It seems like the world has stopped turning ever since we have entered the period of the coronavirus crisis. Businesses around the world shut down, millions of people lost their jobs and suddenly, there was an overwhelming sense of panic and uncertainty. For people who are self-employed, freelancers, and bloggers, this feeling of instability was even stronger.
For travel bloggers, it seems especially hard to maintain normal communication with audiences during those times. That’s why we have prepared a couple of tips for travel blog storytelling that can help you keep your audience engaged during a crisis:
1. Use Photos
In stressful and confusing times, people like to turn to positive and cheerful content that will make them feel better, unlike the news. That’s why it’s perfect to turn images, visuals, and photos into a tool that does your brand storytelling for you.
Bird’s eye view and aerial photos are especially popular. You can create them with drones or by shooting from higher altitudes. Give your audiences a breath of fresh air by sharing inspiring photos and images instead of spreading panic. Empower your photos with Lightroom Presets.
2. Film Videos
Videos like this one are a great way to maintain connections to your travel blog audience during times of crisis. For many people, they work even better than photos and they are more likely to stop scrolling and check out a video than a photo.
During the coronavirus crisis and travel bans, it has become virtually impossible to film travel destinations and share them on your blog. This is why it’s a good time to present the world with your home town or some of the footage from your archive. Remind your audience what it’s like to roam unknown streets, explore jungles, or discover hidden beaches…
3. Work with Professional Content Creators and Experts
During a crisis, it’s like your content is under a magnifying glass. Everything needs to be of superb quality, while even the tiniest mistakes can trigger complaints among your readers. To prevent this, you can work with some of these professional service providers.
It’s smart to hire experts to handle your content during a crisis, even if you’re just a small blog. During sensitive times, every word matters. Appropriate reaction and impact can launch your blog into mega-success, while the opposite can mean its failure. Don’t risk it.
4. Promote Luxury
Additional negativity is the last thing your readers need during a crisis. They are already bombarded with negative news, so you definitely don’t need to add more like a travel blog. Rather, inspire your readers by posting experiences and photos from luxurious vacations.
However, make sure that the luxury storytelling you’re about the employ is aligned to what your travel blog has been presenting so far. If you’re catering to audiences who travel on a low budget, you should think twice before changing your story. Just continue to spread positivity and inspire others to travel, but do it even more directly.
5. Connect to the Big Picture
A common mistake blogs and other storytellers make during a crisis is that they try to ignore it. Sometimes, it’s possible to go unnoticed as the storm passes, but in cases of huge crises such as coronavirus, you simply have to address it in your blog.
Of course, there are possibilities to connect travel and crisis times to the big picture: society, life, and spirituality. It all depends on your usual voice and messaging, but you should use your platform for storytelling to inspire hope and optimism in your readers. This is precisely what they need from their favorite authors and creators and will surely remember that after the crisis ends.
Conclusion
Even though it seems scary and uncertain, it’s very much possible to continue successfully running a travel blog during a crisis. Not only is it possible: it’s necessary. As a brand owner, you need to be able to adapt even to the toughest of hardships and make sure your business comes out on the other side stronger. Travel blogs are no exception: people will always, always be interested in traveling and tourism. You just need to find a new way of storytelling during times when your readers can’t travel as much.
