Tips on Making It Big as a Travel Content Creator

Social media has the potential to paint a powerful image of wanderlust, adventure, and new experiences. With the development of the digital world, working as a travel content creator has become increasingly more accessible.

This begs the important question - how to become a paid travel influencer?
Social media influencers are growing in popularity. As normal travel resumes after the pandemic and people are itching to explore new places, there’s never been a better time to create travel content (and make money at the same time).

Different Types of Travel Content Creators

Research shows that 57% of people in Generation Z look to social media to help them prepare for their travel plans. Other supporting statistics further emphasize the role that travel influencers play in guiding travel decisions.  

There is no single way of creating travel content, with many different methods of documenting your travels. Depending on your specific demographic, there are different approaches to take when creating travel content.

Whether you’re blogging as a writer, sharing photographs on social media, or filming videos, you can choose a specific focus.  Selecting your niche is one of the first steps to starting off as a travel content creator.

To get your creative juices flowing, consider the following niche focus areas as a starting point.

• Budget travel
• Luxury travel
• Family travels
• Solo travelers
• Digital nomad
• Adventure travel

First Steps: How to Become a Travel Influencer

There’s never been a better time to test the waters as a travel influencer. With over 3.6 billion people using social media in 2020, a captive audience is ready and waiting!
Before you start growing your following, it’s important to lay a solid foundation with the following steps.

Determine Your Niche

It takes time to build a following, so don’t delay in starting your profile (on whichever social media platform you choose).

Consider which platforms your target audience use most frequently and invest in these platforms. Some of the most common social media platforms in the tourism industry include Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest and YouTube.

Take a moment to assess your style of travel and which niche you best fit. For example, if you’re always looking for the best deals, then you may consider becoming a budget travel writer. If you have a skill for taking photographs, then you may want to do specific research on how to become a travel blogger on Instagram.

Create a Brand

Once you’ve decided which niche you want to pursue, then you can get to work on creating a brand. Decide on your mission, tone and your target audience. Once you’ve refined your brand, you can work on your profile and start generating content.

Develop a Content Strategy

If you’re wondering how to become a paid travel influencer, then it’s important to be consistent and authentic with your content schedule.

A content strategy is fundamental in posting regular, relevant content and growing your audience. User-generated content serves as excellent social proof and brands identify great value in profiles that have targeted, authentic content and high levels of engagement.

Tips to Grow Your Profile

Creating a strategic profile as a travel content creator is step one. The next step shifts the focus to growing your profile to make it as a big-time travel influencer.

Collaborate With Other Influencers

Connect with other travel influencers and engage with their content. Joining efforts and cross-pollinating audiences is a great way to boost your following. Be strategic in who you choose to join in collaboration.

For example, make sure that their brand aligns with your mission and that their following is authentic.

Take Advantage of Social Media Trends

Jumping on to social media trends is a great way to catch the eye of aspiring travelers and potential sponsors. There are several ways to join in the trend, such as the following.

• Use hashtags, especially travel-related hashtags (the more niche, the better)
• Leverage new features on social media platforms such as Instagram Reels
• Take part in trending content such as videos that go viral

Direct Your Audience to Your Content

As your profile grows, you may extend your brand to other platforms. For example, your journey as a travel influencer may start on Instagram and then develop into a fully-fledged travel blog.

Make sure that you direct your audience to each of your channels. One of the best ways to do so is using a link-in-bio tool that helps to drive traffic from various platforms with a single URL.

Prioritize Engagement and Consistency

Posting consistent content improves the chances of a loyal audience and gaining larger traction. Carve out time to engage with your audience and build a genuine, authentic relationship with them. After all, brands identify the value of an engaged audience and there’s a higher chance of earning money.  
Top tip: if you’re struggling to post frequent content, then you can always take advantage of social media scheduling tools.

Focus On Quality Travel Content

Whichever niche you choose to pursue, make sure that you offer quality content. Create a consistent look and feel with your imagery, and offer valuable insight with your captions and copy. Quality content will make sure that you stand out from your competition and reach your monetization goals quicker.

A Tool Used by Top Creators

While we can’t take your photographs of the sunset on Bali beaches, or write your insider flight tips for your audience, we can help to direct your audience to your content. Link Space’s all-in-one link in bio tools is the perfect addition to your social media bio, storing all of your important links in one URL.

Browse our useful features and create an account today. It’s time for your brand as a travel influencer to take flight!