Facebook Groups Travel Bloggers Should Know About

When I first started blogging, I had the mentality of “if I blog it, they will come” but was disillusioned when I realized this wasn’t the case.  As awesome your content is, building a following and readership just doesn’t happen overnight.  Does that mean things are hopeless and you have to rely on SEO?  The answer is NO.

In the past I talked about the importance of getting yourself out there and meeting other travel bloggers through local events like Travel Massive.  What if you took this a step further and did this type of networking online?  There are bloggers all over world and since we already established that travel blogger’s are super friendly and willing to help, why couldn’t you do this at a bigger scale?

The truth is this journey we’re on isn’t possible without the help of others.   None of us can do this all on our own.

One of the best tips I got from a fellow blogger was the importance of getting a community behind your work.  It takes the collective power of many travel blogger’s to boost each other to get us to the top – a major breakthrough for me that really put my blog on the upward trajectory.

Credit: Berkana.org

How to leverage Facebook groups

The easiest way to tap into collective travel blogging knowledge is to join the plethora of groups out there.  Every blogger is on Facebook and it’s where everyone seems to come together.  Facebook groups aren’t perfect but it’s one of the easiest ways to get the conversation going without having to go some other platform.

There are two ways which I’ve been able to make the most of Facebook groups:

• Knowledge and learning – There are so many smart bloggers out there.  I’ve learned so much from them.  I’ve also been able to keep up to speed with what’s happening in the industry through these groups.  It’s also highly inspirational to see what other bloggers are doing and how they’re hustling way harder than you.  This is also a chance to realize you’re getting your ass kicked so time to drop a gear and start revving up.
• Sharing engine – Before getting involved in FB groups, I kept wondering “how the heck do these other travel blogger’s have so much content to share every hour??”.  I then realized that there were these awesome reciprocal sharing threads.  There’s a thread for almost everything depending on the group.  Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Google +, Stumble Upon, newsletter signups, you name it.

It’s not just about taking

It’s a two way street.  Selfishness won’t take you anywhere.  To really maximize your experience on these Facebook groups, you have to contribute in as much as you take out.

For instance, if you’re on a social sharing thread and it says you have to tweet out every message in the thread, do it.  If you don’t, you’ll easily get singled out.  Don’t be that guy.

The same goes with the learning.  Start conversations and get involved.  You’ll be amazed how much you can get from other travel bloggers.  For instance, I had no idea why my blog was performing so slow.  I posted a question and immediately got a half dozen of replies.  From the feedback, I got a bunch of ideas of things to try and now my blog is performing a lot better.

Do’s and don’ts

1. Don’t spam.  That’s the worst sin you can make on these groups.  Self promotion is frowned upon unless the group was created specifically for that purpose.
2. Do ask the admin.  If you’re not sure if you should post something in a group, ask one of the admin’s.
3. Don’t be a douche.  There’s no room for you if you act like a jerk face.
4. Do ask questions.  Like they say, there’s no such thing as a dumb question.

Which Facebook groups to join

There are really 2 types of groups out there.  There are ones where self promotion is a no-no and is truly a community of blogger’s trying to help each other.  Here you’ll find people asking questions, and all those group sharing threads.  Then there are the other free-for-all type groups where it’s a way for travel blogger’s to promote their latest work.

Note that many of these groups are closed and require approval from the admin so make sure you have something about your travel blog on your personal profile.

Community groups

• Part-Time Travel Talk
• We Travel We Blog
• Travel Bloggers Network
• Global Bloggers Network
• Newbie Travel Bloggers
• #WeekendWanderlust Bloggers
• Beyond Blogging
• Under 1000 Club – Aspiring Travel Bloggers
• Digital Nomads
• Canadian Travel Bloggers
• Travel Blog Press Trips (must have sufficient following and traffic)
• The Business of Blogging
• Awesome Bloggers
• Travel Video Group

Free for all groups

• Travel Blog Chronicles
• Ultimate Blog Challenge – Boost Your Blog Traffic
• TRAVEL ADDICTION
• TRAVELLERS
• Travel Bloggers
• Travel Blogger Tales
• Travel Bloggers and Readers

There’s new ones popping up every week but I’ll try to update this as often as I can.

Word of warning

Just like with everything social media, Facebook groups are equally a time sink so like the rest, make sure you box out how much time you spend.  Try your best to stick to a routine.  Remember this is just one piece of the puzzle.

Bottom line

Go out and explore the groups and figure out which ones you want to get involved with.  Leverage the power of many as opposed to being on your own island and trying to do it all yourself.

The number of groups out there can be overwhelming so my recommendation is to prioritize and focus on the key ones that will be most useful for you.  If you start stretching yourself, you’ll just b e doing your blog a disservice.

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