8 Instagram tips for travel bloggers

Use a mix of general and regional hashtags.

Hashtags are a great way to get your content discovered and gain a following, especially if you’re savvy about the types of hashtags you use. When you’re traveling think about including multiple hashtags in three categories:

1. General travel-related hashtags: #travelwriter #travel #instatravel #travelgram #tourism #instago #passportready #travelblogger #wanderlust #ilovetravel the list goes on and on and on…are great ways to get your content surfaced to people who are interested in the general vertical.
2. Regional hashtags: People tend to click on regional hashtags when looking for places to eat or things to do, so make sure you’re also including regional hashtags, like the name of the city, monikers, or slogans related to the place you’re visiting to capture a more targeted audience.
3. Hashtags that could get you featured on influential accounts: Top travel publications like National Geographic, Afar, Conde Nast Traveler all have branded hashtags and using them in your posts could help your content get picked up by traditional media outlets. Cities, too, tend to have official Instagram accounts that feature user-generated content and Instagram itself surfaces content by region in the explore tab.

Save your favorites in a note on your phone, so you can add them as the first comment on your post. Note that adding more than 30 hashtags will prevent your comment from being posted, but content with 11 or more hashtags receive the most engagement.

Geotag your posts and Instagram Stories.

Adding a location to your content is not only helpful for your followers or readers, but it helps drive discovery as well, since your post will appear when someone is exploring the content tagged with a location. A slideshow roundup of your favorite shots could speak to an entire city location, while tagging a specific business location will reach a smaller but perhaps more targeted audience. If you’re creating content on behalf of a brand or business, geotagging can help you reach an audience most likely to convert to customer, as Spark user marketing specialist @melaniehbritt points out on Instagram. She practices her own advice by tagging her post where she does business.

Follow and tag influencers, businesses, and places in the region you’re covering.

Just as using branded hashtags on your content can help you get discovered, tagging other accounts on your most fabulous photos could earn you a repost from that user. Did you have a great meal at a local restaurant? Experience something cool? Stay in an awesome Airbnb? Tag the companies in your photos! Businesses love to feature customer content and users rely on real people to know what’s worth doing. You might also tag influencers or popular regional accounts that you have things in common with. Not only will your content then show up when people look at photos of that account, but you might connect with someone who can help you get to the next level. Before your trip, research local accounts like writers that cover the region, local publications, popular businesses etc. and consider aligning your content with the kinds of things they like to share.

Spark user and L.A.-based travel blogger @thejentravels is really good at shouting out the businesses and experiences that fuel her jet set lifestyle.

Capture a sense of place with color.

Did you know that Spark Post auto-generates complementary color palettes based on the background photo? It takes the guess work out of designing graphics and helps capture the vibe of the place you’re visiting.

Inspired by the desert tones of Joshua Tree, we generated these color palettes with Spark Post. You can use the tool to create color cohesion on your feed for each place you cover. Pro-Tip: using Spark Post’s color palettes offers a fun branding exercise too. Your personal brand colors could be inspired by your favorite vacation!

https://www.instagram.com/p/BWVf6RsBmPo/

Brand your photos.

You want your content shared widely, but you also want to make sure people know it’s you. Consider placing a subtle signature on your photos or adding your Instagram handle for an easy branding solution. Spark user @xicanayork places her signature in strategic places in her photos, which has the added benefit of creatively placing herself in the scenes she captures. This method may not be for everyone, but we love how she uses Spark to explore a style unique to her.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BWiu8cUh4bB/

Share quotes or slogans inspired by a place

There’s so much more to travel than the things you eat, drink, do, or see. Places can also inspire introspection, new energy, new ideas, or creative pursuits. Make your Instagram reflect that by adding text to your photos. Feature quotes from regional writers or musicians, create a design around a city’s slogan, or share your own reflections inspired by your travels.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BWQQhKChohI/

https://www.instagram.com/p/BJWY7oGAf6a/