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Accomplish October 8, 2019
The world at your fingertips.
Some of the most successful Instagram accounts are travel-based. More and more users are referencing social media to see where they want to go next. In 2015, New Zealand saw their fastest tourism growth (14%) in the town of Wanaka after the town’s tourism board started hosting travel influencers.
So if you love to travel and do it fairly frequently, you could gain a pretty large following through your adventures! Take inspiration from these three travel accounts to learn how to become a travel influencer yourself.
Mark Nayman has 45.2k followers on his personal travel Instagram @marknayman. His vibrant, colorful photos and unapologetic use of hashtags draws in many of his followers.
But Nayman’s influence spreads past this one account. He also founded @amsterdamworld, @nycityworld and @londoncityworld, which each boast anywhere from 270k to 340k followers. They all feature photos from various locals and tourists taking shots of the featured city.
So what should you take away from the name Mark Nayman?
Know that there are multiple routes you can take while making a travel account. You can either make it about your personal experiences, create a community or come up with an alternative third option.
But make sure to stick to a focus! Clearly, Nayman knew to keep each idea separate. If you’re really torn between two great ideas, make two separate accounts! These photos can then cause other areas of influence to grow.
The account @bestvacations is verified on Instagram. Like Mark Nayman’s @nycityworld and @amsterdamworld, this account features other users’ photos to grow their feed. They ask users to tag their account so they know that they can post that photo.
If you do end up running a non-personal travel account, know that you have access to great strategies like the one above. By getting other users to tag your account, you simultaneously strengthen the relationship between you and that user (therefore notifying the Instagram algorithm to put your photos to the top of their feed) and get content for your feed.
And if you don’t want to run a non-personal travel account, tagging other accounts like @bestvacations and @amsterdamworld is a great way to get more followers. By being featured on these accounts, you can gain more exposure and get a similar demographic to check out your account!
Also keep in mind that even with 4.8 million followers, @bestvacations still uses hashtags. So don’t feel obliged to stay hashtag-free.
Li-chi Pan boasts 566k followers for gorgeous imagery like the photo above. Instagrammers mainly follow her account for her extremely grandiose and unique photography (although it doesn’t hurt that she’s also extremely pretty).
Those who’d like to learn how to become a travel influencer can take a few lessons away from her account. Firstly, discovering new and exciting places is always a great way of growing your base. People want to experience places they’ve never seen before. If you post the same pictures of beaches and museums that everyone else visits, you’re not offering any new information.
But you don’t have to reach the far ends of the earth to find places as extravagant as Li-chi Pan’s destination spots! Try to find the unique spots that your own area offers. I discover new things in my hometown every day. If you can find a way to capture these hidden treasures, your follower count will thank you.
Another lesson to take away is unity. While all her pictures are uniquely picturesque, they share one common theme; her back is featured in almost every shot. By using a symbol or some sort of other unified element throughout your feed, followers will be able to associate that symbol with your account, which strengthens your brand. Feeds simply look better if they have the same colors, themes or symbols throughout each photo.
Hopefully, you learned a little more about how to become a travel influencer. But these aren’t the only travel accounts that can give you a better idea of how you want your own account to look. Check out why the @packofpeanuts Instagram can also give you some travel inspo for your influencer goals.
