It’s hard to get noticed on Instagram when there are so many accounts sharing their travel photos. To make people notice your work and grow your following, you have to stand out from the crowd. Think about what you can do differently from everyone else and how to best show off your photos. Here are our top tips for making your travel photos stand out on Instagram.
Share your best photos
If you don’t think a photo is good enough to share on your feed, don’t post it. Only share the photographs that you are really happy with and want to show the world. It’s up to you if you want to share photos taken on a professional camera or just use your smart phone, but think of your Instagram feed as a gallery where you want to share your best work.
Create a cohesive feed
The feeds that tend to get noticed and attract lots of followers are those that have a cohesive look. You want to curate a grid that looks good as a whole, editing your photos in the same way so that they are instantly recognisable as your own. Use a planning app such as UNUM or Planoly to help you to plan your grid, moving photos around to find the best arrangement before you post them.
Use hashtags
One way that people will find your images is by searching hashtags. Use a combination of generic travel hashtags and those more specific to your location so a wider range of people can find your images. Don’t just use the big hashtags; seek out more niche ones that fit with your content.
Share your location
Don’t forget to geotag your location and tag the local tourist boards in the image. This is another way of ensuring that more people see your content. You may wish to not share the exact location in your geotag (if you are visiting somewhere that wouldn’t appreciate an influx of tourists) but at least share the country or closest town to attract more views to your image.
Show something different
If you really want to stand out, you need to offer something different to what is already out there. There are thousands of generic travel photos already on Instagram, so think about what you could do differently. Think about the type of trips you usually take and the kind of traveller you are and carve out your own niche. This could involve photographing local people (with their consent), focusing on local cuisine or sticking to a particular colour theme.
Have a theme
You want people to keep coming back for more, so think of a requiring theme that will hook your followers. Perhaps this could be a particular shot that you always take in each destination, or it could be more closely linked to the type of places you visit or the way in which you travel. Maybe you could share images of sustainable boutique hotels around the world, or underwater photos of all the coastal places you visit. The world is your oyster, and your Instagram should reflect the way in which you choose to explore it.
Tell a story
One of the most important things to remember is to tell a story. There are many, many Instagram accounts out there that just focus on sharing a pretty picture with an unrelated caption. To really hook people and keep them coming back for more, share the stories behind each image in your caption, explaining what you did there or why you loved it. You also want to tell a story with the image itself, enticing the people who see it and leaving them wanting more.
Emma Lavelle is a UK based writer and photographer and has her own blog Field and Nest.
