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7 Tips to Follow If You’re a New Travel Blogger

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Many people think that being a travel blogger is all about snapping pictures and writing out your adventures, but there’s so much more to it than that—and there are certain things that newbie travel bloggers should know before they get started.

We’ve compiled everything we wish we’d known when we started out on this journey into one handy blog post (which will hopefully save us from having to make this same list over and over again). Here are some tips for newbies who want to start their own blogs:

Haiku Stairs, Kaneohe, United States. Photo by Kalen Emsley, Unsplash
Haiku Stairs, Kaneohe, United States. Photo by Kalen Emsley, Unsplash

Have a plan

A lot of people don’t set goals for themselves, but it’s important to do so if you want to succeed as a blogger. To make sure your blog is successful and keeps growing, it’s important to have a plan for the future and know what exactly you want to achieve with your blog.

For example, if one of your goals is increasing video content on your YouTube channel because that’s where most of your audience is, then make sure that happens right away! It’s also smart to have some sort of outline or plan for any videos on the channel—it should be easy enough since they’re all scripted beforehand anyway.

You should also try not to forget about social media either; having an Instagram feed full of images from around the world isn’t enough anymore – nowadays, there needs to be some sort of story behind each photo so people can relate more easily (this goes back again into having good quality content). If someone sees something interesting while scrolling through their feed, then chances are good they’ll click through – which means more views!

Anaheim Hills, Anaheim, United States. Photo by Jordan Wozniak, Unsplash
Anaheim Hills, Anaheim, United States. Photo by Jordan Wozniak, Unsplash

Be consistent

If you want your blog to be successful, you need to be consistent. Having a schedule and posting regularly is key to building an audience and gaining subscribers. If people know when they can expect new content from you, they’ll be more likely to visit regularly and interact with your posts.

Don’t forget that consistency in style is just as important as consistency in frequency! Your readers will appreciate knowing what they can expect from each post—that means sticking with the style of writing (like first-person or third-person), tone (casual or formal), length (longer or shorter), and format (article vs listicle).

Make sure your content is useful

When it comes to content, make sure it’s useful. Don’t just talk about your trip; share tips and tricks that will help the reader plan their own adventure. You can even include a section on the blog where you answer people’s questions!

If you do this well enough, people will feel like they’re getting more than just a travelogue from your blog: they’ll also be learning something while they read. They’ll be able to get inspiration for their own trips and have ideas for how to spend their time once they arrive at their destination (which can make them more likely to return).

San Diego, United States. Photo by Frank Mckenna, Unsplash
San Diego, United States. Photo by Frank Mckenna, Unsplash

Diversify your social media channels

You should use different platforms for different purposes. For example, your Instagram could be all about travel photos and what’s going on in your life at the moment; as it’s not really appropriate to post about business topics there! You can keep your LinkedIn account for that. So, if you’re looking to grow your following on social media, make sure that you’re posting content that fits with each channel’s personality—and not just copying-and-pasting the same thing everywhere.

Use social media for research and networking. It may sound counterintuitive at first (since we’ve been told our whole lives not to talk about schoolwork), but think of blogging as a job: If someone was paying you an hourly wage with benefits included, would they expect their employees not to ask questions? Of course not!

Connect with other bloggers

If you’re a new blogger, the best way to connect with other travel bloggers is to get out there and find them—and don’t just stick to the Internet! Make it a point to attend conferences or meetups in your city on a regular basis so that you can build relationships in person as well as online.

Partner up with hotels and airlines

There are several ways to find hotels and airlines that would be good partners for you, but the best way is to start by checking out your competitors’ partnerships. If they’re working with companies like Hyatt, Hilton, and American Airlines, then those could be good options for you as well.

Highway 212, Lithonia, United States. Photo by Matt Duncan, Unsplash
Highway 212, Lithonia, United States. Photo by Matt Duncan, Unsplash

Travel safely and learn how to protect your stuff

Most people would only talk about growth but not about how to protect your stuff while traveling. We find it as essential as the other points because one bad memory can scar your future travels forever.

Hence, it goes beyond simply bringing a lock and keeping your stuff on you at all times. You’ll also want to make sure you have insurance in case of theft, loss, or damage to your items. The best thing to do is get travel insurance as soon as possible before leaving home, but it’s not too late if you already have a trip planned!

Travel with friends whenever possible. While solo travel is great for some people, having someone else with you can help reduce stress levels while traveling abroad and keep things from getting boring when there’s nothing going on in your itinerary.

Conclusion

We hope this article has been helpful in guiding you to start your own travel blog. If you have any questions, feel free to ask us!

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Sourced from Go World Travel Magazine

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In News

Most Millennials Won’t Book a Holiday That Doesn’t Offer Free Wifi

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Because selfies.

By Mediastreet Staff Writers

A hotel company surveyed Millennials to see what they want from holidays. And it seems, they want to pose on social media and that’s just about it.

Holiday group Hotels.com commissioned a study into Millennial behaviour to best work out how to attract Millennial customers. It was conducted by One Poll in November 2017. The data they crunched was based on 9,000 respondents across 30 countries.

So were there any surprises? Not really. What do Millennials want from their holidays? It’s what we all want. To brag. And they don’t care if they are bragging to real friends or fake online friends. They just wanna brag. And most of us love looking at other people’s holidays, let’s be honest.

Whether it’s the deluxe suite, the hip hotel or the #foodporn, travel bragging has become an essential part of any trip. 30% of Millennials admit they spend over four hours a day on their mobiles whilst travelling, often more glued to the small screen than the beach scene.

When it comes to what social savvy travellers are bragging about on their trips, food snaps (44%) is up there. Travel braggers show off their #foodporn to those stuck at home with their avocado toast, posting weird and wonderful dishes from across the globe.

Being a generation of filter-loving, selfie-stick addicts, two out of three Millennials surveyed (66%) admit they would rather upload a selfie than a picture with their loved ones (62%) on holiday. Not only that, 60% of young travellers admitted to uploading pictures, checking in at cool locations (39%) and tracking the amount of interaction on their posts (32%) whilst on holiday.

The new global research has also proven the long-debated theory that romance really is dead, with 14% admitting they would rather travel with their smartphone than their partner. Travellers even get more anxious when their phone runs out of battery (15%) than if they argue with their partner on a trip (8%).

“We know that 28% of people wouldn’t enjoy their holiday without their smartphone in their hand – how could they possibly capture the best selfie or show off to their friends at home without it? Not only that, we also know that getting the perfect picture plays an even bigger role with 14% of travellers admitting they would pose anywhere for that flawless selfie, often putting selfies ahead of safety,” said Daniel Craig, VP of Mobile at Hotels.com brand. “With a third of travellers refusing to book a hotel that doesn’t offer free Wi-Fi, there is a clear demand for travellers to be connected at all times.”

 

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Myanmar is Using Micro-Influencers to Flog Their Tourism Story

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The question is, will it work?

By MediaStreet Staff Writers

Myanmar Tourism Marketing is using traditional channels to hawk its tourism message: an updated national website for consumers, plus enthusiastic blogs, and festival information. They also have a YouTube channel, a Twitter account, Instagram and a Facebook page. Okay, standard practice these days.

But thrown into the marketing mix is now bait for micro-influencers. They want to attract travel journalists and Instagrammers to visit the country and share their experiences. English-born travel writer Andrew J. Wood recently published an article mentioning that “visiting Myanmar is the right thing to do” while Instagrammer Hayley Anderson, with more than 120K followers, said, “Love how everywhere we have visited has been so different!”

So far, Myanmar Tourism Marketing is happy with their influencer efforts, and are continuing to invite bloggers, Instagrammers and other social media influencers to share their experiences under @visit.myanmar or by using the hashtag #MyMyanmar.

What they want is for paid and unpaid influencers to convince mainstream travellers that Myanmar is a magical place to visit all-year-round. The launch of this media campaign comes at a time when the country is in the world’s media spotlight. Myanmar Tourism Marketing’s first posts were initially focused on expressing its support for all displaced people in Northern Rakhine State and Bangladesh and indicating that traveling to Myanmar continues to be safe. But more than that, they also want to keep people interested in spending their tourist money in the country. The tourist board needs influencers to bang the drum of “business as usual” on their behalf.

The message is that Myanmar offers safety and security; the temples and food are exquisite, there are festivals and warm and friendly people.

For travellers with moral concerns, Myanmar wants you to know that it continues to support people all over the country from any race of religion. “Myanmar is a huge, multi-racial country offering colourful festivals, beautiful beaches as well as stunning nature for tourists,” says May Myat Mon Win, Myanmar Tourism Marketing Chairperson. “Missing out on this would be a big loss for yourself as tourists, but also a big loss for those thousands of people working in tourism in Myanmar who have nothing to do with the issue in Northern Rakhine State.”

So the question is, will this new campaign work? Let’s keep a bead on it and see for future reference.

 

 

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In News

Travel Marketing: The Rise of the “Instagrammable Holiday”

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If you are marketing a travel destination, you only need one mantra: Deliver an ‘Instagrammable holiday’ or go home.

This conclusion is based on the findings from Travelzoo’s Autumn Travel Trends Survey* issued today. (Never heard of Travelzoo? Neither have we, but the organisation has 28 million members! What?)

The survey reveals that how a holiday photo will look on social media platforms is an important consideration for 55% of those born after 1996 (Generation Z). The appeal of social bragging declines going back each generation. Millennials (those born between 1987 and 1995) are highly focused on the photogenic appeal of their holiday choice (42%), but just 10% of both late and early Boomers (those born between 1946 and 1965) consider this when booking a holiday.

Joel Brandon-Bravo, Travelzoo’s General Manager in the UK said, “It’s mid-August now and peak ‘posting season.’ Most people’s social media feeds are full of images of friends and family enjoying the sunshine. Let’s face it, when you’re stuck in the office on a rainy day those feeds can become irritating. But there is a holiday show-off in most of us and many hoteliers are getting wise to the power of making their properties as ‘Instagram-ready’ as possible.

“Some restaurants and hotels Travelzoo works with tell us they are starting to train staff in how to take great photos for social media as they are seeing how guests love to share their experience in real-time and want to be part of that process. Our research shows this focus is not misplaced and the importance of how photogenic a hotel, restaurant or destination is should not be underestimated. The tourist of today sees where they travel as a way of expressing themselves and this will only increase with future generations. Being seen in aspirational destinations that photograph well will become one of the most significant considerations a person will make before booking.”

In terms of the power of social media to influence holiday bookings, the generational split is vast. Almost two thirds of Generation Z use social media for inspiration on what to book, but only 10% of older Boomers (those born from 1946–1954) say social media has an influence on their decision making. For Millennials and Gen Z, Facebook and Instagram are the most powerful channels, with Facebook marginally more influential for Millennials.

Savvy hotels, restaurants and resorts are realising how important it is to enable customers to create the best visual impression of their experience. Thomas Cook recently opened a new line of resorts called Casa Cook, which have been designed with features that will photograph well and appeal to a younger demographic.

Travelzoo works with London restaurant Galvin at Windows, whose General Manager Fred Sirieix says, “Our image online is very important. We take great care in the imagery we post and how we appear.” Staff at Galvin receive training in how to take photos that are suitable for Instagram and other platforms because they understand how important it is for their restaurant. Sirieix stresses that while the online image is managed carefully it is important to be authentic. He believes in the importance of not appearing too “manufactured” in your online imagery and explains how “our Instagram is loaded with fun videos in order to show our personality.”

Generation X (those born from 1966–1986) is the most concerned of all generations about privacy online and limit posting on holiday because of this. Millennials are the least concerned about their privacy being compromised through social media but this group are the most aware (34%) of the pressure to project the image of the ‘perfect holiday’ while they are on a trip. Authenticity is a trend most noted by Generation Z, with one in four saying they think people are doing less obviously touristy activities on holiday.

While the appetite to share the holiday experience on social media shows no sign of abating, the survey also reveals an awareness of the benefits of switching off digitally – and this is true across all generations polled. Despite their love of social media 53% of Millennials and 45% of those born after 1996 say the idea of totally disconnecting digitally on holiday is appealing to them and over 60% of Generation Z say switching off from social media and emails would help them recharge more on holiday.

About the Research
*Travelzoo’s Autumn 2017 Travel Trends Survey was conducted among 1000 consumers in the United Kingdom, who completed an online questionnaire sent out by third-party research agency One Poll.  The questionnaires were completed between 21–24 July, 2017.

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Travel, the New Currency of Influencer Marketing

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Partnering with influencers is turning out to be a better pay-off than other traditional forms of advertising because of how emotionally invested the community of followers are.

By MediaStreet Staff Writers.

Oh the places you’ll go, and the things you’ll see. Never have Dr. Seuss’ rhymes made more sense to adults today than when you start to examine how influencer marketing has turned the travel industry upside down.

Travel writing was relegated to stuffy travel guides written by yesterday’s travel wordsmiths. Now, influencers …social media stars on all manner of platforms are striking deals with destinations, and with brands, and bringing the places they go and things they see to their dream-filled followers.

Chanel brought Stephanie Liu of Honey & Silk to Grasse, France to experience and share the making of their iconic No. 5 fragrance.

Take Tommy Lei, the Hong Kong born / LA raised photographer behind MYBELONGING for example. In the last six months, Tommy has already travelled to Iceland, Punta Cana, Mexico City, New York, London, and Morocco.

Tommy Lei, cashing in on his trip to Morocco.

Tommy partnered with sandal brand Teva on his last trip through Marrakech to the Sahara, where the goal was a ground-swell of destination specific content – Morocco is an Instagram-worthy destination right now. The program was a smashing success, whereby his branded content generated over 40% engagement from his fans, and he was able to use his talent in photography to deliver a robust package of digital content to the brand. These kinds of collaborations are becoming the new win-win for influence deals, and they will only increase in velocity.

Brands who work with influencers get to be part of aspirational journeys across the globe, capturing audiences in a very visual way. Partnering with influencers is turning out to be a better pay-off than other traditional forms of advertising because of how emotionally invested the community of followers are.

Influencers are using wanderlust apps like Sherpa to share guides with their fans, bringing their trips full circle by establishing themselves as travel experts and brand ambassadors – all rolled into one incredible package.

On the other side of the spectrum, destinations themselves are turning into the clients that want to partner and bring groups of influencers to build the buzz. As David Hoffmann, host for popular YouTube travel channel David’s Been Here, noted, “Influencer marketing has branched out beyond fashion into the travel sphere, giving audiences a taste of what it’s like to quit their jobs, travel the world and create a personal brand doing something that was once considered a far-fetched luxury. Now that millennial influencers have taken Instagram by storm, places like the Maldives and Bali have become some of the hottest destinations, triggering flight deals and affordable hotel packages like never before.”

This is a massive shift in marketing dollars for destinations, and brands are seeing the returns in the form of booked hotels, booked flights and exploding local business. Influencers make travel, that often seems like a far off luxury, real and accessible.

The shift is also changing how other related trades are checking off their own bucket lists. Photographer Champagne Victoria has gone from shooting fashion editorials around Los Angeles to spending a better part of her year across Europe and island chains, because of the global impact of influencer marketing. By bundling trips with several brands projects, Champagne has been able to fully fund these trips, allowing her creativity to expand through different settings, and giving brands – many of which don’t have the big budgets of major labels – the opportunity to be shot in desirable destinations like the islands of Greece, Iceland, St. Lucia and so on.

If you imagine yourself waking up in the south of France, exploring the flower fields of CHANEL No. 5 – well, follow Stephanie of Honey & Silk, and see the dream become a reality. If you wanted to take the best Americana road-trip of your life, say from New Orleans to Boston and back, follow Courtney of Pretty Little Fawn. Influencers + travel are creating an exciting new wave of exploration – and thankfully with so many fashion influencers involved, you’ll finally know what to really wear.

For further reading, you can dig around the content of digital influencer management firm, God & Beauty. They discuss how travel is the new currency of influence and branded content.

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