Should You Use Social Media for Travel Advice?
Social media is a gold mine of information. It’s also a dumping ground for misinformation as well. That being said, is it safe to use to plan your next itinerary? The answer isn’t so simple.
Driving to the Valley of Fire outside of Las Vegas, NV
In today’s world, many of us consume news and information via social media which makes it easy to digest info in bite size formats. Travel content is no different. Instead of reading a printed travel guide, you can scroll instagram or Tiktok and see someone share their favorite destinations, hotels and/or itineraries, complete with pretty pictures and videos. You might be tempted to copy and paste and do exactly what you see them do. Here’s why we would recommend doing your own research or outsourcing said research to us!
Influencers lie: Influencers are paid to share their opinions and while a brand might say they want your honest opinion, what they really want is your honest, positive opinion that will drive business. Whether or not they actually enjoyed the trip, the check clears so who knows if you’re getting the truth or what the brand wants them to say?
Instagrammable and high quality are 2 different things: When we went to Paris earlier this year, we both took time to look up restaurants and things to do while we were there. The amount of restaurants that were rated as “must see” that had a google review rating below 4 was appalling. There are a lot of places that have invested a lot of money in looking good for pictures and videos but have nothing else to offer. Don’t fall for their pretty lies!
Influencers lie: Just making sure you didn’t miss this point.
Influencers can receive special treatment: An influencer with a large following is likely to receive special attention so they can leave a favorable review later on. Some businesses may not treat every customer as well. Your favorite, high profile influencer is likely getting perks you might not be offered just because of their following.
OK so now you’re probably wondering why we didn’t just say no to using social media to fill your itinerary. As we said at the start, there’s still a gold mine of information out there and some of it can be very helpful. Here’s what we would use social media for when it comes to travel:
Destination Inspiration: The world is so big but when it comes to travel, most people tend to call out the same cities over and over. If you’re looking to get off the beaten path, social media can be a great way to discover new destinations.
Finding things to do: If you google what to do in ______, you likely get a long list of museums. Google and even TripAdvisor tend to give outdated advice on activities. Social media can help you discover lesser known things to do. For example, we never would’ve seen the Dolce & Gabbana traveling fashion exhibit in Paris if it hadn’t been suggested on instagram.
Outfit Inspiration: If you’re like us, when you travel you try to adapt your style to the location you’re visiting. Looking up local fashion trends for the season is a great way to use social media. Pro tip: look at the people in the background of the photo. Your favorite influencer may not be dressed as the typical local but if you can spot people milling in the background, you may have a better idea of what everyone wears.
TL;DR Social media is a great starting point for research. If you use it as your one and only travel guide, you might find yourself on a trip that seemed great on screen but turned out otherwise in reality.
Safe Travels,
Briana
