Your travels are undoubtedly filled with plenty of fun activities and trying new things, but although you want to spend some time to yourself and enjoy your travels, your followers and audience will need updates, too. This is a crucial part of maintaining a following no matter what you do, so it’s vital to know how to stay engaged, even when you’re doing something different from your usual routine. 

You can’t expect people to stay interested; you need to give them a reason, so consider these useful tips to keep your audience engaged while traveling and maybe bring some new followers to your accounts. 

Open Up Your Account

Those who embrace the Private Account can often encounter some problems when trying to build a following. Unless you’re a certified name, people will be unwilling to follow someone whose content is not viewable. 

This is especially true when traveling. While you don’t need to make your account permanently open (especially if you value privacy when you get home), opening your account during your vacation will help people engage with your content. It will make it easier for people to find you and see what other posts you make, which can encourage them to give you a follow and see more. 

If you're an influencer or a small biz, it can be hard to detach while your away. But these useful tips can keep your audience engaged while traveling so you can enjoy your trip! #TravelBlogger #InfluencerTips #EngagementRates
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Keep Posting

It’s easy to get swept up in the excitement of travel, especially if you’re someone who loves to do as much as possible every single day. This can cause some problems, though. You may get so busy that you forget to post something. Although one or two days off isn’t bad, anything longer could cause people to disengage. 

Knowing how to upload photos to iCloud from iPhone can ensure you save the most important snaps from each day. From here, you can schedule posts to upload whenever you like. You can do this during your downtime before going to bed, as it means you won’t need to disrupt the next day to make a post.

Research Hashtags and Trends

It doesn’t matter how good your photos are or how witty your captions will be, engagement is all about the hashtags, locations, and trends. Because of this, you’ll need to know how to find relevant hashtags about your destination. 

This will help you connect with other people in the area, as well as anyone interested in visiting. You can provide a front-row seat to everything there is to do, which can help people get excited about their next chance to travel the world. 

Know The Key Places

Similarly, you should also know which are the most popular spots for tourists and travelers, as this will increase your views and engagement. Every country has its own Eiffel Tower or White Temple, so you should find this place to ensure people find your content. 

This will give them a great introduction to your page and help build engagement. If it’s somewhere people recognize, they will be more interested in looking. But, as much as knowing the key places is important, you can’t rely on this forever. 

But Also Do Something Unique

With travel so easily accessible compared to 30 or 40 years ago, it might feel like everything has been discovered. Everywhere that you can reach likely has been reached by someone other than you. 

Despite this, you shouldn’t feel like you don’t have anything new to offer. Once you have touched base with the most popular places, think about other locations that aren’t as well-known. This can provide something different for your content and show people you’re not just someone who follows trends but instead embraces the mysteries of the world. 

Make Sure You Reply!

Depending on the size of your following, you can get anywhere between five and five hundred comments (if not more) on any post. While traveling, it’s tricky to keep up with these comments, but you must make sure you respond to as many as possible. 

But why should you do this? Well, not only is it polite, it is the easiest way to engage with others. Responding to comments will put you directly in touch with your followers, which they will love. You can build better connections and relationships with others in your niche, which could open up doors for collaboration and further exposure. 

Staying Connected

Your social media accounts have allowed you to connect to anyone anywhere. If you want to build a following as an influencer or travel blogger, you must consider the best ways to keep people engaged and ensure your content maintains its quality even when you’re doing something different. 

But what are some ways you stay connected while on vacation? Do you find it hard to keep your audience engaged while traveling? Or do you feel like it is a great idea just to digitally detox with the hopes that your audience will understand? Either way we would love to know what you other travel bloggers, influencers, or other businesses do to keep your audience engaged while traveling. Let us know in the comments below!

Don’t forget to Pin this to your favorite Marketing Board!

The post How to Keep Your Audience Engaged While Traveling appeared first on The Bucket List Project.

The Liebster Award!

Recently, I received an email informing me that the Bucket List Project was nominated for Liebster Award by Andreea of 10TravellingTips. If you don’t know Andreea, she’s a Romanian ex-flight attendant that shares her traveling experience, after visiting more than 60 countries, by adding 10 easy travel tips for each place visited.

So what is the Liebster Award?

The Liebster Award exists only on the internet, and is given to bloggers by other bloggers. Earliest cases of the award go as far back as 2011. It is a way to be discovered, but also to connect and support the blogging community.

“In German, Liebster means sweetest, kindest, nicest, dearest, beloved, lovely, kind, pleasant, valued, cute, endearing, and welcome.”

If you have been nominated for the Liebster Award and choose to accept it, you are required to follow these rules:

1. Thank the person who nominated you and post a link to their site.
2. List the rules of the award in your blog post & display an image of the award. Then write a post about your nomination on your blog.
3. Answer the questions your nominee has asked in their blog post.
4. Nominate 5-10 other deserving new bloggers for the award and ask them 10 questions of your choice.
5. Revel in the winning of the Liebster Award!

The Bucket List Project won the #Liebster Award! Break out the Bubbly & read all about it!
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My Liebster Award Questions & Answers

Andreea of 10TravellingTips, with her nomination, asked me 11 questions and here are my responses:

1. Which country left the biggest impression on you and why?

   So far I love everything about Spain. My first trip there was to Barcelona and then to Run with the Bulls in Pamplona. Though very different in personality, both were filled with history, culture, and great food! My second trip to Spain was to walk the entire Camino de Santiago from the Pyrenees to the Atlantic Ocean. Again, I was amazed by the culture and kindness of all the people in all the northern regions of Spain. Plus the physical scenery was often breath taking!

2. Show us your most beautiful travel photo.

   

3. Do you prefer to travel alone or accompanied?

   I think Andreea of 10TravellingTips is trying to get me beat up because this is a loaded question! To be honest, I don’t know. For the majority of my life until 2012, I, like most people always traveled with others.  There wasn’t another option in my mind and I always enjoyed the company of others. However, if people couldn’t or didn’t want to travel where I wanted to go, I often missed out and never went. Then in 2013, I decided I didn’t want to wait on others and their schedules and took my first solo trip to Spain. I loved it. For the next several years, any big international trip I took was always solo. There is just something about traveling on your own schedule without having to worry about the needs or feelings or cost of another person. Plus, when you travel alone, if you want, you can always make new friends. Now with that said, I did take a major trip with Darcee to India for nearly 4 weeks and it was great. Her company reminded me of how special it can be to share experiences with someone and that even when traveling with others, you can still make friends.

4. What is your no. 1 dream destination?

   Everyone always asks me this question and it is so hard! Currently, I am enamored with Morocco, Antarctica, China, Argentina, Mongolia, and Myanmar. However, I would have to say if I had to choose one dream destination it would be to spend several weeks exploring my family heritagein Cuba.

5. Where are you planning to travel this year?

   Planning where to travel is always fun for me as seen in my 2017 Bucket List Hopes and Goals. 2017 already started off with a bang, as Darcee and I were in India racing an auto-rickshaw for several weeks and then visited the Taj Mahal. As for the rest of the year, we have a list of places. First the plan is to travel to Scotland, England, and Wales in April and May. Then we hope to explore the national parks of Northern California at the end of Spring.  Near the end of July, we will be exploring Alberta, Canada and Banff National Park. Then come the end of September, we are flying to Germany to celebrate Oktoberfest with the possibility of a side trip to Morocco!

6. What is your biggest fear while travelling?

   Tough question. I don’t know if I have any major fears while travelling because I am usually happiest being nomadic. I guess if I am travelling with Darcee, I worry about her safety since I often find myself in fun but “risky” situations.

7. What are the 3 items that always go in your suitcase?

   First and foremost, I always pack several cigars. There is just something about sitting at a café or an outdoor area in a foreign country with a cigar as I relax and ponder my day of exploration. Secondly, it may be the Eagle Scout in me, but I never travel without a pocketknife. It’s not that I always seem to need it, but as they say in the scouts, “Always Be Prepared!” Third, I would have to say, a notebook and pens. Even in this day and age of social media instant posting, I find handwriting notes, travel plans, or even memories of the day in my notebook, help me to remember things better.

8. What do you love most about travelling?

   I recently realized I LOVE that nervous feeling in my stomach before a major adventure or experience! With traveling, I often get that feeling and it makes me feel alive. When you are exploring, you are often seeing things for the very first time and processing new information through all of your senses. To hear strange sounds, taste new flavors, see great works of art, or touch different environments offers me a great way to learn and grow that I would never have had back home.

9. Where do you see yourself in 5 years from now?

   Hopefully, 46! But seriously, I don’t really make plans that far off. But I would hopefully have checked off over 100 items off my Bucket List Project and perhaps added 50 more!

10. Tell us your favourite travelling quote if you have one.

    

11. What motivated you to start your blog?

    Why post The Bucket List Project online? For 3 Reasons:

    1) I need everyone’s help…keep me accountable, help me find ways to accomplish my goals, or just cheer me on!!

    2) I want to help others with their own Bucket List Items.  #103 on my list is to Help anyone Complete an Item on their Bucket List within 1 year of them Helping me Complete one of Mine!!

    3) I want to Inspire People to Dream & then to GO OUT & COMPLETE THEIR BUCKET LIST!  If I can do this, then ANYONE CAN!  Too many people, my Friends & Family included, just go through life living a mediocre existence!

The Bucket List Project nominates the following bloggers for the Liebster Award:

1. Be|Esther – Esther give tips on how she has and continues to thrive and overcome good and bad experiences. In addition to this, she helps small business owners promote their businesses online!
2. World in Paris – World in Paris is a team of quirky explorers with a preference for the local side of Paris and its less known sights. I love how they are continuously looking for new ideas to enjoy the best of Paris.
3. Live Jennormously – Around mid-2015, Jennifer made a promise to herself to never stop having adventures or trying new things. She’s traveled overseas solo, hiked and camped in back-country, and scuba dived. I love her passion and her desire to share it with other adventurers.
4. Danay – Danay is a Latina entrepreneur, mom and wife. She loves to share stories of her family and write about her journeys, challenges, wins and some of the interesting things she discovers and divulges about being an entrepreneur, a mom, a traveler, a proud Latina and trying to be awesome.
5. Momming with Grace – Breeanna shares her story as a police wife, cancer killer, and God lover trying to make it through parenting our girl, Annabelle Grace, with a whole lot of Grace.
6. Wandering with MI – A CPA by profession, on Maria’s free time she’s a traveler, foodie, chef (to her family and friends, haha), adventure seeker and just now, a blogger. I love reading about places she’s been to, the food that she’s tried, her lifestyle, and her personal experiences and thoughts on everything.
7. A Baby Abroad – Dani is raising a baby while living abroad and making the most of it by travelling near and far. A Baby Abroad is about our journey into parenting, family life, and family travel because the world is too interesting and marvellous to miss out on it… even with a baby in tow. 
8. A Touch of Bliss – Mikaela is a lover of all things beauty, fashion and lifestyle! Her blog is filled with everything but you may also find some more personal posts. Here she talks about her struggles with body image, self esteem, anxiety and other ‘normal’ daily struggles and my quest to combat them.
9. Leave the Couch and Go – Anya and George created Leave The Couch And Go, because they’re passionate about happy and healthy living, and it’s high time they share their knowledge, talents and experiences with you.
10. Ivy & Sprig – Ivy and Sprig is meant to depict moms who are still growing themselves in their interests and passions while raising little sprigs too.  Stephanie seeks to encourage your faith, give you practical ideas for your family and give you a laugh sometimes.

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Look who The Bucket List Project nominated for the #Liebster Award! #blogger
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Questions for my Nominees:

1. Of these four Wizard of OZ characters, which do you most resemble in your own life & why?
   • The Protagonist (Problems just happen when you’re around.): Dorothy
   • The Brains (You think of ways to avoid/escape problems.): Scarecrow
   • The Heart (Everyone loves your spirit when problems occur.): Tin Woodman
   • The Hero (“Who’s a coward now that your problem just got REAL?”): Cowardly Lion
2. What is a scary moment you’ll never forget?
3. What is a Bucket List item you have already completed and why was it on your list?
4. What is the #1 travel destination item on your Bucket List and why?
5. What is the #1 Non-travel item on your Bucket list and why?
6. Pick one photo with a good story and tell it!
7. How do you find inspiration and get new ideas for your blog?
8. What is your favorite post that you’ve written?
9. What is the Craziest or most Extreme thing you have ever done?
10. What is your favorite and least favorite candy bar?

— Don’t Forget to Pin It! —

The post The Liebster Award appeared first on The Bucket List Project.

People are often asking me how I learn about these crazy adventures, experiences, or places to travel that are on my Bucket List.  Well, the internet of course! I not only scour the internet but I subscribe to numerous travel and adventure blogs out there to learn about the world.  That is how I found out about The Travel Whispers Blogger Challenge!

The Travel Whispers Blogger Challenge is the brain child of  travel blogger, Stephanie Fox.  Aimed at rounding up 2016 and looking towards 2017, she created 10 out of the ordinary travel questions that would not only share your personal insights on traveling but also introduce other travel bloggers to your readers.  At the bottom of this post, I will list several travel bloggers who are participating as well.  So after reading, please check them out too.  You might find some exciting new bloggers to follow and some great travel ideas for the future!  Also, you can find them across Twitter and Instagram by using the hashtag #TravelWhispers.

When The Travel Whispers Blogger Challenge was passed on to me by Sara & Nacho of I Do What I Want To, I was a  bit nervous to say the least since The Bucket List Project is still a newbie in the blogging world.  However, I found the questions a great way to learn & share not only about myself but my hopes for The Bucket List Project.

Reading The Bucket List Project's answers to the Travel Whispers Blogger Challenge #TravelWhispers
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So with bated breath, here are The Bucket List Project’s answers to The Travel Whispers Blogger Challenge:

1. If you had to move to a country that you’ve NEVER been to, and live there for ten years, where would you go?

I think I would want to go to Cuba since it is where my mother and family are from originally.  To live in such an exotic environment that offers an unbelievable culture all while seeing where my family grew up, would be amazing.  Plus, being ideally located in the Gulf of Mexico, it would allow me the ability to travel home to see my family in the US, while also, being able to explore other parts of Central and South America.

2. If you had to live in a hotel for the rest of your life, which hotel would you choose and why?

Not gonna lie, I would take a hostel, airbnb, a guest house, or even a tent over most hotels any day. To me, most hotels are just places to store my stuff while I am out and about exploring. However, if I had to be sentenced to a hotel I think I would either want to live in the Hotel Monteleone in New Orleans or the Hotel Del Coronado in San Diego.

3. If you could only eat the cuisine of one nationality forever more, which would you choose?

This question is tough.  If I could only eat the cuisine of one nationality forever, I would have to either say food from Spain or Thailand (minus the Scorpion on a Stick…been there done that).

When it comes to Spain, I think they offer some of the greatest variety as Barcelona has unbelievable seafood with a Mediterranean flair while up North the pork is phenomenal.  With Thailand, I think it offers a great infusion of Asian styles while also finding some modern flavors from around the world in their more metropolitan cities like Bangkok.

4. Who has given you ‘holiday envy’ this year, and how?

Oddly enough there is a couple who I met in Chiang Mai, Thailand during a holiday festival in 2015, called Yi Peng/Loy Krathong. Hands down Chelsea and Mark give me ‘holiday envy’ for all the holidays and festivals they attend.  Though they currently living in Dubai, they travel all over the place.  In 2016, amid all their awesome travels, I most envied their adventure at Oktoberfest in Munich, which now is on my 2017 Bucket List!

5. If you had to look at the same sunrise or the same sunset every day, where in the world would you never get bored of seeing? Please don’t say sitting outside Cafe Mambo in Ibiza.

I don’t think anything has ever beaten the sunset I saw in Oporto, Portugal.  For the rest of my life, I could easily sit amid the tourists, with a cigar and a glass of port wine, just watching the sun set along the Douro River .

6. If you were taking a ‘staycation’ in your hometown, where would it be and what would you recommend others do?

I am from New Orleans, Louisiana where there is a ton to see, experience, and most importantly EAT! First, if possible, stay at the Hotel Monteleone.  Its one of the older hotels in the French Quarter blocks away from all the fun and action.  However, the most important thing to do is to go down to the famous Carousel Bar and ride the Carousel while having a Sazerac, a Vieux Carre, or any cocktail bartender Marvin Allen recommends.

During the day, you need to explore the art galleries on Royal Street, see St. Louis Cathedral, wander around Jackson square, find treasures in the French Market, and stroll the Moon Walk along the mighty Mississippi River.

At night, you need to stroll Bourbon Street (even us locals do it from time to time), walk through Pat O’Briens courtyard, listen to old school jazz at Preservation Hall, or head over to Frenchman Street to hear some modern Jazz and New Orleans Funk Music. Drink Sazeracs, Pimm’s Cups, Daquiris, Hurricanes, any beer from Abita Brewery or explore any of the pre-prohibition cocktails served throughout the city.

To eat, it really doesn’t matter cause it’s all great! Head over to Café du Monde for beignets if you want a light breakfast.  Though you may want Stanley’s for a hearty breakfast by the cathedral.  For lunch grab yourself a poboy or even better, head over to Central Grocery for a muffuletta sandwich, a bottle of Barqs Rootbeer, and a bag of Zaps Crawtators and head up to the river to eat and watch the river boats!  As for dinner Antoine’s is by far the #1 fine dining restaurant in all of New Orleans in my opinion.

7. Describe your perfect travel day of the year?

My summer was packed with unbelievable days on the Camino and in Portugal afterwards.  But if I had to choose a perfect day, it would be with Darcee in Nassau, Bahamas this past March. We had taken a boat out to the coral reefs for snorkeling and then to scratch off Bucket List #202) Ride in a S.U.B. (Scenic Underwater Bubble).  It was amazing.

8. What have you ticked off your bucket list in 2016?

2016 was a very exciting year for The Bucket List Project as we added many items to the 2016 Completed Items list!  However, I would say the highlight was my pilgrimage along the entire Camino de Santiago.  Not only was it amazing to explore all of Northern Spain, but along my “Walk,” I learned a lot about myself and met some amazing friends. You can read Excerpts from My Personal Diary Along the Camino here.

9. What is top of your travel bucket list for 2017?

I tend to be ambitious and perhaps a bit over zealous when it comes to planning out my Bucket List travel plans every year. 2017 is no different.  When I wrote my 2017 Bucket List Hopes and Goals I realized that I had listed 7 countries outside the US & at least 3 different states from Louisiana.  But I guess that is because I am one of those Shoot for Stars kind of guys. With that said I would have to say which of the 10 destinations is top on my list this year it would be a tie between Alberta, Canada and Morocco.

Alberta escaped me last year, but this year it’s a must for me, if not for Banff National Park alone. We have all seen the remarkable photos of Lake Louise in Banff and that marvelous mountain skyline. Well, I want to see that in person.  Plus Canada is celebrating its 150th anniversary of their National Parks. So all entry is free for the entire year of 2017!

As for Morocco, exploring the Blue City of Chefchaouen, checking out the markets of Casablanca, and taking a camel safari into the desert are all hot on my list!

10. Share your favorite Instagram photo of 2016?

So The Bucket List Project only started on Instagram in September of 2016.  But slowly I have been posting up some of my favorite Bucket List Project pictures from the past.  In November 2015, I was fortunate enough to go to Thailand’s Lantern Festivals of Yi Peng & Loy Krathong.  It was probably one of the best experiences of my life.  While we were all lighting and setting sail to our balloons, I was able to catch this mother and daughter sending off their hopes and dreams into the sky!

Now since this is a Whispers challenge, I would first like to thank by Sara & Nacho of IDoWhatIWantTo who inspired me to participate.  You can read their responses by CLICKING HERE!

You can find more travel whispers at the links below:

Stephanie Fox

Josie Wanders

Young and Undecided

My Own True North

If you are a travel blogger and want to take part in the fun, then join the facebook group here.

Don’t forget to Pin this to your Bucket List Board!

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