Viral #FollowMeTo Maldives photos a reminder of the power of instagram as a marketing tool

[vc_row full_width=”” parallax=”” parallax_image=”” bg_type=”” parallax_style=”” bg_image_new=”” layer_image=”” bg_image_repeat=”” bg_image_size=”” bg_cstm_size=”” bg_img_attach=”” parallax_sense=”” bg_image_posiiton=”” animation_direction=”” animation_repeat=”” video_url=”” video_url_2=”” u_video_url=”” video_opts=”” video_poster=”” u_start_time=”” u_stop_time=”” viewport_vdo=”” enable_controls=”” bg_override=”” disable_on_mobile_img_parallax=”” parallax_content=”” parallax_content_sense=”” fadeout_row=”” fadeout_start_effect=”” enable_overlay=”” overlay_color=”” overlay_pattern=”” overlay_pattern_opacity=”” overlay_pattern_size=”” overlay_pattern_attachment=”” multi_color_overlay=”” multi_color_overlay_opacity=”” seperator_enable=”” seperator_type=”” seperator_position=”” seperator_shape_size=”” seperator_svg_height=”” seperator_shape_background=”” seperator_shape_border=”” seperator_shape_border_color=”” seperator_shape_border_width=”” icon_type=”” icon=”” icon_size=”” icon_color=”” icon_style=”” icon_color_bg=”” icon_border_style=”” icon_color_border=”” icon_border_size=”” icon_border_radius=”” icon_border_spacing=”” icon_img=”” img_width=”” ult_hide_row=”” ult_hide_row_large_screen=”” ult_hide_row_desktop=”” ult_hide_row_tablet=”” ult_hide_row_tablet_small=”” ult_hide_row_mobile=”” ult_hide_row_mobile_large=””][vc_column width=”1/1″][vc_column_text]A series of photos taken at Four Seasons Maldives by Instagram user Murad Osmann have gone viral, signalling the ever-increasing power of Instagram as a marketing tool.

Power Bloggers

Murad and Natalia Osmann became famous on the social media platform Instagram for posting beautiful photos with the hashtag #FollowMeTo. The photos always follow the same premise, with Natalia leading her Russian photographer husband Murad by the hand across a variety of breathtaking landscapes. They have now amassed nearly 3 million followers on the site.

In early June, the couple got married in a lavish ceremony in Moscow and then honeymooned in both Las Vegas and the Maldives, where they stayed at bothFour Seasons Maldives Kuda Huraa and Landa Giraavaru.

Unsurprisingly, the photos taken during their time at Four Seasons Maldives have now gone viral across the internet and have been republished and written about by countless glossy magazines, news outlets and bloggers including the Huffington Post, Business Insider and Harper’s Bazaar. As well as being circulated across these websites, the photos garnered up to 285,000 likes each on Instagram alone.

Similarly, Instagram sensation Chiara Ferragni recently stayed at Baa Atoll’s Amilla Fushi and the photos she shared with her 4.1 million Instagram followers received up to 131,000 likes each.

The Growing Impact of Instagram on Traveller Destination Choices

What the viral photos signal for the Maldives is that hotels and resorts can no longer ignore the power of social media and bloggers when it comes to marketing a property. What’s more, the number of Instagram’s active user base grew by 50% in 2014 alone, outperforming both Facebook and Twitter.

With over 300 million active users, the site has now surpassed micro-blogging site Twitter. These users have a large global reach, with 60% of its users coming from outside the U.S.

90% of these users are under 35 years old. When put in comparison against the recent Chinese Travel Monitor published by Hotels.com which found that the majority of Chinese travellers seeking luxury hotels fall within this demographic, the information shows that Instagram is the ideal social platform to target these wealthy ‘millennials’.

The 2015 Deloitte Travel Consumer report also found that 59% of travellers surveyed responded saying that a review website or social media platform had influenced their choice of holiday destination.

With Instagram continuing to boom, it is no longer easy to ignore its potential as a marketing tool.

[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]