Do you ever endlessly scroll through a sea of Instagram travel accounts that it seems all people are doing is travel for a living? While it might look easy and effortless, people who share those stellar photos and videos actually put in a lot of work in what they do. So, if you want to try out a glamorous life of Instagram traveler and blogger, here’s what you need to do.

Find a good niche

There are over 1 billion users on Instagram and at least 800 million log on to their accounts every month. With so many users (many of which post travel-related content) it can be very hard to attract attention. In order to succeed and actually gain revenue, you need to find an underestimated and undeserved Instagram niche that has an audience that craves content. If you cater to this type of audience, you’ll get better visibility and engagement than if you take a more general route to travel Instagramming.

Write a good caption

Sure, while a good picture is worth a thousand words, captions are more than important on Instagram. They add value and weight to your content if used correctly. If you have a nice travel photo, make sure to add something interesting about the place to the post to enrich your content. With the right caption, you can significantly raise the number of views and especially the comments. If you’re a travel blogger, you can simply reuse content from your blog posts and create a fun and inspiring captions for your photos.

Use the tag

If you want to reach a wider audience and get “discovered” make sure to use tags properly. If you tag other accounts on your best photos, it can earn you a repost and your content will reach more people. For instance, if you had a gorgeous and delicious meal at a local restaurant, make sure to tag the restaurant on your photo. Had a cool museum experience? Tag the museum. Businesses, no matter what they do or sell, love when people promote their products since people love to rely on real users for recommendations. You can even tag other influencers from the area that you have something in common with. This way, your content will show up when people look at the photos of that account and you can also make serious business connections.

Invest in good equipment and gear

Ask any serious Instagram blogger and all of them will recommend getting some serious photo equipment. None of the pros use smartphones to take their pictures and videos! Instead, they use good digital cameras that are high-quality as well as compact. Today you can find reasonably-priced digital cameras that will allow you to snap some good stills and capture gorgeous videos for Stories. Also, make sure to follow trends and visit top destinations in your niche or wear trendy clothes. Before you snap your stills or make videos from the seaside, grab some trendy swimwear online and you can capture the attention of two different audiences — travel lovers and fashionistas. Even lower quality posts can be made better with some good fashion!

Choose the content that complements current events

When planning your posting strategy, make sure to pay special attention to posts that complement current events. Viral content will attract the most attention and allow you to reach a wide audience with your posts.

Edit like a pro

Your content must be fascinating in order for it to attract users. So, if you know how, make sure to edit your photos to give them added quality and interest. If you don’t know how to use editing tools, you can turn to online tutorials or hire freelance editors to handle your content for very little money.

Don’t forget Insta Stories

Instagram Stories are gaining fans very quickly so now there are more people who use Stories than total users of Snapchat! So, make sure to show your followers some videos from your travels and capture behind-the-scenes glimpses into your adventures. Many people find this very entertaining!

Invest in analytic tools

If you’re serious about making Instagram travel blogging your job, you need to invest in some analytics tools that will show you what your audience finds interesting. There are various cost-effective Instagram analytics tools like Quinty, Brandwatch and Socialbakers that will help boost your exposure. There are also platforms that monitor hashtags and keywords that make it easier to engage audiences.

Brand your photos

Your main goal is to get people to share your content widely, but you also want to make sure people know where that content came from originally. So, placing a subtle brand on your photos or adding a watermark Instagram handle will make for easy branding solutions. Some users choose to place their signatures on creative and strategic places in their photos which allows them to further connect their brand with places they visited and scenes they capture. If you have good knowledge of photoshop, you can really create amazing photos and insert your brand in fun places.

Be interactive

Interacting with your followers and the people you follow is a very important part of growing your brand and reaching a wider audience. As you boost your interaction, more people will view your content on their feeds and enable you to grow. So, make sure to comment on interesting posts, chat with users and answer questions your followers ask. Ensure your comments are lighthearted and fun and your answers are genuine and not cheesy. As long as you address the topic, you’ll be fine even if you’re not a great verbal communicator.

Attract publications

Accounts that attract the attention of press report instant growth, so if you have the chance to find yourself on various lists and publications, make sure to use it wisely. For instance, accounts listed in Bazaar’s 20 Travel Accounts to Follow on Instagram all have thousands of followers today!

Being a travel blogger with a spotless Instagram account isn’t an easy job, but if you use these tips, you’ll reach a lot of people, promote your brand and fund your lifestyle. That’s every blogger and Instagram influencer’s dream!

Originally posted at RuhaniRabin.com
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