Aboriginal guided hike on Mount William, Grampians National Park, Victoria © Rob Blackburn

How to get featured by @australia on social media

Q: How do I share my photos?

It’s super easy, mate. Just add #SeeAustralia or #HolidayHereThisYear to your photo and the team will consider your image or video for a feature. You can also tag them with @Australia , that works too.

Q: What if Muffincakes were a kangaroo?

That certainly improves your chances. Remember to add #SeeAustralia or tag @Australia , though!

Got some content that you think would be perfect for our social channels? Here's what you need to do to get featured.

We are regularly asked about how to contribute to Tourism Australia’s social media profiles, so we’ve posted a series of tips and tricks here.

Tourism Australia's online profiles

Let’s start with our online profiles so you know where to find us:

Website: Australia.com
Our extensive website helps travellers plan their Australian holiday by providing travel inspiration, practical information and itineraries.
Instagram: @Australia
Tourism Australia’s Instagram account has an extensive fan base and is extremely popular. The team feature eye-catching photos, stories and videos each day, with longer-form captions containing a bit more detail. In case our fans want to learn even more about a destination or experience, several posts a week are featured in our 'link in bio', driving through to the latest info on Australia.com. For more info, see our Instagram FAQ below.
Facebook: Australia.com
Tourism Australia’s Facebook profile features the best fan content daily, from albums and show-stopping single images through to engaging short videos.
Twitter: @Australia
Tourism Australia’s Twitter account tweets out up-to-date news and the best daily fan content, and also answers questions from fans.

How to be part of our social media presence

We understand that you want to be part of our social media platforms too! It really is as easy as making sure you include our tags and handles in your own daily social media activity. Check out our terms & conditions for more information on how we handle submissions to our social media channels.

Instagram
Use the #SeeAustralia hashtag in your caption (for your best destination related content).

Facebook
Post any of your great images or videos directly onto our Facebook wall or in the comments on a particular post.

Twitter
Don’t forget to include @Australia on any tweets that you want us to see.

What the team are looking for

In a nutshell, we’re looking for the most inspiring, engaging, spectacular, funny or eye-catching content to share with our fans. Most people look at their social newsfeed to get updates from family and friends, so the content that we post needs to be able to compete with that, and also not appear too commercial.

Tip: The more information you provide about the photo you share with us, the easier it is for us to tell a deeper story about that destination or experience. We recommend including as much information as possible in your caption, such as when and where the photo was taken, how to get to the place in the photo, and what you think is particularly special about it.

Some of the themes we like to see are:

Beaches and islands (think jaw-dropping coastline shots or underwater snaps with some of our amazing marine animals).
Nature and landscapes (capture a spectacular view from the top of a stunning gorge or in a violet lavender field).
Native wildlife (such as a snap of our adorable wombats or epic whale sharks).
Food and drink (like a deliciously Insta-worthy meal that you had at one of our best restaurants, even better when paired with an amazing view).

Videos on social media

Over the past few years we have seen the power of video on social media continue to rise, and we now find that short, engaging videos perform exceptionally well on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Natively posting your videos within these platforms is the best way to see results, and don’t forget about Twitter – you can easily post videos on this platform which will automatically play when you scroll through the feed.

What we’re looking for in a video:

We regularly feature videos on our social channels, and to help you understand what we’re looking for, here are some specifications for the kind of videos we tend to feature. Bear in mind that this may be different to what works for your own channels, but for ours we prefer:

Length: our optimum video length is 15–30 seconds long, and generally no longer than one minute
Orientation: square or portrait format preferable
Format: MP4 preferable
Sound: natural sounds, suitable copyright-free background music, or no sound at all. Check out premiumbeat.com or jukedeck.com, or there’s a range of other royalty-free music sites available on the web.
Overlay text or logos: none if possible please (we will always credit and link to your business via our caption)
Fade in and out at the start or end: none preferable
Talking heads: none preferable
Voiceovers: none preferable

How to capture your content

iPhone
You don’t need all of the latest high tech equipment to capture great content, some of our most popular posts have been simple and unedited short clips that were filmed on a phone! The quality of images that can be captured on an iPhone is also excellent, and there are a number of apps you can use to edit your shots to make them social media ready.

GoPro
We’re a big fan of the GoPro Session camera. It’s small, lightweight and very easy to carry around. Not all versions have an LCD screen in the back, but it connects through your smartphone app for easy viewing, editing and publishing onto social media. Some of our most engaging posts have been captured using a GoPro.

Drones
We’ve all seen how incredible aerial footage can be. Drones have become increasingly more portable and affordable as the technology evolves. Many people think this format of video is out of reach, but if you don't have your own drone and want to get some footage, there are a huge number of certified operators out there who capture amazing content for a reasonable price. Here is where you can find local certified operators in your area. Just remember when you’re shooting with a drone, there are some regulations that you have to keep in mind, and we can only re-post if they’ve all been followed. You can check those out here.

@Australia Instagram profile frequently asked questions

It’s about inspiring the world to visit Australia, and Australians to explore their home. The account is managed by the social media team at Tourism Australia, but the real work is done by all of our followers who share their stunning shots with us every day.

No, don’t be silly. We’re actually real people.

It’s super easy, mate. Just add #SeeAustralia or #HolidayHereThisYear to your photo and the team will consider your image or video for a feature. You can also tag them with @Australia, that works too.

It might. From time to time we will feature some images on our Facebook page, our @Australia Twitter profile or Australia.com. We may also occasionally contact you if we would like to use your image or video elsewhere. You can read the full terms & conditions around submitting images here.

We think so.

We think your cat is really cute. But, unfortunately, we simply can’t use Muffincakes to promote holidays in Australia. Our research has shown that what motivates travellers to pick Australia for their next holiday is things such as our amazing beaches, unique wildlife, the Great Barrier Reef, beautiful natural wilderness, our bustling cities and unmatched food and wine experiences.

So, unless Muffincakes can pose on a beach while holding a plate of seafood, we won’t be able to feature him.

That certainly improves your chances. Remember to add #SeeAustralia or tag @Australia, though!

Photos are selected based on what’s timely and relevant, what aligns with our social media guidelines, and Tourism Australia’s campaign and brand messages. We’ll always give credit to the photographer or videographer in our posts.

You don’t need to be a professional photographer to have your photo featured but, remember, the team here will always check what else our followers will see if they click through to your profile.

Probably not. It’s not that we don’t think you’re cute, it’s just that we like to feature content where our followers can picture themselves in the photo. Unless you’re a marsupial. Koalas or kangaroo selfies are always welcomed.

Rarely. Promoting Australia is a very big job, for a real person or a kangaroo.

Yes. P. Sherman is a good mate of ours, actually.

A long time, please read them.

When you say this in an Australian pub, everyone is your friend. Try it out next time you’re here.

If you’d like to submit your images please use our hashtags. You can also email us at socialmedia@tourism.australia.com. We’ve had a few weird messages on this email lately, so keep it PG please. No pictures of Muffincakes either.