Most travel agents who try social media get some views and no clients. Kalie gets clients. She has fewer than 10,000 followers across TikTok and Instagram, and she sells anywhere from $100,000 to $250,000 of travel a month, all from social media. I sat down with her on our podcast to break down exactly how she does it, with what I’d add from years of running marketing for travel advisors.
Who Kalie is
Kalie became a travel advisor in March 2024 and had her agency running within three weeks. Before travel she was a professional makeup artist and a beauty creator on TikTok, so she knew how to edit and hook a video. But she started her travel account from zero, with no following.
Today she specializes in luxury, small-ship and expedition cruising in Alaska. She told us her sales run from at least $100,000 a month up to $250,000 in her best month, and none of it comes from referrals, networking groups or a big existing client list. It all comes from social media.
1. Optimize for clients, not views
Kalie’s first months were trial and error. She posted about London, spooky Halloween trips, whatever she felt like. Those videos got views, but never clients.
“When you’re talking about everything, no one’s gonna trust you for everything. You’re never gonna become known for anything.”
I learned the same thing as a videographer. I’ve had clips reach half a million views that did nothing for the business. Views aren’t the goal. Would you rather talk to a room of 100 people who are exactly your ideal client, or a room of 100,000 people where those same 100 are hidden somewhere in the crowd?
Kalie has about 1,500 to 2,000 followers on Instagram and around 7,000 on TikTok. She only started Instagram in June, and adding it doubled her business. As she puts it, she doesn’t optimize for views or followers; she’s on social media to get clients.
2. Pick a niche you can talk about for a long time
One day Kalie posted an Alaska video and it went viral. She decided to talk about that one thing, and it changed her business. A niche helps twice: the algorithm learns who to show your videos to, and the right clients can tell straight away that you’re the person for their trip.
She also chose her niche with her lifestyle in mind. Looking at her income goals, she could either sell a high volume of lower-cost trips or fewer, higher-value ones. She chose fewer, higher-value trips and built the business around the life she wanted.
My own advice for brand-new advisors: if you already know the destination you love, niche from day one. If you don’t yet, it’s fine to test a few before you commit. Passion for your niche is what gets you filming on the days you don’t feel like it.
3. Structure every video to convert
Kalie separates two kinds of content. Vlog-style videos from her own trips get reach, and that’s their job. Most of what she posts is what she calls content that converts, and it follows the same three steps:
- 1A hook, so people actually stop and listen.
- 2Expertise and opinions, so they come to trust you.
- 3A call to action, so they know the next step to work with you.
A strong hook doesn’t have to be complicated. It has to make the viewer laugh, wow them or teach them something. Do one of those well and they keep watching; do all three and you’ve hit the sweet spot.
4. Share your honest opinions
One of the fastest ways Kalie builds trust is with opinions that go against the grain, about a cruise line or a destination. People who agree with you, or who were already worried about the same thing, trust you more and reach out.
The key word is honest. Being contrarian just for the sake of it shows through on camera. Saying what you really think, plainly, is a breath of fresh air.
5. Answer the questions your clients already ask
Stuck on what to post? Look at what you sell and answer the questions your ideal clients ask you anyway. If you sell river cruises and people ask how AmaWaterways compares with Avalon, make that video. When people search that question, you can show up in the results.
Then get more from every video. Turn your best video of the week into your weekly email, which is Kalie’s tip. Mine: turn the transcript into a blog article on your website and embed the video, so you show up on Google and in AI search too. The video is the hard part; reusing it is the easy part.
6. Capture viewers with a lead magnet
Most people who find you on social media are just starting their research. They aren’t ready to book, and two videos later they’ve forgotten you. A lead magnet keeps you in front of them.
Kalie uses ManyChat. A viewer comments a keyword such as “guide,” ManyChat sends them a direct message with a link to her website, and her site collects their email and sends the guide. Sending people to the website also gives them a chance to learn more about her. The result is a list of people interested in exactly what she sells.
7. Make your profile about you
Kalie’s handle is her own name, not her agency’s. People follow and trust people more than businesses. Her bio states her name and her expertise, such as luxury cruise expert, so anyone landing on her profile knows within three seconds what she does and how she can help.
8. Keep production simple
She films on her phone with a tripod, in good light, and edits in the TikTok app. No studio, no fancy software. CapCut or Instagram’s Edits work just as well.
I’d go further: polished production can hurt organic content, because anything that looks like an ad gets treated like one. Good light and clear audio are what matter. Less is more.
Kalie also posts the same videos to TikTok and Instagram. Sometimes one platform does better than the other, and that’s fine. She batches about four hours of filming a month, so she never wakes up wondering what to post.
9. Get comfortable on camera, at any age
Being on camera feels awkward at first. Kalie’s view is that if referrals and networking aren’t bringing the clients you want, you can stay comfortable or take the leap, and the leap can change your business. Nobody is watching as closely as you think, and it gets easier quickly if you do it often.
Many advisors are over 55 and worry it counts against them on social media. Kalie thinks the opposite: like attracts like. Older advisors look experienced, attract clients like them, and stand out because people aren’t used to seeing them in their feed.
10. Charge planning fees
Kalie charges a planning fee on every single trip, and her clients know about it before they get on the phone. Because her content has already built the trust, by the time someone calls they want to work with her and aren’t comparing her with anyone else.
From the business side, fees fix cash flow. Commissions average around 15%, sometimes lower, which is a thin margin next to most businesses, and without positive cash flow it’s very hard to grow without going into debt. You deserve to be paid for your time on top of the commission.
11. Post every day for 30 days
“If you are someone that really struggles to get clients and you don’t know where your next client is coming from, try social media and see what happens and be consistent. Post every day for 30 days.”
Her view is that the travel advisor market on social media is still largely untapped. Niche down, move now, and stay consistent.
Frequently asked questions
Do travel agents need a lot of followers to get clients from social media?
No. Kalie has fewer than 10,000 followers across TikTok and Instagram and sells $100,000 to $250,000 a month. The right 100 viewers are worth more than 100,000 random ones.
What should a travel agent post on social media?
Educational content about your niche is the easiest place to start: answer the questions your ideal clients already ask, share honest opinions, and end each video with a clear next step.
Which platform is best for travel agents?
Kalie started on TikTok and doubled her business when she added Instagram, posting the same videos to both. Pick the platform your ideal clients use and repurpose to the others.
What equipment do I need?
A phone, a tripod and good light. Kalie films and edits in the TikTok app.
Will Lee
Co-founder & Marketing Strategist
Will builds the systems he writes about, then teaches them inside The Travel Agents Academy. Every play here was run on a real agency first.
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