Influencer Awards - Naomi-Jane Adams on travel, luxury and style

Travel is a very appreciated topic on Instagram. The current influencer increasingly shares her travels, which for her are the places of new trends. Naomi is one of the best luxury, travel, fashion and lifestyle bloggers in London. Part of the Top 8 Luxury Travel Instagram Page of 2017, Naomi has worked with some of the world’s leading travel, destination, fashion and lifestyle brands. FIV has prepared for you an exclusive interview on one of the latest trends: Traveling.

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How to build a meaningful social media presence?

The Most Popular Luxury Destinations

Tips for influencers: sponsored content, branded messaging, inspiration for feeds and followers

You need a list to go on a trip

Instagram: Bookonin
Blog: Book of Luxury

FIV: Hello Naomi, you are a wonderful founder of luxury, travel, fashion and lifestyle based in London. But how did you develop an interest in each of these categories?

Naomi: I have worked in the travel and PR industry for over 20 years, so it has always been part of me! I am a very creative person who has sewn and made things since a very young age and like most people naturally have an interest in fashion and all things feminine, lifestyle and beauty as everyone did before Instagram by flipping through fashion magazines.

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bo2rvJMlP7X/

How to build a meaningful social media presence?

FIV: In a few years, you have built sponsorships with luxury travel brands, traveled around the world and built a significant following on social media. What is your secret?

Naomi: It’s not just a few years ago. I started working with various Greek properties, sailing destinations and the Greek Tourism Organization 10 years ago, mainly with Facebook pages and writing blogs for different stores. I started my Instagram account as soon as it was launched to share this content, but at that time the focus was mainly on Facebook. I had already built a strong following on my Facebook page. I was lucky to receive advice from the owner of one of the largest advertising agencies in Israel who suggested what I did, the name for me was “social influencer”, this was about 5 years ago, and I should focus more on Instagram in the future. So I did….. Naturally I was working full-time for the Daily Mail and the General Trust Group, so my travels were only within my annual holidays, so in 2017 my content was all focused on those travels and weekends and day trips or restaurants. I started exploring areas of my country on my feed and also shared other places I had visited. Very quickly hotels and tour operators and tourism boards contacted me to post on my feed. I wanted to share the world as I see it, I wanted every photo to give the feeling of being the person who is there….

https://www.instagram.com/p/BqSiL4wlIdG/

FIV: If we were to summarize your food universe in one word, it would be this: paradise. Which is your favorite among all the posts on your Instagram account? And where does your inspiration come from?

Naomi: Naturally, like everyone I see on Instagram and Pinterest who gives me inspiration, but I stay away from recreating it. It’s difficult not to take a photo in the same place when it gives the best view, but you won’t find the man with the same outfit and hairstyle that completely imitates someone else. Honestly, when I arrive, I move around and take a lot of photos, see what works…. I know which areas a hotel wants to highlight, the room, the social spaces like the pool, the food in the spa, so I work on creating content around these areas for food and stories. When you see the photo roll, you know it’s what I want to share with my audience.

There usually has to be a central element, whether it’s a fantastic view, a beautiful plate of food, there has to be something that makes someone think they need to visit this place, it’s an experience for me!

The Most Popular Luxury Destinations

FIV: You are part of the Top 8 Luxury Travel Instagram Page of 2017. Of all the places you have been in the world, what are your 5 favorite luxury travel destinations?

Naomi: For luxury;

Santorini and Mýkonos in Greece
Seychelles
Maldive
Dubai
Abu Dhabi

https://www.instagram.com/p/BxAIDECFXux/

FIV: Naomi, today you have more than 750,000 followers. What is the biggest challenge for you as an influencer?

Naomi: Working in the travel industry has a very short notice, my paid jobs can come as little as 1 week up to 4 weeks in advance, so it’s difficult for me to plan anything outside of the 4 weeks, which is difficult when travel needs to be planned and trying to plan and chat with clients while you’re traveling with another client can be exhausting (which is why many travel influencers only sleep a few hours a night when they’re working).

You can’t guarantee which income will come each month unless you have a monthly partnership with a brand ambassador and if you get paid (brands that hold onto money for 6 months, agencies that close and aren’t paid at all) it’s the same as anyone working independently, you don’t have a guaranteed income and all the work, from negotiation, to offers, to producing the work, to the final touch talking to your audience and then invoicing, it’s all on you!

Trolls are obviously something everyone has to deal with, it’s part of the job! I’ve had moments where it’s gotten so bad and some of them are professionals who know how to get into you, then they can contact anyone who emails your clients and send a lot of spam to your account if you don’t give them a response. But after a while you have to try, I know it’s hard, but really try not to respond.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BxJyozolzZ0/

Tips for influencers: sponsored content, branded messaging, inspiration for feeds and followers

FIV: As influencers and entrepreneurs, how do you decide with which brands to work and how do you ensure that your followers are open to sponsored content?

Naomi: I promote Luxury Travel, so it’s all Luxury Travel, aside from the fact that it’s everything I use. You’ve probably heard every influencer say that I only promote things I think are authentic, and then you see 20 watches, 20 cereal bars, various phone apps that fall down the list on their page.

For me, there will be many fashion collaborations, everything I obviously wear and use, like swimwear and travel products and, of course, all beauty and lifestyle products. The question you should ask yourself is: if your only audience was your mother, would you sell it to her?

FIV: Your feed is unreadable! How do you ensure that branded messaging is suitable for your feed?

Naomi: I’ve always tried to do it my way! I lose a lot of paid jobs or am offered money if I change my image and I simply say no. I don’t like it. If it doesn’t suit me, then we’re not meant to be together. Brand partnerships always work well when the brand allows influencers to share their approach to presenting and using the product. No one knows their audience better than influencers, but also the influencer and the brand need to see if this audience is someone who wants to listen. This is where a brand should know that this is the wrong influencer for my product and also an influencer shouldn’t accept the job because the product isn’t relevant to you or your audience.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BtW2jNKlK4V/

You need a list to go on a trip

FIV: As a traveler, how do you organize your trips? And what is your must-have list for a trip?

Naomi: Many of them are short-term. These days, most of my travels are because someone, a hotel, an airline, a travel PR, a tourism board has contacted me and wants to work with me, and then there’s the normal negotiation of dates, services, itineraries, etc., which also coincides with all the other brand work I need to do on location.

I take all the standard things like everyone else, all my gear, cameras, chargers, etc., all the branded products for filming, toiletries, clothes, but outside of that I always take a huge blanket when I’m on a plane! I fly a lot, too much, and it’s just something that helps me sleep (like a comfort blanket from home and I can use it to wrap myself if you’re going to a destination where it’s hot, but then there are those cold nights, I’ve been on many flights and even with the small blanket they give you I was freezing, so I always have my warm blanket with me in my carry-on!

https://www.instagram.com/p/BfloCD5FmYG/