Matador Creators Spotlight: @BrokenBootsTravel on How to Build a Successful TikTok Travel Account

Matador: How did you get started growing your TikTok?

Ginna: I actually began on TikTok when I first moved with my partner to Dubai. I was sharing some mini-vlogs of my day-to-day life, adjusting to the city and the new culture, and discovering things, and one of them went a little viral.

Funnily enough, I think it was partly because I used bakhoor (scented wood chips you burn like incense) wrongly, and plenty of Dubai folks found the video and semi-roasted me in the comments. However, it was just the beginning of making new connections and continuing to learn about the culture and discover the UAE, which became the focus of my content. I soon found that consistency paid off, and I started making videos almost daily about different things I discovered in Dubai and beyond.

Are you in the TikTok creator program?

I was not in the TikTok creator program for a long time because it wasn’t available in the UAE. I mainly monetized through paid partnerships and brand collaborations. Now, I do a variety of things to earn money from my content — I’m connected through Adsense on my YouTube Channel and user-generated content for travel and lifestyle brands, and I continue to partner with brands I align with in my TikTok content.

Do you get approached by travel brands for partnerships?

Photo: @brokenbootstravel

I do. I have worked with several travel brands, but a couple of my favorites have been Wego, an online travel booking platform, and TreeCard, a step-counter app that plants trees as you walk. I’ve also worked with various Dubai and UAE-based brands, such as City Walk Dubai, Unwind Board Game Cafe, and many different restaurants — the Dubai food scene was like a journey around the world in itself.

What are your best-performing videos and have you noticed patterns?

I think a lot of creators will agree with me that sometimes my best-performing videos are surprising. I can work for hours on a video only for it to get a couple thousand views, but a random video I threw together will quickly gain hundreds of thousands.

My most viral video to this point had nothing to do with travel or UAE culture. It was just my friend and I trying to fry an egg on the pavement in 40-degree heat in Dubai summer. I’ve noticed some things that help a video do well — a good hook, asking the audience to respond to something in the comments and building engagement. But sometimes videos will just totally flop or perform like crazy, and it’s a surprise to me as well.

Do you have tips for up-and-coming travel creators?

It’s important not to let views define your content. I’ve struggled to find a balance sometimes between creating what I want to create and feel passionate about and creating content that I know will do well. It doesn’t have to be one or the other, but it’s also ok for it to be sometimes. If you’ve made something you’re proud of, but it doesn’t fit with what you “usually” post, or you try a new approach, or you just enjoyed making, post it.

Maybe it won’t do as well as your regular content or algorithm-focused content, but the next quick video you make that goes viral will bring more eyes to everything you’ve made anyway. At the end of the day, continuing to put energy into creating things that make you feel fulfilled and creative keeps you going as a content creator and makes all your content better.

What are your next goals on social media?

I’m currently on a mission to explore all 32 departments of Colombia, creating a long-form video in each department and sharing short-form stories on my TikTok along the way. I’ve really enjoyed diving more into the world of long-form, but it’s definitely been a bit of a switch from the short-form I was used to and has brought a new audience to my work. As I continue this project (and learn and share about how extraordinary Colombia is), I’m excited to find a balance between long-form and short-form and continue developing my content style. I’ve enjoyed incorporating voices besides my own into my content, and I want to continue to use my platform to share the voices of others.