Are Instagram Reels for tourism worth it? For Live Ningaloo in 2022, one Reel a week added 3,928 followers in eight months.
Reels reach people who do not follow you yet, and give the people who do a reason to stay.
tldr; everything you need to know
Can Instagram Reels for tourism grow your brand?
KPI: grow Live Ningaloo’s follower count to 10,000 in six months.
Schedule: one new Instagram Reel per week
Set goals you can actually hit. Everyone wants thousands of new followers overnight. It does not happen. Aim for steady growth and the big jumps will feel even better.
Reels suit tourism because they are short, easy to share and show a place better than a still photo can.
Let’s take a closer look at how we used Instagram Reels for tourism to grow Live Ningaloo’s follower count, engagement rate, and enquiries.
Live Ningaloo grew 3,928 followers with Reels
On the 15th of February, 2022, we began posting consistently on Instagram Reels, with at least one new Reel being uploaded weekly.
In eight months, Live Ningaloo’s followers grew from 7,834 to 11,762. Our most successful day came on the 22nd of June when Live Ningaloo gained 215 followers in just one day.
However, increasing followers wasn’t the only impact we saw for Live Ningaloo in 2022. Before we implemented an Instagram Reels strategy in February, Live Ningaloo’s Reels averaged just 3,152 views per upload.
Since February, Live Ningaloo’s Reels have received 522,252 views, averaging 16,320 views per Reel.
Instagram Reels for tourism are great for engagement
Views are only half the story. Engagement is the other half.
In 2022, Live Ningaloo’s engagement rate per post was 3.34%, and it spent precisely $0.00 on Instagram advertising.
Who said organic reach was dead?
Consistency is key to Reels
The plan was not complicated. No daily posting, no flooding feeds. Just one new Reel every week.
While weekly uploads worked for us, don’t be afraid to experiment with your content, especially regarding posting time. Exmouth and Ningaloo Reef are popular tourist destinations, and Live Ningaloo had followers and interest from all over the world. However, finding an ideal time to post was difficult. Early morning AWST was an excellent middle ground for targeting local and international followers.