Advice For Using Social Media When Traveling

Social media can be a fun pastime, a means of keeping up with your loved ones, or a full time career depending on how you use it and what your goals are. One thing is true - those who love to travel tend to love sharing their experiences. It’s hard not to see why, what could be better than sharing your experience of the world and the cool new sights or activities you engage with on a daily basis?

That being said, social media use can differ depending on what you intend to do with it. As you travel, it’s worth being aware of a few helpful principles that can keep you on the right path, and enable you to get the best from this hobby.

But what would that look like in practice? In this post, we’ll discuss advice for using social media while traveling, to keep up on all your profiles in the best way.

Consider An Aggregate Posting Platform

Some people enjoy posting on many apps at once because navigating the UI for each platform is good fun and tantamount to play. But if you want to save time, update brand accounts, or perhaps post on many timelines at once, then aggregate posting platforms can be great. Some people use tools like Canva to edit photos lightly, for instance, or to make YouTube thumbnails, while then posting through platforms like Agorapulse that help you log into many different apps at once. If you have more of “an audience” this can save you time and also let you schedule posts. 

Tighten Account Security & Privacy Settings

When heading from place to place, you may use public WiFi in many different establishments. While it’s unlikely, there’s a chance that a sophisticated hacker who knows what to look for can intercept your internet traffic, or you may find yourself suffering a phishing attack if you don’t know what to look for. That’s why tightening account security with multi-factor authentication tokens (usually available in your account settings) can be ideal. If you’re not running a brand, it’s also important to set privacy settings correctly so people can’t keep tabs on you. That feeds directly into our next tidbit of advice:

Don’t Share Your Location

Be careful what you share online. Some places have a location tag feature on different social media apps, and that can be fun to use, but don’t use it while you’re currently occupying that space. Don’t let people know where you’re staying at night, or what room you’re in, or the transport route you’re taking. You may be surprised just how easy it is to track your location and where you are, and if you’re putting all of that info out there for free, harmful people might decide to target you. Again, this is statistically unlikely, but it can and does happen to people with profile or those who make themselves vulnerable. The world doesn’t need to know where you are right now, and you can still build your profile over places you’ve been.

Be Aware Of Limitations

In some areas, there may be limitations. Perhaps a given country has limited public WiFi access and so purchasing data roaming plans can help you connect when you need to. Of course, having a smartphone out and visible for your Instagram profile isn’t always that smart when potential thieves or pickpockets could spot and target you.

In addition, some countries have laws against certain social media use. For example, understanding where is TikTok banned can help you plan your approach to different platforms as you seek to document your experiences. This way, you don’t have to suffer any nasty or unwanted surprises.

Weave A Narrative & Story

This is a content tip - consider weaving a narrative based on your adventures. Anyone can head abroad and check into a particular hotel, what is more compelling is why you checked into that one place this time.

How is your adventure planned out? What kind of routine are you hoping to get into? How are you getting there? What’s your ultimate destination? What did you learn? What presumptions have been shattered? This can help you guide your travel content no matter if you’re sharing it to thousands or just hoping to create a compelling document of when and where you went, so you can look back on it in old age and think of all the warm memories you created.

With this advice, you’ll be sure to use social media well, not only because of your travels, but in support of them.