Following the lockdown of Covid times, we are seeing more money being spent on food, entertainment, and traveling, so of course the blogs that relate to these would be getting more traffic. One of our favourite blogs utilizes both their blog (on the web) and social media channel (instagram) to reach their followers is "On the Road Again" and we are obsessed with their personal touches! They allowed us to use them as an example to connect to our tips from the previous article.
On the Road Again: The Blog
Your website design is very important for your blog. Not only do you want it to express your creativity, but it needs to be clear and user-friendly as well. Maddy's blog does this perfectly. At first glance, you see what the blog is about, she gives her name (adds to the personalization/introduction), specifies her goal of the blog (sharing her trips), and the menu is easy to find, making the pages easy to navigate. Additionally, the buttons for internal links are highly visible within the pages.
Her travel blog also presents it's differentiation/audience type: those interested in sight-seeing, adventurous travel with an emphasis on delicious food and drink! Maddy's personality shines through her posts as she indicates fun activities that are unique to the location she is at and tries local cuisines. These two factors allow her blog to stand out amongst all the other travel blogs.
The key to blogging is working to stay consistent and continuously post. One thing we recommend, is when you are planning to start your blog, get started in terms of posts (or in this case travels!) so that way you have a backlog! To get more traffic, it has been proven you have to post more.
Another key is having high-quality content. Her pictures are clear and personal (not stock images) and this adds to her positive search-ability. For photos, tagging them and having alt-text that search engines can easily read allows you to be found from your images as well as keywords.
The Second Road: The Insta
Posts-
Instagram can be a great tool in building your network and followers for your blog. However, how people interact with Insta is different than on your blog. It is more scrolling and picture/video focused. People are not going to read a lot nor should you simply transcribe your blog from the web to your post. However, it is a great place to allow others to learn more about you as well as increase curiosity based on the photos/videos you upload!
The photos you post adds to the personality of you and your blog. Beneath you can indicate your trip and direct followers to your blog to read the in-depth post you created. It is also a great place to tag others who are on your adventure with you (or contribute to your post) and get their followers to discover you too.
Stories-
Stories shouldn't be overlooked. They are a great way to give people a quick peek. Many people love to click through stories because they can offer a different view as well as are often more "what's happening now/today". You can tag locations and links, so when people click they are directed to your website!
In Closing
Just like Maddy did for her blog, utilize both a website (the actual blog) and social media to reach your audiences. It is a great way to engage in a different manner and reveal your personality through multiple means (photos, quotes, videos, etc). Make sure they match what you are discussing on your blog. If not, you may want to start a separate Instagram account specific for your blog.
Let us know what you think. Also join the conversation on LinkedIn!