Top Travel Brands Using Instagram to Promote Their Destinations

In 2012 this booming social network boasted 80 million users, and last year proved to be a monumental year for the brand when Facebook agreed to purchase it for a cool $1 billion.

Instagram is a rising star in the social world, which of course is causing brands to take notice, with social analytics company, Simply Measured reporting that 40% of the Interbrand Top 100 Global brands are using the network.

This network can often come under scrutiny by many brands as it lacks business specific KPIs, and traditional board members will wonder the what the ‘real’ value of likes or comments are. However, for an extremely visual product or service this can be a perfect niche marketing platform as is it offers a way to build an engaging social media presence via visual storytelling.

Sometimes the most quality and shareable content, just doesn’t have the same impact as an eye-catching photo. We decided to take a look at how travel brands are using the Instagram platform to showcase their services and destinations.

British Airways (Instagram: british_airways)

100 photos — 14,726 followers — Last post: 11^th Dec 2012

Their posting could be a little more frequent, but every photo is insightful and on-message. Our favourites are the Movember photo, and the Olympics Team GB set!

NH Hoteles (Instagram: nh_hoteles)

353 photos — 1,728 followers — Last post: 29^th Jan 2013

NH Hoteles have a fantastic Instagram account, and have even created their own #wakeuppics campaign, which is a running theme where they post great views from their hotels and breakfasts, and even have a separate website to collate these http://www.wakeuppics.com/.

KLM (Instagram: klm)

215 photos — 3,498 followers — Last post: 29^th Jan 2013

See a plane from a different angle in KLM’s feed. Their 215 photos reveal so many little details about aviation from building to take off; every picture is interesting and eye-catching. They also share other user’s photos if they use the hashtag #KLM which is a nice touch to encourage a community feel.

Welcome to Yorkshire (Instagram: welcometoyorkshire)

68 photos — 1,083 followers — Last post: 14^th Dec 2012

This is the official tourism agency for Yorkshire and the team have been making full use of this channel by taking snaps whilst out and about in the county. They have been using the hashtag #Yorkshire to engage with other people in the community and like their photos, which has led to reciprocal feedback to find out where these beautiful locations are.

Thompson Hotels (Instagram : thompsonhotels)

594 photos — 4,244 followers — Last post: 30^th January 2013

Thompson Hotels have a beautiful Instagram feed, it’s full of perfect shots and well-chosen filters. They capture exactly what this channel is about with aspirational views, hotel rooms and tasty plates of food. With each photo gaining a few hundred likes they are clearly getting something right with the Instagram audience.

So, Instagram is a great way to build your social community in an unobtrusive way. It enables you to promote your brand through images, and as shown by the likes of KLM and Welcome to Yorkshire, it’s a novel way to encourage user generated content. This network is still relatively in its infancy, so a brand can still be considered an early adopter here; it’s the perfect time to give yourself some brand presence and show off your company ‘behind the scenes’. Using a non-traditional channel is a memorable way to promote yourself to your target market without relying on hard-sell tactics, instead you can show off your brand’s personality to it’s full potential.

What are your opinions on this blossoming social media network? Or have you seen any inspiring travel brands relish this visual format?