Finding Instagrammable Places
If you follow me on Instagram, you may have noticed I’ve been about the block recently. Since moving to London a month ago I have made it my mission to live like a tourist every single week. It’s been amazing and this city feels endless. I genuinely do not think I will stop finding amazing places to visit and I’m excited to see as many as possible before the buzz of the city picks up again.
Before lockdown, I never thought too much into my blog Instagram. I rarely wrote reams and reams of copy and I never saw much point in cluttering the thing with hashtags, it was like my cushy little safe space and honestly I didn’t have much time to build it up into any more than that.
But like most bloggers, I took the opportunity to beef up my following back in March. I put the effort into making cute flatlays with stuff at my disposal and I was continually looking for new ways to make my account grow…it worked and my page has since evolved into a lovely little feed of lifestyle photos from my adventures in the new city.
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It’s weird to think that Instagram hasn’t been around for my whole life, I remember when one of my school friends downloaded the app, I had not a clue what I would post on it and didn’t really think it was that interesting. But Instagram beckoned in the era of photographing your food, making others jealous of your overseas holidays and brought us an extra step closer to our favourite celebrities.
We often talk about Tiktok moulding generation Z but I think Instagram was the king of it all. The first app to truly be social and transport us to the place strangers were visiting. Sure, Twitter gave us insight into the thoughts and feelings of strangers and celebrities. But you didn’t feel like you were sunning yourself on holiday with Khloe Kardashian, did you?
My point is, I think we underestimate the beauty of Instagram and the people on it. Especially from the viewpoint of bloggers and businesses, a solid social media presence is often seen as an after thought. Yet it should be the upmost priority for people looking to be successful. Looking back the idea of devaluing Instagram embarrasses me and if you’ve ever had that perception, you should too.
I don’t think we’ll ever run out of new places to visit and photograph in London. Sometimes tracking new locations down can be tricky, especially if you don’t feel like you know the area well enough to just pack your camera and go out exploring. So I thought I thought I’d dedicate todays blog to how to track down the best spots for your Instagram!
Other Bloggers
Support other bloggers! I probably sound a bit biased here, but bloggers like BirkBites have played a big part in my weekend trips of past and future. London and Birmingham have both had large blogging communities filled with people who are all about their hometowns. I’ve had the pleasure of working with a few on past projects, if you want to read about some of my favourite lifestyle, or food bloggers I asked them to contribute to my “How to be a BOSS blogger” series.
TikTok
Tiktok played a massive part in my adventures last weekend. I decided to surprise the girls in my household to a day drip to somewhere I discovered through Tiktok. Since moving to London, cute cafes and bars have been popping up on my recommended almost daily. Mainly because I save them to flick through later, or interact as a show of support for blogger friends who have finally started making content.
All you have to do is search the hashtag of your city and your page will be filled to the brim with recommendations from people looking for TikTok clout.
I think I’d be disowned by Suzie Speaks if I didn’t pay homage to Pinterest in some way, shape or form. Pinterest is full of possibility so it’s no surprise that a lot of people choose to show off their favourite place to visit in X city. Shortly before I found out I’d got the job in London, I’d planned a visit to Edinburgh with a friend and spent days curating a board filled with cute locations and blog posts listing places to visit and see.
Of course we had to include the king of cute pictures. If other people have been able to make a cute Instagram out of it, then you can too! As I mentioned before, Instagram caused massive change in our society and the way we enjoy a day out. Some may argue that basing your coffee shop preference on the instagram ability of the drink is bad, but I think those people are boring.
I’ve seen places rank their drinks menu in order of aesthetics for instagram, I’m yet to see a business (that isn’t a secret bar) condemn instagram photoshoots.
Especially right now, when hospitality is struggling so much. Platforms like Instagram are the backbone of their marketing and it’s completely free. A beautiful photo with a handle and location attached could encourage others to go visit and keep the business doors open. So if you need moral justification, you’re supporting your local businesses by taking pictures of their food.