Instagram is one of the fastest-growing social media platforms today. It has over 300 million monthly active users, and its popularity continues to grow with the addition of new features, such as Stories, embedded video, and improved live video streaming.
While Instagram can be harnessed in several ways, travel brands have taken advantage of it by sharing photos and videos representing their destination. For example, when you search for “Italy,” you’ll see Instagram travel posts popping up and traditional posts from news organizations or other tourism boards.
This article will teach you how to use Instagram for your own marketing purposes by using actionable strategies that help business owners boost engagement and reach new audiences through videos and photos.
1. Identify Your Ideal Audience
If you’re a travel brand, you should know your unique audience. The best way to do this is to look at the audiences for other travel brands. What are their hashtags? What type of posts do they make? If you can discover how other travel brands communicate with this audience, you can start identifying potential content ideas that resonate with them.
For example, if your ideal audience correlates with the #nofilter travel tag, it’s good to use that hashtag in your Instagram post. This is because it will appear in the popular or trending section of your followers’ news feeds.
The key here is to understand where your audience congregates online and tailor your content to them.
2. Use Hashtags on Every Post
Hashtags help people find new posts on Instagram and make it easier for them to discover you and your travel brand. Suppose a person has a particular interest, like traveling. In that case, they can search for these associated tags and come across your content, which increases the chances of them becoming a customer or follower of yours. It can help you grow your brand by giving it a reputational boost, especially if you want to attract new followers.
While most real, unique hashtags have already been used on Instagram, there are some that you can use. One of the most important things you need to do is make your Instagram profile hashtag stand out so that it’ll be easier for your followers to find you.
Suppose you’re comfortable using the #travel #travelblogger and #InstaTravel/#InstaTravels tags. In that case, it’s best not to change them because they’re quite popular, but if you’d like your account to become more searchable, then making a unique hashtag might be the best idea. To do this, think about what your travel brand is all about and what makes it unique from everyone else.
3. Post at the Right Time
When is the best time to post? This really depends on you, but it’s generally accepted that people engage with Instagram the most between 9 am and 5 pm. You’ll get more eyeballs on your photos and videos during this time. You can use an Instagram video editor to create a short video showing your followers what you’re up to. It’s also a good idea to post during peak times to reach your target audience. If you’re targeting millennials, you should probably post between 5 pm and 6 pm.
It’s also important to understand what type of content works best during certain hours of the day. For example, if you’re using Instagram Stories or Live, then late at night is a good time because the chances of people seeing your content are actually higher because they’re not doing anything else other than scrolling through their feeds. It’s better to use Instagram when it’s convenient for your followers to ensure that they see your posts without going on the app to find them.
4. Use Stickers and Filters
You can use the Instagram video editor, available in the Instagram app, which allows you to make your photos and videos more engaging to your followers. You have a variety of stickers that you can use on your content, such as emojis that express how you feel: love, excitement, sadness, etc. You can also use stickers to promote your products or services – it’s a good way for users to relate to the picture.
Filters aren’t just for aesthetics either. You can use them strategically because they do more than just give the photo a certain vibe; it helps people find you – again, especially if you’re using hashtags because it makes them even more searchable.
5. Use Stories
Instagram Stories are a good way to build up your brand’s reputation and share information with your target audience. If you’re running a daily deals page or travel blog, it can be used to share links and special offers for products or services. You have only 24 hours to use Instagram stories, so you should make the most of it by posting something exciting that could drive traffic to your site. Businesses, especially travel brands, can use this feature as an opportunity to show off their content in an engaging manner.
6. Share Photos and Videos of Your Target Audience
If your customers are millennials, it makes sense to upload photos and videos showing millennials having fun in your destination. It’s also a good idea to share photos of the people who live there because it gives you a chance to show off the locals. In other words, if you’re a hotel, you should be sharing videos and photos of the people who visit your hotel and the staff.
Another thing that you can try is taking videos or photos and adding captions describing how a particular experience made you feel. You could share with your followers how beautiful the scenery was or how peaceful it was when it felt like no one else was around.
Instagram is a very powerful marketing tool for travel and tourism businesses. If you want to drive traffic and find new customers, then it’s important that you use the app correctly.
Instagramming can be a lot of fun if you do it correctly. It’s not just about posting pictures and videos of what you do; it gives you the chance to share with your followers who your target audience is and how they can benefit from your services. The more engaged your followers are with your content, the more popular it’ll become. If people like what they see, they’ll be more inclined to visit your page, which could translate into more bookings or sales in the future.
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