine with huge marketing potential. It has around 500 million active monthly users.
What is great about it is that Pinterest users are searching for ideas. They are planners. They plan ahead, search for options through visually pleasing pins. Most of the users on Pinterest are young adults, especially women, with a strong purchasing power. If people scroll Instagram for fun, people come to Pinterest with the intention to find ideas and buy them.
Below are the reasons why you should be present on Pinterest, even if your focus is travel content creation.
- REACH A NEW AUDIENCE
Studies show that 80% of Pinterest users discover new brands and websites weekly. If you play your cards right, you could be part of those ‘new brands’. Pinterest marketing, when done correctly, can drive visitors to your other channels much faster than other social media networks. Pins can get traffic to your blog even before you master the SEO or Google lets you out of the sandbox. You can achieve this by creating pretty Pins and link them back to your blog post. Or reuse Reels and Stories as Pinterest Ideas pins.
- EXTREMELY LONG SHELF-LIFE OF A PIN
If I mentioned before that Instagram posts last on average for a day or two, Pinterest Pins last for up to 6 months, sometimes even longer. You can start pinning and promoting your blog post in March, but the pin will still be active half year late. Plus, you can create only 2 different pins for a single blog post, create 2 headlines and pin each of them to 5 boards. That gives you 20 pins to promote your blog post. With more pins/boards … you do the math (because I am not too good at it).
Pinterest is a visual search engine. Pinterest users are searching for ideas. They are planners. They come to Pinterest with the intention to find ideas and buy them.
- FREE TO JOIN AND SIMPLE TO USE
You can start posting on Pinterest for free. Good part is that you don’t even have to create content (but it is better if you do). Start creating boards and save other ideas. Later on, start sharing you blog posts or repurposing your Instagram Reels as idea pins. That way, you will extend you content life for a minimal effort. When you will be ready to dig in a bit deeper and invest more time, I suggest signing in to Tailwind and scheduling pins. Clicking on that link will give you a free month of Tailwind. Even more results with small energy investment.
- ONLINE IDEA PHOTO FOLDER
I already mentioned that majority of the human population are visual learners right? On Pinterest, you can create boards, where you save your and others’ pins. So much easier to have ideas saved on one online place, than in various folders on your computer. When someone else saves your pin, then he starts promoting your pin. I think you know what that means right?
- INCREASED CONVERSIONS AND SALES
Pinners are not like the average social media user. Pinners are creatives who are on the lookout for inspiration. They are planners and a rocking 90% of them make weekly purchase decisions on Pinterest. It is much easier to have sales converting leads on Pinterest than on any other platform. Besides redirecting people to your offers, Pinterest now offers Creator Rewards for creators to earn money from posting original Idea Pins.
ALSO READ:
BEST WAYS TO USE PINTEREST FOR TRAVEL PLANNING
Pinning is winning!
All of the above in a nutshell
If your dream is to venture into the magic of a travel content creation business, you will need to show up online. While being present on only one platform will be a good start it is not enough to truly succeed in this competitive market. But don’t get scared. That doesn’t mean you have to present on every social media platform.
You should only be posting on the ones where your audience is. And on the ones where your competition is already thriving. Basic three platforms, popular amongst content creators focused on travel niche are Instagram, Website/Blog, and Pinterest. Each has a different audience and differ in its purpose.
Instagram, as a visual platform, is perfect for travel content creators. Travel niche is growing on it, audience loves it and brands are active on it. You can post different types of content and earn income from the app or by sponsored posts. You website or blog is your space in the online world. Content can stay there for a long time and offers even more opportunities to earn revenue from it. Blog works for you 24/7. Pinterest is a visual search engine and one of the platforms that pay content creators. Pins have a long life span and pinners are planners that come on the platform with the intention to buy. Creating visually appealing pins will drive traffic to your other profiles with minimum effort.
So if you want to succeed, you will have to show up and equip yourself with some extra knowledge. That will give you an edge over other creators. Start with one platform and then repurpose content from one platform to two others. Master those three and then expand further to Youtube, Facebook, Twitter, Tiktok and further.
Which platforms are you using?
Would you add any other platform to the list?
Let me know what platforms travel content creator need in your opinion.
Pinning is winning and sharing is caring! What are you choosing?
Disclosure (being transparent and honest should be fun): You know the way I run this blog. I only recommend experiences, hotels, etc. that I personally tried and products I actually own and use. On my site, you will see pretty colorful links which are known as ”affiliate links”. If you click on this link and buy something you like, I’ll earn some money. I’m talking huge bucks here, like a new Tesla, yacht, and 7-bedroom mansion. Ok, honestly, most of the time it will be enough to help me buy treats for my dog and parrot, eco-friendly travel products or to help me build a time machine, and travel back in time to see the dinosaurs, do an interview of stone crafters on Easter island and have a serious chat with masterminds who ‘invented’ Maths. Thank you for your support!
Skipped to the good part? Here is the gist
It seems that as a travel content creator you should be present on every social media platform in order to succeed. That is not really the case. You should only be present on the ones where your audience is. And on the ones where your competition is already thriving. Basic three platforms, popular amongst content creators focused on travel niche are Instagram, Website/Blog and Pinterest. Each has a different audience and differ in its purpose. Master those, and then repurpose and expand further to Youtube, Facebook, Twitter, Tiktok and others.
I hope this article shed a light and helped you to understand which platforms should you be posting your travel content on.
If you found this blog helpful, follow me on Instagram and Pinterest. Or you can subscribe to my YouTube channel. Here you will find a lot of travel tips, itineraries, and packing hacks completely for free. If you want to see more of it and would like to encourage me to post even more, you can say thanks and buy me a coffee.
Which platforms are you posting travel content on?
Let me know in the comments.
ALSO READ:
TRAVEL BLOGGER, INFLUENCER & CONTENT CREATOR | WHO IS WHO AND WHAT THEY DO
BEST WAYS TO USE PINTEREST FOR TRAVEL PLANNING
