S8 Bonus 04: Getting Started on TikTok

Get the show’s transcript

[00:00:00] YD: Welcome back to Travel Media Lab, everyone. I'm your host, Yulia Denisyuk, an award-winning travel photographer, writer storyteller, community builder, podcaster, and entrepreneur. Working with publications like The New York Times. National Geographic Traveler and more traveling to interesting places around the world and producing stories that I'm really excited about.

[00:00:22] Travel Media Lab is our platform for helping you break into the travel media space where we share insights, tips, advice, and stories from people working in the industry. And all throughout this month, we're sharing with you a few of my favorite conversations we have inside our membership. This circle. As we gear up for the return of season nine of our podcast, in this bonus episode, I'm gonna share with you a preview, a small preview of our monthly workshop that we just held inside the circle.

[00:00:54] Every month. Inside the circle, I set a theme that we should focus on for the month, and our most recent theme was getting started on TikTok. This workshop was a culmination of several discussions we've been having in the circle recently, and so we dedicated the whole month to understanding if we should be on the app in the first place and then, uh, to getting better on it.

[00:01:17] So in this episode, you're going to hear about the reasons why we might want to be on the app. Like the fact that there's a very mature travel market on it, and publications like Travel in Leisure are on it, and they're looking for travel writers and photographers to partner with on the app. Several tourism boards are on it as well.

[00:01:36] So when you reach out to some of these partners to do work on the app, you actually don't need to convince them to be on there because they're already there and they're already working with people just like you. Uh, you're also going to hear about the strategic questions, which are. Think through when we get started on the app, like what is your niche and how are you going to create value?

[00:01:57] And we're also going to talk about the fact that, um, the app is super saturated as it is and, and many other apps are as well. But that should actually not stop you from sharing your work. Um, in this conversation we also looked at some examples of travel writers and photographers who are also on TikTok and share the list of travel TikTok ERs to help you narrow down, um, your own niche.

[00:02:24] And in the rest of the workshop that's not included in this episode, I share the practical tips to. Um, increasing your discoverability on TikTok like hacks for a co that I recently learned myself, and this whole workshop and its entirety and all of our workshops and all of our conversations are available to you when you join us over@travelmedialab.com slash circle.

[00:02:51] And I just wanna remind you that at the end of June, On Friday, June 30th, we will be closing open enrollments or circle membership until further notice. So if you've been considering joining us, this is your chance right now. Join us before Friday, June 30th to get in on all of our conversations, activities, support inside, uh, and everything else that we have going on inside the circle.

[00:03:16] Alright, now let's dive into this episode.

[00:03:20]

[00:03:22] YD: All righty, well, uh, welcome Christina and Deanna to our monthly workshop. Uh, super excited to see you guys today. And like I mentioned just before I started recording, um, very low stress environment. You know, we're here to learn, um, and, uh, the way our monthly workshops work, in particular for everybody who's gonna be listening later on.

[00:03:45] Um, it's more structured as a regular workshop where I share with you, uh, some insights, some thoughts. I've put together some strategies, um, and then if you have, uh, you know, if you have questions or if we wanna have a discussion, we do it. If not, then that's the workshop. Um, and today we're talking about, uh, getting started on TikTok, which is something that we've been, uh, discussing inside the community for some time.

[00:04:15] Some of our members have been really interested, um, In TikTok. And by the way, one of our own, uh, members, uh, Jolene, she's actually quite active. Um, actually I, I need to see if she likes it on TikTok or on Instagram, but in any case, she's very active with Rios, in particular with video reels, and she has a lot of, uh, great insights on that as well.

[00:04:39] So I'll tag, uh, Jolene, uh, under the recording, uh, when I post the recording of this so you guys can check out her work and see what she's doing as well, and maybe she can share some insights with us as well. Um, but yeah, out of all the members that I know that are in our community, Jolene is the one who is the most active with, with Rios and, um, with that kind of storytelling.

[00:05:04] So, uh, first of all, do we need TikTok? Right? That's the question kind of that we're all wrangling with as, um, As travel, uh, writers, as travel photographers, as travel creators, do we actually need TikTok? And for a long time, um, I was against it. I was avoiding TikTok on purpose. I was very against it. For me.

[00:05:29] Uh, the written word was actually sacred. You know, I was literally like, I'm a, I'm a writer first. I'm a photographer. I'm not a content creator. I'm not gonna be on TikTok, because of course, TikTok has now been, uh, around for a few years at least. Right. We're kind of starting, uh, starting behind the curve here a little bit because TikTok has already been a huge platform for storytelling for several years, right?

[00:05:55] And for all of those years, I was very intent on avoiding the platform and saying, I'm not gonna go in there. I'm a writer. I'm gonna keep writing my articles, I'm gonna keep taking my photos, and that's what I do. You know, uh, but recently, Something has changed you guys. Something shifted in me because what I actually realized is that I am holding on to the medium of my message for really no reason.

[00:06:22] Because actually what I am is storyteller first. Right? I'm a storyteller first. That's why I'm in this business, because I wanna tell stories of people, um, of places that I travel to, all these interesting stories, and then the medium through which I tell those stories. It doesn't matter as much as the message itself or as the story itself.

[00:06:45] So when I started thinking about it this way, it, it dawned on me that, huh, why am I being so resistant to video, to reels, to TikTok, to any of those other mediums where really I'm storyteller first, and if people are. In those platforms, if people are consuming more video than they do, you know, articles and and other stuff, then why am I resisting to it?

[00:07:11] And honestly, for me it was, it was ego. It was ego. And it was pride that was telling me, no, you're a writer. You should hold onto your word. Right? But if we look at the reality of what's happening, video is really taking over everything, um, in our lives and people are consuming more video, uh, than ever before.

[00:07:30] I'll share with you some statistics here. So when I realized that, you know, and I realized that I'm stories are first, it really, uh, helped me approach this platform of TikTok with a fresh kind of eye. And, um, realize that if I want to reach new people, if I want to reach more people, uh, with my stories and with my message, then maybe I should look into TikTok.

[00:07:54] Okay. Um, so what are some reasons why we want to be on TikTok? So, first of all, of course, we wanna spread our influence, right? Like I said, if you want to reach new audiences with your message, with your stories, with your work, then you wanna be on TikTok. Um, Another reason is developing an additional income stream.

[00:08:16] That's a very, very, very good reason to be on TikTok, right? Um, content creation and, and sharing stories and working with partners on TikTok is a very lucrative business. Um, I was very surprised to find out that it's a 19 billion market globally. Um, US is 6 billion of that. So every year, 6 billion are in exchanging the hands of brands, of tourism boards of different partners and content creators, right?

[00:08:48] And we should have a piece of that pie absolutely. As, as trouble storytellers. We should absolutely have a piece of that pie. Um, and by the way, that 19 billion market globally, that's overall content creation and video is 40% of that. So video is 40% and growing by the way. That's a, um, interesting statistic.

[00:09:11] And then the third reason why we wanna be on TikTok is because travel is actually a natural fit, right? Travel as a, um, as a, as a, let's say a storytelling vertical is such a natural fit for a platform like TikTok, because that's where people go to get inspired. That's where actually they go to research for their trips, right?

[00:09:32] That's where they, uh, they go to learn about, uh, some new places. So if you're already doing a lot of that traveling and a lot of that storytelling, then it's just such a great outlet for, uh, for you to be on as well. And then finally, publications and tourism boards are becoming very mature on, on TikTok.

[00:09:53] So maybe three, four years ago when TikTok was starting, you, you maybe didn't have partners to partner with, you know, as tourism boards or as publications because they, they haven't answered. Uh, the app yet? Well, now it's a different landscape. Now, those publications are there now. Those brands are, uh, tourism boards are there.

[00:10:14] And so they are looking to partner with creators. They're already on TikTok. They know how it works. They have established rates and all of that. And so naturally that means that you have to do less convincing, right? If you reach out to, let's say, choose Chicago, which is a, one of the tourism boards that's active on TikTok, you don't need to convince them that you wanna do a TikTok partnership together, right?

[00:10:36] They're already on the, on the app. They know, uh, they know, they know what it is. So, um, and, and, and with publications as well, I've actually recently found out that, for example, travel in Leisure. Has a very robust account on TikTok and in their publication guidelines, by the way, which are still about how to pitch travel and leisure.

[00:11:00] They have a section that talks about social and who heads up their social. And if you wanna work with them on social, which includes TikTok, then you should send them a pitch email, you know, outlining your work, outlining kind of what you do and seeing if you can work with them. And if you, if you scroll through their TikTok account, which I've just shared with you guys in, in the, uh, in the chat, you will see that that's their model.

[00:11:25] Because right now they're posting reels by several, by the way, travel writers and photographers that I know personally that are in this industry. And they're sharing the Rios in their accounts, you know, as under the travel and leisure brand. So they're already, um, They're already accustomed to partnering with travel writers and photographers in this capacity, uh, in the real making capacity.

[00:11:49] So I thought that was super awesome and, and interesting. And by the way, it's on my to-do list to reach out to Travel and Leisure, uh, once I build up my TikTok accounts. Um, because right now I, I just kind of started, but once I boot it out and get a hang of kind of what kind of reels I want to create, and it's absolutely on my to-do list, to reach out to them and, and say that I wanna work with them.

[00:12:12] Because again, as, especially as you grow in a trouble, Uh, journalism space. As you grow your portfolio, you're gonna become, um, an expert in a certain niche, right? Which is something that we'll, we're covering in the program that you guys are going through right now. It's, uh, some of the lessons talk about that, the fact that you need to choose your niche, right?

[00:12:33] What is it that you want to write about? What kind of stories are interesting to you? And so the way I see it right now is that TikTok is actually an extension of that, right? You're basically, again, expanding your influence, expanding your platform, and expanding that niche and talking about that niche on this, uh, platform.

[00:12:53] Um, so travel leisure is one that I sent you an example of. Then Choose, Chicago is another one here is, um, here, is there. Uh, TikTok account, discover Puerto Rico is another one, which I know they're very active, uh, in working with creators. Visit Singapore is another one, and I'll link to all these in, uh, when we post up the recording of this workshop as well, so you guys can check them out, um, on your own time as well.

[00:13:24] Um, so these are the four reasons, right? You wanna spread your influence. You wanna maybe look at developing an additional income stream. Um, travel is already a very natural fit because people are on TikTok, researching travel, uh, getting inspired about different destinations, and then the fact that publications and tourism boards are already mature on the platform, so you don't need convincing them to partner with you.

[00:13:48] Um, um, on TikTok, by the way, I also found a very interesting, um, article here, this one right here, which again, I'll, I'll link to it in the recording, but here it is. Uh, via the chat that talks about how much do creators usually charge per post. Um, and it's kind of an interesting conversation because of course, you know, it, it's all highly varied on, um, kind of your portfolio, your niche, you know who you're working with.

[00:14:20] Are you working with a very small brand or are you working with a brand that has a huge budget? Uh, but overall this, at least this source influenced our marketing hub. Um, talks about that. If you have less than 10,000 followers, you usually charge up to $25 per post. Um, between 10 and 50,000 followers, 25 to $125 per post.

[00:14:46] If you have 500,000 followers, it's. Up to a thousand dollars per post. And then if you have over that amount, then it's, you know, anywhere between one and 2000 per post. So it's interesting that this particular source is talking about how many followers you have and then looking at how much you can charge based on that.

[00:15:09] I've actually found that on TikTok, it doesn't matter at all how many followers you have, because people are not looking at followers, they're looking at engagement. Right. And that's actually similar conversation to Instagram, by the way, because following doesn't necessarily mean that you're gonna have high engagement.

[00:15:28] And brands are looking for engagement. They're not looking necessarily for, for, um, followers. So for example, one of the people that's, um, or one of the profiles that is doing this successfully on TikTok, who is, she's a travel journalist, she's a trouble writer, and she's also six content creator. Um, her name is Jen, Jen Ruiz.

[00:15:51] Maybe you guys know her. Um, she, well, actually, she, she doesn't have, sorry, I was gonna say she doesn't have that many followers, but she actually does have 255,000 followers on TikTok. Okay. So, nevermind, maybe that's not the best example, but there are other examples of people who are on the platform who don't have a high, uh, number of followers, but they're still able to work with brands and, um, um, and charge them accordingly based on their engagement.

[00:16:23] Right. So, again, that's really important. So it's, I I wouldn't necessarily focus on, oh, you know, I don't have any followers or I have very little followers. I would really focus on engagement and seeing at how your posts are, uh, performing. And that's, by the way, another thing that I think a lot of peop it, it's, it's holding a lot of people back, right?

[00:16:42] Like, how do I grow my following? I'm starting from scratch. I have zero followers right now. How do I grow it? It seems overwhelming. It seems like such a big effort. Well, actually, not necessarily because again, uh, it's, it's more about the views and the engagement than it is about growing. The number of people that follow you, um, on this app.

[00:17:01] And I'll share with you guys also my own kind of journey to TikTok, which I again just started, so it's very new. But I, I'll share with you what I've learned so far. Um, and by the way, Susan, I'm glad that you were able to join us as well, cuz I know we talked about this in the past. So great to see you today.

[00:17:21] Um, as well, Susan. Hey, good to see you. So, yeah, I'm sharing. Uh, so far I've shared kind of the reasons that you wanna be on TikTok, uh, which are spreading your influence, developing an additional income stream. Uh, the fact that travel is a natural fit, and then the fact that publications and tourism boards are already very mature on TikTok.

[00:17:44] So now that we sort of establish that we wanna be on TikTok, right, as again, a way to, to spread our, our influence, um, there are two very important things to think about and the first thing to think about is strategy, of course, right? I always recommend that instead of sort of throwing out whatever at the wall and seeing what sticks, you have a strategy.

[00:18:13] Um, that applies to how I teach travel journalism, right? How I teach, uh, building your portfolio, uh, reaching out to publications strategically. And that also applies to how you want to start showing up, let's say on TikTok, right? So first and foremost, the first thing that you want to decide is what and how you will share, right?

[00:18:39] What and how you will share. So what I mean by that is what type of a content or what type of, um, content strategy, let's say, uh, you want to have on TikTok or what type of a niche, uh, you want to occupy on TikTok. And I'm not talking about right now, I'm not talking about the niche of your subject matter, right?

[00:19:01] So I'm not talking, uh, Uh, food and travel, or I'm not talking design and travel, or I'm not talking hotel reviews and travel. I am talking the type of content that you'll share. So, um, the, the type of content that you can share can be, um, mini stories about the stories you already write for magazines, right?

[00:19:24] So let's say you are going on assignment to, I don't know, Rwanda, to, to use some of my examples, right? So you go to Rwanda to do a particular story on artisans that do, um, um, imi, Gogo, art, right? So it's a very specific story about these specific artists and collectives in Rwanda. Great. So for your TikTok, then you create a real.

[00:19:49] That's almost like a capture of, of that story, right? And we do that already on Instagram, by the way. So it's not, it's not new, right? We know how to do this. So that could be one strategy. It's like you're extending that story that you're gonna write for a magazine. You're extending this into a video format and you're sharing it on TikTok, and that's your strategy.

[00:20:07] That's what you do on TikTok. Another strategy could be to share more personal stories about yourself, right? Because as we talked about, or we talk about this a lot in, um, in the community, as journalists, we don't write about ourselves, right? We write, uh, or as photographers, we don't capture stories of ourselves.

[00:20:28] We capture stories of other people that we meet. Well, this could be your outlet to share some of those personal stories. Why do you travel, right? Why, um, or maybe your own experience of. Being stuck in a Rwanda airport, for example, right? This is not necessarily something you would write a story about for a magazine, but TikTok can be your outlet for that, and you can direct people there, by the way, right?

[00:20:53] You can be also, again, very strategic with that and saying, you know, let's say in your Instagram bio or in your website bio, you can say on TikTok, I share personal stories about my travels, you know, and, and do that. For example, another journalist as well, travel journalist, um, her name is Victoria Leandra.

[00:21:13] She is also in Puerto Rico. Um, she does that, right? So she writes articles for magazines, but then on TikTok, she shares personal travel stories. Um, another strategy could be that you do b t s only right behind the scenes. So maybe like this could be something, um, a good strategy for photographers, for example.

[00:21:35] So if you're doing a photo shoot somewhere, Um, on TikTok, you share the b t s of that all the behind the scenes, right? To give a, give a look at how the shoot went, for example. Also for, for writing assignments as well, and I've, I've experimented with this a little bit. Um, you can choose to do tips and advice for others, whether it's in travel, right?

[00:21:57] Because as you travel more and more and more, you've accumulated so many tips, so many shorthands, so many strategies of how you travel and, you know, maybe there's some hacks that you do. Maybe it's about miles hacking, right? Maybe it's about scoring the best hotel room for, for cheapest or whatever it is that you are already an expert in, because by the way, we wanna cap capitalize on what you're already doing, right?

[00:22:23] We don't wanna create necessarily way more work for yourself and start learning something from scratch. We really wanna be capitalizing on something that you already do and just, uh, uh, sharing that, uh, with other people. So that could be a strategy, tips and advice for people in, in, in travel. Or you can do tips and advice for people who want to be what you do, right?

[00:22:47] Which is kind of what I do with Travel Media Lab. So maybe that could be one of my strategies that on TikTok I share tips and insights on how to start, uh, working with travel publications, for example. That's another strategy. And by the way, you can also do all of the above, although that seems to me that that could be a lot of work.

[00:23:06] Um, um, you know, if you're, if you're kind of trying to build all of these different verticals, but you could, if you wanted to. It could be just more comprehensive. This is look at Yu's life and work basically. And you have, you know, some videos are. Many stories about stories you publish. Some videos are personal stories, some are, uh, behind the scenes, some are tips and advice, right?

[00:23:31] It's, it, I guess what I'm trying to say here is that there isn't really a right or wrong answer here. These are all the different ways you could, uh, show up on the platform. But I think what is important is thinking about what appeals to you and what could be fun to you. And by the way, what could bring joy to you?

[00:23:50] Because I also advocate for doing something that really lights you up and that inspires you because then you will be more likely to keep doing it right, instead of kind of seeing it as another chore, um, that, that you need to start doing. Um, so that's, you know, that's, uh, that, that's, that's how I would go about doing that.

[00:24:13] Um, and I also shared here an example, a link, I'll share it with you guys now, a link to. An article I found that talks about sort of 15 different travel TikTok ERs. Um, and by the way, they're niches, right? So maybe look through that at some point and see, uh, which of these, uh, are inspiring to you or maybe sparking some thoughts.

[00:24:39] You will see here that, again, like it's, it's the niches that I was just talking about, right? So for example, Emma Expedition, um, uh, she does beautiful landscapes and that's all she shares. She shares beautiful landscape videos. Another person on here, all, all they do is hotel reviews, right? Another one is solo female traveler.

[00:25:03] There is a flight attendant on here. Um, there are troubled couples, right? So different niches that they occupy, um, and they kind of stick to those, uh, niches. So it's, it's, again, it's important to think about what is it that you want to do, um, and then stick to that niche. So that's the first thing that you need to think about in terms of strategy.

[00:25:24] The second thing you need to think about is how are you gonna create value? Because I think that common mistake that people have, or, or common misconception that people have, you know, we all kind of seen this, right? Viral TikTok videos, oh my God, every, everything goes viral. Like, uh, TikTok algorithm is really great at discoverability, so you can just post a video and it's gonna go viral.

[00:25:49] Well, not necessarily, right, because again, like the platform is now more mature. Maybe at the beginning, the first year or two, maybe that was the case, but now, you know, there is so many people on TikTok and also the discoverability on TikTok. Um, is, you know, is something that we need to think about. So not just posting a video and hoping that it gets viral, but the question is, how are you going to create value to somebody?

[00:26:16] What is the value of somebody wanting to stick around and look at, uh, look at your account, right? Look at what you're creating. Value can be, uh, delivered in so many different ways. It can be education. So again, maybe it's tips on how to travel on a budget. For example, maybe it's entertainment. Maybe you're sharing something really funny, right?

[00:26:36] Maybe it's inspiration. So those beautiful landscapes and videos that, uh, one of those photographers shares. Maybe it's storytelling again. So maybe it's about the, uh, artist collective in Rwanda, right? That I'm stor that I'm sharing. Maybe it's relatability. So solo female traveler, right? Or maybe it's community.

[00:26:56] So it's uniting people around some shared interests. So these are all the different buckets in which you can play. And when you start exploring all of these, um, nod your head if you agree that it's kind of sparking a lot of different ideas on, oh, I could do this on TikTok, or I could do this particular niche on TikTok.

[00:27:17] Right? But again, it should be something that really excites you. You know, that's something that really lights you up. So, for example, when I think about for myself, I'm really excited about sharing mini stories of the stories that I already do for magazines, cuz it's just a very natural extension for of, um, kind of the work that I do and the work that I'm inspired by.

[00:27:38] So now TikTok could be my outlet for sharing those many stories about different places and people around the world. Right? Um, And then finally, uh, the other thing that you wanna think about, uh, in terms of strategy is this question, and we talked a little bit about this last time with you, Susan, do you need to be in front of the camera, right?

[00:28:01] Because a lot of the TikTok that we see are, you know, those people in front of the camera with their microphones and, you know, their captions going all over the screen, et cetera, et cetera. And the answer to that is actually no. It's actually no. And when you, when you look at examples of, uh, people and accounts that do this well and that are successful, you start seeing that no, you don't actually necessarily need to be in front of the camera if that's not your, uh, natural disposition, right?

[00:28:33] Um, so for example, Luma Lynn and I gave her example last time as well. Uh, with her, it's a bit tricky because again, I don't know if she became this huge on TikTok because she was already huge on Instagram, because, you know, she's like a old timer Instagramer photographer. She was there from the very beginning.

[00:28:53] So she had a huge following on Instagram, you know, ages ago. So maybe when she migrated to TikTok, you know, people just followed her from there. So, I don't know, but still, it's an example of an account that doesn't really sh you know, it's not that typical TikTok where you're s you're in front of the camera.

[00:29:10] It's saying something. Right. Um, another example that I found is Dane Traveler, which of course, probably some of you are familiar with another. Account that is popular on Instagram. And I know, by the way, Nastasia, I know the founder. She's lovely. Um, she came to our podcast, uh, and, and did an episode. If you're interested in learning more about kind of her journey, uh, we have a podcast episode with her.

[00:29:35] Um, and then Emma, this expedition, which I already mentioned, um, I thought that she has a very interesting example of how a photographer can combine their very aspirational, very edited photos with some short videos and share those from different locations that she goes to, which, by the way, when I saw her account, I made a mental note that I wanna try.

[00:30:02] Uh, at TikTok like that. So I also have a lot of highly, you know, edited beautiful vid, uh, photos, um, that I could combine maybe with some short videos from that location and, and share those and see what happens. But for her, this is mostly of what she does. And again, for her it's within that beautiful landscape structure, but that's how she delivers her content.

[00:30:23] And she's not on camera. She's barely on camera, um, as well. So again, it's, it's more so about what is the niche that you want to carve out for yourself that excites you, that brings you joy, uh, because you need to stick with it. Um, and then how is that niche gonna deliver value to whoever is coming across your work?

[00:30:49] Um, and that doesn't necessarily mean that, you know, it doesn't mean that you need to be on camera at all. Okay. So, so far we covered. Why do we think we want to be on TikTok? Some of the reasons we covered some of the strategy considerations, right? What do we wanna think about? Um, when we start? Now I wanna share with you something very exciting, which is the tactics, the actual tactics.

[00:31:15] How do you actually grow, right? How do you actually start implementing some of these? So once you decide what kind of, um, what kind of stories or what kind of content you want to do and how you're gonna create value for people, then it's more about learning really kind of practical slash technical ways of executing your tos.

[00:31:39] That make sense?

[00:31:40]

[00:31:41] YD: All right, so after I shared the reasons why you want to be on the app and some of the strategic considerations we should think through, as well as the practical tips like my SEO hacks, we had some time to answer questions from our members, and one of our members shared that was preventing her from getting on TikTok and from being more active on Instagram, is the fact that both apps are super, super saturated.

[00:32:07] Does it even matter? She asks, and here's what I had to say.

[00:32:11]

[00:32:11] a, a very, very, very common challenge and obstacle for so many people that it's so saturated already. There's almost no point in trying. It's so saturated.

[00:32:24] Well, I wanna challenge you on, um, to, to, to, to think, to switch a little bit the focus from how saturated that is to what do I want to share? What do I want to share? Because actually everything is saturated, right? Magazines are super saturated. Like editors get so many pitches every day. So many people want to share like their, their takes, their, their stories that they found.

[00:32:51] There's so many people in the world doing so many things, like everything is saturated. So maybe if you try to think away from how saturated the space is and focus more on what do I want to share? What is my imperative? What are some things that move me? What are some things that I'm really excited about?

[00:33:11] Again, we come back to excitement and joy, right? Then it almost becomes, uh, irrelevant that something is saturated because the imperative is I want to share this story with the world, or I want to share my work, or I want to share these things with the world. I'm not saying it's not gonna stop being saturated.

[00:33:30] Everything is gonna continue being even more saturated, but it's more about your internal way of how you process that, right? Because, um, yeah, if, you know, if everything is saturated, there is no point in trying anything to be honest. But it's more like that focus on what are the stories that I want to tell and then, and then doing that and, and yeah, the fact of the matter is because everything is so saturated, it's gonna take a while.

[00:33:59] It's not gonna be overnight success. It's not gonna be like, you know, you share one story and instantly you're like this mega, mega, mega super hit. Right? Um, But I think in some way it almost also doesn't matter, because I was reading something else recently where it's not so much about how many people you reach, it's more about, it's not, it's not about how wide you reach, it's about how deep you reach.

[00:34:28] Right? You can reach, let's say, 50 people with your work, and those 50 people will be moved by something you share versus sharing a million people who will just scroll through it, you know? So I don't know if it's useful to you. That's how I think about my work at least. Because actually you guys, I don't know, some people sometimes when they meet me, they're like, oh my God, you're this huge Instagram, whatever.

[00:34:53] I'm not right. I, I don't have that many follower. I mean, I do have some like whatever numbers of followers, but I. The fact is that I'm actually not reaching many of them. I'm, I'm reaching very few, actually. Like my story is on a good day, reach maybe 500 people, maybe on a good day. You know, so the reach is very throttled on Instagram.

[00:35:15] So if I, if I adopt that view, then I'm like, well, what's the point? Like, why I'm not reaching that many people? What's the point? But then I, I just go back to, okay, I'm doing deep not wide. So if, if some of these people will be moved by what I have to say, then this, this is, you know, this is enough, or this is valid or worthy or whatever worth the effort, right?

[00:35:37] Um, so yeah, that's, that's, that's kind of how I think about it, you know?

[00:35:43] and another, um, reason for sharing your work, whether it's Instagram or TikTok or whatever, Twitter. Twitter, by the way, is excellent for attracting editors attention because by the way, a lot of commissioning editors are on Twitter. As you were talking, Christina, I realized that I need to record a new module for our program, which is about using social media as a storyteller and all these different tools.

[00:36:09] My other comment I was listening to, to then, I was like, But the course is not about, how about social media? It's, it's not, yeah, it's not. But actually I think it would be useful to have a, that kinda at least briefly talks about some of these things. Right. Um, but what was I was gonna say is that another argument for sharing your work in this very saturated space is that you just honestly never know who is looking and who is finding your work.

[00:36:39] Um, my relationship with National Geographic started because they found my work on Instagram and they reached out to me and they're like, you know, can you do more Jordan work for us? You know, it was reaching maybe again, like 500 people, but one of those people was an editor of National Geographic who was looking through the hashtags and found my work.

[00:36:59] And I, I know some other examples like that. Right. And I will always be careful to say, We don't wanna rely on that exclusively, right? We don't wanna be re we don't wanna rely on being found because sometimes it can take forever. We wanna be proactive, but why not? Right? You just never know. You just never know who's looking at your work. So that's another important piece.

[00:37:20] Thank you so much for listening to our bonus episode today. I hope you found the ideas we discussed here, relevant and inspiring to you. And if you're looking for support, opportunities, and community in the travel media space, consider joining our Circle community where we have conversations like the one you just heard on a regular basis.

[00:37:41] Go to travel medialab.com/circle to learn more, and be sure to join us before Friday, June 30th, because we will be closing. Open enrollment into our membership. Until further notice. Thanks again for listening and I'll see you very soon.