Both weekenders and full-time RVers often ask me how I got started blogging from the road, and how we amassed so many followers so quickly. We’ve been on the road for less than a year, and we have over 11,500 followers on our Freeway Gypsy Instagram, as well as a constant stream of visitors to our blog where we feature campground reviews. I’m amazed that what we created for our family and friends has grown so large.
Do It for Yourself
When you start blogging or posting your travels on Instagram, don’t start with the intention to be “Instagram Famous.” We started a separate Instagram account and blog, so we could share our adventures with the people we were close to. If we had started our account just to gain followers, I don’t think we would have been as successful as we’ve become. Our following has grown organically, rather than being forced. Once we reached a few thousand followers, we realized we had established a brand. We needed to start taking our aesthetics and posts more seriously. That’s when we created the Gypsy Scorecard on our blog and began to focus more on the quality of our content.
Don’t Lose the Moment
As a society, we often get consumed by snapping the perfect shot. I hear people use phrases like “Doing it for the ‘Gram” all the time, and but I feel that attitude goes against the freedom of the RV lifestyle. From day one, we have believed, “If we get the picture, great. If not, we’ll always have the memory.” You should never get so caught up in taking a picture that you don’t enjoy the moment itself. We tell people that we consider all our images our #Latergrams. We post ours anywhere from a few hours to a few days later. We decided to do this from the beginning and we’re so glad we did. We even create our Instagram stories to post later on.
Use a Scheduling Tool
Because we don’t post in the moment, we use a scheduling tool to have a constant flow of images in our feed. Scheduling posts on Instagram and your blog gives you the freedom to enjoy the day-to-day life of travel. There are so many tools out there to use, like Buffer, Hootsuite, Sprout Social and Autogrammer. Every tool is different, so you need to find one that offers the functionality that fits your needs.
Never Buy Followers
I’ve seen so many travel bloggers and Instagrammers out there buying followers. They aren’t fooling anyone. You might have followers, but you won’t have any engagement. Or comments will come from bots and won’t match with your content. Your audience will recognize this and may unfollow you because you’ve lost their trust. Stay true to yourself and grow your following organically. Followers you purchase will usually drop off quickly and the satisfaction of a high follower count is fleeting. The personal connections you make with social media are the important ones that help your following grow.
Only Post Your Best
Only post your best pictures if you want to grow your following. If you post three pictures in a row and they’re almost identical, your engagement is going to drop. Your audience has already seen that shot. Post the pictures that will make people pause and want to see more. Use Instagram Stories to show more images from the same moment and direct people to your feed to see your favorite picture. This will help keep your feed’s engagement high.
Be Consistent
Content will always be king and consistency will always be key. Post regularly and make your content flow. In the beginning, you may find it difficult to post frequently because you don’t have many people reading your content, but eventually, your numbers and your confidence will grow. You’ll really start to find your niche and develop your style. You’ll learn what works and what doesn’t, and you’ll notice your audience naturally gravitates towards certain posts. They might prefer beach photos over mountain photos, for example. Maybe adding an emoji in your copy will get their attention. Once you find what your audience likes, stick to that for the majority of your posts.
Do Things Your Way
Ultimately, your blog is your space. It’s where you can be you. While I might not like posting too much personal stuff, some bloggers thrive off that. Pick your style and experiment with it. The blogosphere has room for so many different perspectives. I choose to keep my blog and Instagram feed focused on travel, but I’m slowing expanding our topic base for posts. It is pushing me out of my comfort zone. Our Instagram feed is growing and so am I.
Pick Something to Improve and Build from There
Take baby steps to improve your blogging or social media skills. Don’t try to tackle everything at once, especially in the beginning. At first, it can seem daunting if you don’t have the perfect blog theme or the most aesthetically pleasing Instagram feed. But the more you post, the more comfortable you’ll become. Pick something small to adjust and work your way up from there. If you aren’t sure where to begin, start by blogging weekly and posting to Instagram daily. If you can’t maintain these goals, pick new ones. Maybe you prefer posting to your blog biweekly or posting to Instagram every other day. Remember, you’re starting this blogging or Instagram journey for yourself, so make it work for you first then satisfy your followers.
Take a Social Media Detox
On a personal level, I gave up some other social media platforms because I felt too consumed by them. Before we left and started the Freeway Gypsy Instagram, I felt like I was always taking a picture just to get that perfect shot to share. It was so satisfying to detox from the pressures of social media. It was refreshing to make a hard break. I always recommend everyone take some time to detox from their social media feeds. Maybe you don’t check your feed on weekends or you stop replying to comments at night. Everyone has their own version of a social media detox, but I think it is an important thing to do every so often.
Now that we’ve taken on the role of a branded travel blog, I’m always mindful to not be too consumed with Instagram. It’s a fine line for us to walk because we love engaging with our followers. They ask great questions and often give us their great advice. We’ve stayed at several campgrounds and eaten at many restaurants we heard about from fellow RVers on Instagram. Ultimately, banding together as an extended RV family is a top priority for us, and we love to hear from you. If we haven’t virtually met yet, please head over to our Instagram page (@FreewayGypsy) and introduce yourself. We love getting to know our fellow RVers and would love to join you on your journey as well. Safe travels, friends!
Follow Kayla and her family on her adventures:
Instagram: @freewaygypsy
Blog and website: http://freewaygypsy.com/
Need some ideas on where you can get spectacular pics for your Instagram? Download our free e-book, 6 Epic Road Trips!
All photos courtesy and copyright of Freeway Gypsy