My mantra in life is to do what makes me happy which would eventually also lead to my idea of success.
1. Tell us about your background and journey.
I served in the Indian Air Force for 20 years as a Fighter and later on a Helicopter pilot. I decided to say bye-bye to the Air Force in the year 2022. As far as my second innings is concerned my skills of flying aircraft translated into flying drones, and I decided to take up travelling to capture the world through the eye of my lens.
I took a drone pilot license in the year 2023 and started traveling in Meghalaya, a beautiful state in north east India, mostly covering offbeat locations and hidden undiscovered places. Slowly, I expanded and started shooting and exploring all over India. As my audience grew, I got more motivated and now with god’s grace, wanderlustwithamit has reached millions all across the globe and has shown the beauty of India and its hidden gems.
2. What led you to start your page on Instagram and what is it about?
Photography and travelling combined with adventure has always been my passion since NDA days. During my various postings to different parts of India, I discovered many unexplored and hidden gems of our diverse topography that needed to be shown to the world.
Therefore, after my saying bye-bye to Air Force, I decided that this is what I want to do with my life. I started my page Instagram @wanderlustwithamit, to show the unseen, offbeat gem of locations that India has to offer to the world. My page is dedicated to showcasing the wonders of our India to the world through travel and adventure content.
3. How would you distinguish between the word blogger and influencer?
A blogger is someone who just gives information to viewers about place/ product but an influencer is someone who provides information to influence their followers to be interested in the information and want it themselves. As an travel influencer, it is my job to show people the beautiful places and bring the experiences to them so that they get influenced to travel to that place.
4. Is it financially sustainable to be an influencer today?
Depends on your content and quality of the content, the audience is there, the market is there, you just have to make a place for yourself. If you give people what they want to see, you will get a lot of love.
An influencer has to be smart and learn how to work on different platforms simultaneously like Instagram, YouTube, etc and capitalise on that. As expected in any other profession, it is not all glitz and glamour or a bed of roses, but it is definitely doable if an influencer is diligent and smart and recognizes their viewers well enough to form that connection with them.
5. What do you think influences consumers behavior?
Honesty with your work and giving actual and real information to consumers, builds a repo and connect with your audience. With that you gain their trust and this trust is one of the most valuable assets of any brands. Consumer behaviour is obviously influenced a lot by trends and marketing but ultimately the trust and community that you build takes you a longer way, as trends are short-lived.
6. What is your idea of success or your mantra in life?
My mantra in life is to do what makes me happy that would eventually also lead to my idea of success. I would call myself successful when I would have reached a stage wherein I reach a stage where I could afford to buy a Ferrari..Haha!
7. How can someone be a successful social media influencer?
First of all an influencer needs to be honest with his work and put out good quality content. Identifying the needs of the viewers also helps. Also, social media needs regular upload of quality content and perseverance as Rome was not built in one day and one has to be strong enough to continue despite criticism or lack of fame.
8.Which is your favorite book and why?
My all-time favorite book has to be from the Lonely Planet series. These are travel guidebooks for almost all corners of the world that cater to the needs of all kinds of travellers. Lonely planet guidebooks are the ultimate must-reads for any travel enthusiast and are highly highly recommended.
Bio
I am Wg Cdr Amit Mehta, served in the Indian Air Force for 20 years and left Air Force on 31st October 2022. I am currently on a journey to show the beauty of India to the world through the eye of my lens on my Instagram and YouTube pages, wanderlustwithamit. I’ve worked with tourism in India and was recently called to attend the National Creators Award in the presence of the honourable Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi.
I started my journey from Meghalaya with very few followers and over the course of almost two years and about 570 reels and post combined my travel family has grown to 1.79 lakh followers.
Interviewed by - Siddhi Pancholi
Edited by- Arunangshu Chatterjee
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