I just returned from a week at content creation bootcamp. And by that, I mean I spent a week aboard an AmaWaterways River Cruises ship with a group of Gifted Travel Network advisors, where we explored and captured several beautiful destinations, then learned how to strategically post about the trip on social media to expand reach and attract new potential clients. Marketing Technologist Kha Ly joined us on this sailing, so while it may have looked like a fun romp around Europe, we spent most of our time learning and workshopping our content through an algorithmically focused lens.

This was truly the perfect itinerary for this group. It certainly wasn’t a normal itinerary – the low water levels caused some last-minute shuffling – but it turned out to be a content goldmine for our travel advisors. We got to experience two ships, AmaLea and AmaViola, and see the subtle differences that make each of these sisters slightly different. Most of us have sailed with AmaWaterways before, but now everyone has experienced firsthand how their incredible service extends to atypical situations, such as our rearranged sailing. Shout-out to our fabulous Cruise Manager, Radi, whose sunshiny attitude made everyone (including the non-TA passengers on board) smile and laugh through all the logistical announcements and transfers.

On top of that, our itinerary change meant we were able to collect content from six (count ‘em, SIX!) countries – The Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, France, Germany, and Switzerland. I personally added five notches to my passport in this one week!

There are so many takeaways I could share from this experience, but that would be a long article that would probably invite more questions than provide answers. (Hey now, I didn’t say being a content creator was easy.) But here are a few of the top things floating around in my brain after everything we learned and practiced during our sailing:

#1: Making content is embarrassing.

I will be the first to admit I am mortified at the idea of filming myself. I used to joke about starting my YouTube channel (called “Happily Ever Hebel” and focused on Disney Parks fun facts, thank you for asking), but the truth is that the idea of walking down the street and recording myself talking to my camera gives me hives. Especially when traveling in another country, where filming yourself experiencing things is like putting a giant sign over your head that says “Big ole tourist, right here!”

That said, content with people in it performs better online. Not only does it give your content more personality, but it also helps audiences connect with it more because it feels like an experience they could picture themselves having.

For the record, my GTN co-host Caroline Hollar and I got plenty of exposure therapy on this trip. She had a vision for a compilation Reel that required us to dance in public and lip-sync song lyrics in every destination, so we had to get over the embarrassment for the sake of our mini project. And I’ll admit, once I saw her finished product (check it out here if you’re interested), it was easy to forget how awkward we felt in the moment.

#2: Simple is not only easier, but often better.

I will be one of the first to admit that I don’t love making Reels. Sometimes it’s easy, whether I find the perfect template or have something that stands on its own without a ton of editing. But when you are trying to match up your clips to the right beats and add effects and all that other jazz, it’s easy to tumble into a perfection paralysis hole. And then, how heartbreaking is it when you finally finish your Reel and get three likes and less than 200 views?

Guess what? The advisors who had the most success with their Reels on the trip were the ones who did the following:

  • 7-10 second video that is visually appealing (or “scroll-stopping,” if you will)
  • Hook on the video that shares a common question
  • Caption that then answers that common question

…And that’s it. The creation part took very little time and formatting, and leaned on a strong visual paired with a short piece of text. So not only is it less upsetting if the Reel underperforms because you didn’t waste hours creating it, but our experience last week proves that this is an effective strategy for getting new eyes on your content.

#3: Community is worth the hype.

This one has nothing to do with content creation, but it still is one of my biggest takeaways from this trip. Working on the marketing team at GTN, I’ve spent a lot of time discussing the importance of a strong community and how much it plays a role in your success as a travel entrepreneur. It’s one thing to hear us or our advisors talk about it, but being there and seeing it live is a completely different experience. On the last night of the sailing, an advisor at my table said something along the lines of “attending FAMs with other GTNers is 25% about the educational aspect, 25% about the destinations we visit, and 50% about connecting with others in our community.”

I totally get it. The formal educational sessions had a lot of helpful info, but then there are the conversations at cocktail hour where one advisor explains a concept to another in their own words and walks them through how they implemented it in their business. Or it’s the impromptu photoshoots where people help each other with posing and share the setting on their iPhone camera, which they just learned will make the images come out so much clearer. Or it’s the advisor who is calmly helping another draft a firm but professional response to a client who is being especially difficult and needs a boundary.

I had an amazing time on this trip, and I hope our advisors got as much out of the experience as I did. And now the hard part… keeping up the momentum now that most of us have returned to our desks and all the less photogenic parts of our jobs. But that’s another article for another time.

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