#6 Camille & Jean: 'We inspire people to desire more from life'

The Sixth Power is a new column dedicated to emerging or established influencers. Each week we give you a new interview with an influencer. This sixth post is dedicated to Camille & Jean.

Hostelsclub's blog is hosting a new column dedicated to influencers, entitled 'The Sixth Power'. We are going to hear what they have to say, listen to their stories and discover their way of life. Many people would love to be like them, and influencers are one of the latest and most coveted professions. Their following, in some cases, exceeds the influence of the Heads of State. The Californian Kourtney Kardashian with 67.3 million followers has more followers than the number of votes that led Donald Trump to the post of President of the United States of America in 2016. The Italian Chiara Ferragni, before getting 15 million followers on Instagram and a worldwide fame, was just a beautiful blonde girl. They're millionaires, but what exactly do they do? We'll find out, giving a voice to travel bloggers in particular. It is certain that their ability to influence is such that international brands rely on them by showering them with gold. Ten years ago, brands turned to televisions and newspapers, columns of modern media power. Now they rely on Influencers. Television was called the fifth power, but are influencers the sixth power? From this question, the title of this column was born. There will be many good tips for those with attentive ears. On the other hand, it seems that it doesn't take much to become an influencer: a social profile, a little work and lots of imagination.

#6 Camille & Jean: 'We inspire people to desire more from life'

That of Camille & Jean is more a beautiful story than a well-known one. We have dedicated this episode of the Sixth Power to them, hoping to amplify their notoriety a little and also because the meaning of this column is not just to applaud those who are already counting millions of followers - it would be too easy, boring and perhaps trivial. Based in London, Camille & Jean have told their story through romantic trips that look to the inside and the outside of them. They are real backpackers, and in this authentic explorers, as their journey to discover the world begins well before they were recognised as influencers. This instead came later, as it does for many. They started a blog to keep friends and relatives up-to-date on their adventures in Asia and other exotic places. And it seems that through this continuous story, every new photo represents a new limit that has been exceeded. They say: "We only live once and it would be a shame to wake up one day and realize that most of our life has passed, without ever having tried what we really wanted to do". It's time to hear what else they have to say.

Credits @backpackdiariez

What role does creativity have in your work of being influencers?

In our opinion, every one of us has a creative side but the problem is that the environment most people operate in doesn’t let that creativity express itself. So through our account, we try to inspire people to be more creative and get out of their daily grind as being creative definitely brings more fun in your life.

In other words?

We try to inspire people to do more and to get more out of life. Get out of your daily grind and don’t be afraid to try out new things or visit new places. We only live once and it would be a pity to wake up one day and realise that most of your life has gone by, without you ever having tried what you actually wanted to do.

We read something a while ago that really resonated with us and that said the following: “you need 3 hobbies in life: one to make money, one that keeps you fit and one that let you be creative.” And we strongly believe that this is true, especially the last part about creativity.

Credits @backpackdiariez

So, do you tell your followers everything about yourself?

First and foremost, we really always try to be 100% ourselves in what we show to our followers. The problem with social media is that too many people try to copy others or try to be someone else, which on the long term will never be a successful strategy.

Who is your audience?

In our case, our followers like to discover new travel destinations so we obviously try to share as many tips as possible about destinations, hotels, restaurants, etc. But people are also very interested to see more personal aspects of our lives, so without exaggerating, we regularly share little slices of our daily lives such as work out routines, what food we like, etc.

Credits @backpackdiariez

How are your photos created?

First of all, before travelling to a new place, we will research what the good spots are to take pictures on blogs and other Instagram accounts. Then, once we arrive, we will also usually try to explore the spots before the photo session as we experienced that inspiration for cool photos usually comes much faster after you have seen the spot at least once before. Lastly, we also take many pictures spontaneously when happen to find a cool spot.

How did you start your adventures then?

We actually first started a blog www.backpackdiariez.com a couple of years ago when we left for a 4-month trip through South America. This blog was mostly meant as a way to keep our family up to date with our travels and share our pictures with them.

We then got married in September 2017 (at which point we were completely hooked on travelling) and decided to leave again on a 4 months trip or ‘extended honeymoon’ to Asia. Since the blog only gave an update every week we thought it would be cool to start an Instagram page so that our friends and family could follow us more in real time. And that’s how our Instagram account was born!

Credits @backpackdiariez

And it was a success!

Once our account passed a certain threshold of followers, we started to receive more and more collaboration requests from brands and hotels which made it possible for us to make travel our full-time occupation, combined with freelance work that we do on the side.

Does being in the public eye have its negative aspects, though?

Being in the public eye can be fun at times but can also be uncomfortable at other times. So the key here is to find the right balance and this balance will be different for everyone. The good thing with social media is that you are fully in control of what you want to show to your followers so in the end there is no reason to complain.

Do you think this is something that you will be doing in the future?

In our case, we will definitely not remain pure travel bloggers forever but we will evolve towards new things. The great thing about travelling is that it is incredibly inspiring and constantly brings you in contact with new potential business ideas. That combined with developing our knowledge of social media will almost certainly lead us to new, exciting things in life.

Credits @backpackdiariez

Often, influencer's photos are not quite the same as the reality of the places where they are taken, have you found this to be true?

Sadly this happens more and more. Given that the photo editing software is getting more and more powerful and that more people are starting to use them, you will increasingly find a sharp difference between the edited photos and how a place looks like in real life. And this is especially true for the Instagram hot spots!

Finally, what are your experiences in staying in hostels?

We absolutely LOVE hostels for multiple reasons:

- They usually are the most affordable option which comes in very handy when travelling on a budget

- You always meet a ton of other like-minded people with whom you end up having a beer at the end of each day

- You always get the best travel tips from fellow travellers in hostels

- Hostels usually have a very unique identity and are designed in a cool, social way

- Last but not least, there’s always a cool bar to hang out!

This section will be translated into the main languages among the 26 of our blog. If you are an influencer you want to tell us your story then write to us, we will evaluate your proposal and perhaps The Sixth Power will talk about you!