There is no doubt that TikTok is now the most popular social media app. With 1 billion users and a presence in 150 countries, it is a great tool to boost your blog, brand, or small business.
As the TikTok algorithm appreciates organic exposure and virality, you can easily use this platform to promote yourself, even if you don’t have any money for promotion.
If you are a traveler, digital nomad, or work in the travel business, you should learn how to create popular travel TikTok videos.
Well, guess what? Here are the things you need to know to boost your travel-related TikTok account (with some content ideas at the end!).
Explore Tags and Challenges
While creating content on TikTok, it’s always worth having a look at the discover page and checking out what’s trending. These places can give you a hint of what the users are looking for and what gets their attention.
Challenges give you the possibility to boost your account. Of course, they will require a bit more effort as most likely you will need to create content that resonates with a particular challenge, but it is definitely worth it.
Photo by Olivier Bergeron on Unsplash
Follow People on TikTok
If you are a TikTok user, especially one that is reading an article on how to improve your account, you should already be following some people. That might sound like a simple tip, but it is very effective.
While following creators, you can discover not only ideas for content, but also check out what works well on this platform. The secret is to pay attention not only to the videos but also to the way that TikTokers interact with their audience.
Here are some of the most popular travel creators, whose accounts you can find inspirational:
- @jacob – to discover great travel shots
- @oyehaug – for people who love hiking in mountains and cute dogs
- @theworlspursuit – with advice for female travelers
- @mgtenazas – for those who love turquoise waters and sunny beaches
- @wilderness_addict – for people who love the great outdoors
- @lauraandnicolas – for couple’s travels
- @family.of.nomads– to inspire your next family trip
Pick the Right Type of Video and Add a Song
While ideas to create content are endless, there are some types of videos that resonate with TikTokers best.
The most popular are:
- listicles,
- how to’s,
- tutorials.
While creating this content, remember to pick the right soundtrack. Explore TikTok’s playlist to discover trending songs. People love poppy and up-tempo tracks. When you add a trending track, you increase your account visibility for people who scroll through content created with a particular soundtrack.
Photo by Namroud Gorguis on Unsplash
Connect with Your Audience by Creating Engaging Content
Whether on Instagram or TikTok, creating content which people engage with is the ultimate goal. To maximize your impact on TikTok, it’s crucial to focus on strategies that Boost TikTok View Engagement, such as using trending hashtags, posting at optimal times, and creating content that prompts likes, comments, and shares from your audience.
If people watch the whole video that you posted, the TikTok algorithm will reward your account. This is why it’s so important to keep your content engaging from the start till the end!
A great way to catch the attention of a user right away is by adding text to your video. People will naturally start reading it and you will get their attention. What text is put at the beginning of your TikTok?
It can be:
- an introduction to the video (f.e. Best places to visit in Europe),
- POV (f.e. When you missed your flight home),
- a question that the video replies to (f.e. Where to travel in December?).
Anything that is a teaser to the story you are about to tell can work.
Deliver What You Promise
Creating clickbait is only a good idea when you are actually going to deliver what you promised. If you make people stick around (f.e. Wait for it!) and in the end they get nothing, you won’t get engagement and you can forget about many views.
A good idea is to catch the attention of the viewer with a text (f.e. wait for it! The best view is coming! Heaven is loading, etc.) and then show this beautiful place to them. If people won’t get what they expect, you won’t get the attention that you desire.
Photo by Womanizer Toys on Unsplash
Encourage People to Engage with Your Content
Probably you know that likes and comments are pleasing to the algorithm. When your video is successful, people engage in comments. The more comments you have, the better. Especially when other people read them because when they do so, the time your video is watched automatically increases.
Try to spark discussion with your content. Ask questions that people would like to reply to and engage with. If your video doesn’t have any comments it is most likely going to lose its visibility quite quickly.
Post Regularly
Creating a thriving social media account requires time and work. With the number of videos posted on TikTok, it’s important to keep consistent and post often.
Perhaps a short video that you created quickly will trend. On TikTok, you can post even those videos about which you are not sure. The algorithm loves people who add content regularly.
Follow Trends but Adjust Them to Your Audience
Watching TikTok videos allows you to learn what content is trending and what people want to see. Following trends is important, but you have to remember to adjust them to your audience.
While some dance videos might be trending at the moment, this type of content won’t necessarily resonate with your audience. However, creating a fun dance video while traveling, on a hike, or in your minivan might add value to your TikTok account and receive a response from your audience.
Just play a bit with trends, but don’t follow them blindly.
Use Hashtags
Using hashtags is the key to letting the right people find you. They work on TikTok the same way as on Instagram and they are a great way to give you organic growth.
Adding hashtags clarifies and organizes your video under a particular category. Additionally, the Discover site on TikTok shows the videos that use trending hashtags.
Hashtags should be adjusted to the content you are publishing. You should also add popular hashtags as well as the less followed but more specific hashtags. #travel will give you some exposure, but because many people post with that hashtag (81+ billion views) it also means your content can drop down pretty quickly.
Some of the most popular travel hashtags on TikTok are:
- #beautifuldestination
- #travelgirl
- #worldtravels
- #travelgoals
- #natgeo
- #campervan
- #backpacking
- #luxurytravel
- #wanderlust
- #airbnb
- #timetravel
- #viaje
- #tiktoktravels
- #travel
Photo by Jan Baborák on Unsplash
Check Your Statistics
To know what you’re doing right or wrong and to verify what content is liked by your followers and the algorithm, you should regularly check your stats. This way you can better understand what your content should look like in the future.
Find Your Niche
Wait a second! Traveling is not a niche itself? Not really. With so many TikTokers posting about traveling, it’s good to find something that you are crazy about. Perhaps it could be luxurious traveling or travel on a budget? Family travels or single female traveling? Traveling in the great outdoors or to see museums? The possibilities are truly endless, just like the places to see!
If you need more tips on how to boost your TikTok followers, check out this article.
Ideas for Travel TikToks
Now, when you know what to pay attention to while creating your travel TikToks, let’s check out some TikTok travel ideas!
A Visual Listicle
A visual listicle, with a bit of text to start with and catch your viewer’s attention, is a great idea. You can do listicles of anything you want. It can be the essentials for backpacking in mountains, the best places to see in Porto, the best Mexico all-inclusive resorts, or anything you want, really.
Listicles are easy to digest and relatively simple to make – a perfect choice for viewers and creators!
Voice-over Travel Diary
Videos with a voice-over give you an opportunity to add uniqueness to your content. Additionally, it allows you to connect with your audience and adds educative value to your account. Remember that these things should be short and sweet.
Photo by That’s Her Business on Unsplash
A Sneak Peek into Cultural Difference
There are many reasons why people travel (or want to do so). One of them is discovering cultural differences, whether in customs, food, or anything else.
This is why TikTok is full of videos that present people trying things that are different for them, f.e. American living in Germany – what surprises me? Italians trying pasta prepared by foreigners, English people trying Mexican food, etc.
A Spectacular View
Looking at views that make your heart skip a beat is one of the best experiences while traveling. Showing a great view on your TikTok account is not only quick and easy but also rewarding.
People simply love to see a stunning sunset, an overlook from a cliff, beautiful city panoramas… While creating a TikTok, try to surprise your viewers with a “reveal” shot. You can even add the “Wait for it trick” which suits these types of videos perfectly.
Don’t forget about picking some spectacular, epic soundtrack that will add amazingness to your video.
Photo by Simon Berger on Unsplash
How to Pose/How to Take Pictures Tips
TikTokers love videos that they can learn something from. Since everyone would like to have nice pictures while traveling, creating a video in which you present how to pose or how to take pictures can gain you some new followers.
Share your tricks on how to make cool content. You don’t have to be a photo model or a professional photographer. Just share your authenticity and prove, that you don’t need to have the most expensive gear to create great content.
Photo by Brooke Cagle on Unsplash
Travel Tips
Travel people love to learn more about how to travel. Whether it is a tip about traveling on a budget or finding the best flight deals, this type of content attracts a lot of attention. Here are some of the ideas, you can try on your account:
- what to pack for a road trip,
- how to take pictures of yourself,
- how to avoid crowds in Venice,
- tips on renting an RV,
- where to eat vegan food in Paris.
So, Your Video Went Viral… What Now?
There is nothing more rewarding for content creators than seeing their work going viral. If you get there once, remember you can get there again and again.
Remember that your best content should be as visible on your site as possible. If you finally go viral, don’t move this content down your feed by adding much more content. People who scroll your account look first at the videos that have the most views.
In short: don’t make your best content hard to find. If people will have to scroll through your site just to see your viral video, most likely they will just give up at some point. This means you will lose a potential follower.
Get Inspired by Your Viral Video
One hit video is not enough to grow a successful TikTok travel account. You have to deliver great content consistently.
A good start is to analyze what you did with the video that went viral. For example, if you covered a specific location or topic, keep exploring it, adding more videos connected with it. The chance is that you hit on a trending location or topic. Observe how the new content performs and then adjust or change ideas when the stats go low.
Photo by Stephen Dawson on Unsplash
Don’t Give Up
Even when you do everything right, you might not see the effect you want right away. Don’t give up and keep working. Remember that TikTok works like a snowball – the bigger it is (the higher the number of followers and views) the faster it grows.
Summary
Creating popular TikTok videos can be a challenge. No doubt it requires some research, creativity, and determination to make content that trends. Hopefully, with the tips from this article, you got a better idea of what is worth posting and how to create content that brings engagement.