Social influencers are dedicated to beautiful feeds and a fun-filled calendar. Whether it’s the perfect outfit for a dinner in Italy, or American beach locations, it’s safe to say the perfect gram’ already exists from a social influencer. What the public may not realise, though, is the lengthy process regarding these “perfect” vacations, and how much time and effort goes into the lives of travel influencers.
Here’s some secrets from travel influencer’s themselves…
- The Fun of Free Stuff
Fashion and travel are the basis of certain influencer’s posts. Meaning, each outfit must be different and engaging for positive consumer response. In some cases, it’s been established that certain influencers rarely pay a penny for their outfits. Alyssa Bossio who handles @effortlyss told Cosmopolitan how she occasionally “reaches out to the brands if i really need an outfit and they’ll send clothes to me”. Also, Bossio regularly returns purchased items used primarily for shoots, and will not be worn again. All for the perfect gram’. It can’t be bad for some, right?
2. A Respectable Salary
Gaining popularity and freebies is very difficult for upcoming influencers nowadays, although is entirely possible. For some influencers, they can return a tidy profit for the posts created. Many earn promising salaries due to sponsored content across platforms like Instagram, personal blogs, Youtube and so on. There’s also benefits of bagging brand ambassadorships, like Dani Dyer’s recent venture with Mark Hill hair products. One particular example is Alyssa Ramos, who runs both @mylifesatravelmovie and @alyssaramostravels. According to Ramos, she estimates a profit of $110,000 this year. The hustle may be hard, but the returns sound promising.
3. Heavy Dedication
Each and every upload for influencers needs to be aesthetically pleasing and flawless. There’s only so much editorial softwares can do to an image, so these influencers take matters into their own hands. Kara Harms, @thewhimsysoul, is known to be on location by 5:30am! The early bird certainly is out catching the worm. Harms admitted the early starts aren’t exactly a perk to her day, but she is able to photograph the beauty of natural, warm morning light. Editorial softwares, eat your heart out.
4. An Overstuffed Suitcase
Not only does the job involve multiple outfit changes and hefty suitcases, but some influencers even pack photo props. Christine Tran, who handles @tourdelust, admitted to packing extra pairs of sunglasses and certain watches to appear in her photoshoots. I’m sure Tran would not like to lose her suitcase anytime soon!
We’re not saying every user on Instagram should pack their bags and become a travelling social influencer, but consumers should gain insight on the reality of the job. It has occasional perks and reasonable salaries, but also extremely early starts, (we thought a nine-till-five was bad) and sheer dedication. Also, probably having to pay for extra bags on a flight due to the amount of clothing and accessories!
