In this series, Instagram Icon, Entrepreneur speaks with the individuals behind popular Instagram accounts to find out the secrets of their success.
Unlike other travel accounts, which tend to highlight tropical vacations and luxury ski chalets, Louis Cole’s account seeks to inspire others with portraits of locals and photos of off-the-beaten path locales — even though his posts do spark a little bit of envy.
Cole is the owner of adventure and travel Instagram account, @funforlouis, where he documents his life, his travels and his adventures. Currently, Cole’s nomadic lifestyle has sparked his current adventure, Beyond Borders. That project sees him travel around the world in 90 days in a four-seater plane piloted by his close friend, stopping in 22 countries along the way and making a documentary on global diversity.
Cole’s passion for adventure and addiction to travel started at a young age. Growing up in the U.K., he was raised by adventurous parents who took him on road trips. Cultivating this passion, Cole in 2011 launched YouTube channel Fun For Louis, documenting his journeys and inviting others to follow. Months later, during a trip to Brazil, Cole launched his Instagram account so he could share some of his epic photos of that trip.
Six years and 1.5 million followers later, Cole’s Instagram is a sight to see — and a major source for inspiration. And his followers prove that. In fact, on a recent stopover in Nagpur, India, one of Cole’s fans, a local to the city, managed to track him down simply by watching his Instagram Story. “We ended up having dinner together and [I gave] him advice on his travels. It was really cool because it goes from being this online community of followers to actually getting to connect with people,” Cole shares with Entrepreneur.
We spoke with Cole to learn how he’s used social media to help fuel his passions.
1. How did you get your start with Instagram?
I think I started both [my YouTube and Instagram accounts] in 2011. I started my YouTube channel earlier in the year. I’d had a few of my friends who were also creating online content say it was important to put stuff out on different platforms.
And then I was actually in Brazil when I started my Instagram account. I remember thinking I really wanted to share photos, and people [had] been telling me [to] start an Instagram account so I set it up in Brazil and post[ed] my first photos from there.
2. What other platforms do you use and what percentage of the time do you spend on them vs. Instagram?
The main platforms I use are Instagram and YouTube, and then I will share my Instagram posts and YouTube videos on Twitter and Facebook, but it’s a rare that I’ll post unique content on Twitter and Facebook. I usually just repost what I’ve been posting on Instagram because I mainly like visual communication. I’m not really into clever words and stuff; I enjoy expressing myself through imagery.
3. How much of your time do you devote to it?
On an average day, I like editing photos I’ve taken that day, and then sometimes it takes a while thinking of an interesting caption. I always send the captions to my girlfriend to check for grammar and spelling. By the time I’ve picked [a photo] out, edited it [and] thought of a caption — probably an hour. It’s normally just trying to find the right photo because there might be multiple photos from a day or a location, and then you’re thinking back and forth which one looks better. There’s so much thought that goes into it.
4. How do you promote your account? What’s your number one way to gain followers?
Hanging out with other…
