Instagram and travel influencers are the leader in travel industry influence

Instagram is our favourite social media platform. Instagram and travel go together like vegemite and butter on toast (we are Aussie so we had to reference vegemite!). Every #travelgram you post is used to evoke envy in all of your followers and we are all guilty of travelling to obscure places to get that #Instaworthy shot. Even though Instagram has taken a hit with bloggers recently, thanks to its constantly changing algorithms, we believe that Instagram is still the best place to build a following for travel bloggers. And in turn, travel bloggers are the greatest social influence asset to travel companies wishing to broaden their exposure.

The benefit of social influence in the travel industry has been validated in a survey conducted by creative agencies BLITZ and AMP. The survey found that 84 percent of all millennials and 73 percent of non-millennials were more likely to plan their travels based on another persons social media photos than any other form of media. Long gone are the days of glossy travel magazines and brochures from your local travel agency. Millennials want to fuel their wanderlust through their Instagram feeds. This puts us travel bloggers in a great place, as we are able to use our social influence to encourage more millennials to see this big, beautiful world and to start using travel companies that we believe in.

Social influence has led to a boom in experiential travel fuelled by The Instagram Effect. Social media, especially Instagram, is a curated version of one’s best life, where we have the ability to filter out the bad parts and show off only the best parts of our lives. This means that our edited, glamorous vacation pictures are coveted by our followers on a daily basis. This feeling of envy makes followers want to replicate the “perfect” life displayed in the Instagram feed they are following, so they book a trip to the same place and in turn fulfil The Instagram Effect. The Instagram Effect means that the millennials want to experience the same things that the influencer experienced so they will plan their travels based on inspiration from their favourite travel influencers. Considering that millennial consumerism is fuelled by social media, once again travel bloggers and their social influence are perfect to collaborate with to broaden your exposure to the millennial travel market.

Tips for collaborating with travel influencers

Have a tailored brief

Contrary to popular belief, travel bloggers don’t just take a few photos for Instagram then sit around all day and watch the bank balance rise. There is so much work to do to maintain a successful blog and social media following. So, when you are ready to contact your chosen travel influencer, make sure that you have a specific and tailored brief ready to go. The brief should include an introduction to your brand, the key message for the campaign, examples of previous successful campaigns, and how you believe a collaboration between your brand and the influencer is beneficial.

 

Organise the deliverables and timeframes

When you decide upon the exact deliverables to be made for the campaign you will need to organise delivery timeframes. Be reasonable and don’t expect instant delivery. Good quality content is the goal for both the brand and the influencer and quality takes time. A reasonable timeframe is 3 to 4 days after collaboration opportunity.

Negotiate Fees

When you have agreed upon deliverables and timeframes, you will need to negotiate the fees and date of payment for the deliverables. It is advised to have a contract, that outlines deliverables, timeframes, and fees, that should be signed for both parties. A contract is evidence that both parties will deliver. Also, actually paying the fees is very important. A lot of hard work goes into creating quality content for your brand and therefore, timely payment of fees ensures that a quality working relationship will be formed between your brand and the travel influencer.

 

Work well together

It is imperative that the brand realises that creativity cannot be forced. So, give the influencers the best opportunities to create content. If you are organising a trip for influencers make sure to factor in the best times of day for photography and include some #Instaworthy locations in your itinerary. After all, you just read this article and now understand the value of Instagram for your travel brand. If you really do not like the creative direction that your influencer is taking, speak up politely. Provide the influencer with examples of your brand’s creative style and let them focus on creating great content. Remember, a good brief will eliminate these issues from the beginning of the relationship.

 

Feel free to contact us with any opportunities or if you are a travel influencer we would love you to leave your thoughts in the comment section.