For years now, I’ve suggested that Instagram may very well be the #1 dating app in the world, and now, even Time magazine has the data to prove it. Instagram boasts an incredible number of gorgeous women, even more than popular dating apps like Tinder and Bumble combined. The abundance of dating prospects, however, makes it an intriguing platform for meeting women, even though it isn’t technically a dating app. It also requires more work and an advanced skillset because you’ll essentially be cold-approaching women virtually.
In this article, we’ll cover the most important concepts for using Instagram to meet beautiful women internationally, such as creating a captivating profile that stands out, getting her attention, and sliding into her direct messages (DMs). This includes getting rid of any bad photos, considering hiring a professional photographer, and learning how to handle rejection virtually. However, rejection online usually comes in the form of ignoring your DM.
By mastering the techniques in this guide, you’ll be setting yourself up for success in the world of international romance, allowing you to meet women while traveling overseas, establish meaningful connections, and appreciate different cultures. I’ve used Instagram countless times to meet gorgeous women while traveling overseas in the Philippines, Thailand, Colombia, and the Dominican Republic. It is a top resource that is worth learning how to use, especially to meet women while you are traveling.
Step 1: Create An Incredible Instagram Profile
Your Instagram profile is your first impression. With a bad, poorly put-together profile, your chances of success are essentially zero. On the flip side, a well-put-together IG profile, which takes time, will be an attention-grabbing advertisement that spurs curiosity and intrigue from gorgeous women. To optimize it as a dating profile, here are some practical tips.
Remove All Bad Photos
To start off, get rid of anything that is not positive, does not positively portray you, or is boring. This means going through and removing all bad photos and keeping only the good ones. For instance, eliminate all photos with:
- You and your bros (unless it looks badass)
- Your food (unless you are the chef)
- Your pets (stick to just one photo if you insist)
- Your family (better for Facebook)
- Posing in front of exotic cars that aren’t yours
- Shirtless selfies in front of a mirror
I know this sounds extreme, but understand that you are only as good as your worst photo. Plus, imitate your profile after what beautiful women have been doing with theirs for years – posting only their best pictures of themselves.
Avoid boring photos. Sorry, but nobody cares about what you ate last month! If you want to post pictures with family, friends, food, or pets, post them to Facebook instead, which is more designed for that audience. If you want to successfully use Instagram for dating, treat your Instagram like a powerfully built dating profile. The more time you spend making your profile better, the easier it will be to direct message and get interest from women. On the flip side, there is no DM clever or powerful enough to make up for a poor profile.
Also see: 10 Best International Dating Apps: An Expert’s Opinion
For good photos, keep the ones that showcase:
- Your travel experiences
- You dressed in style
- You at cool events
- You in leadership positions or authority
- Your physique (but avoid selfies and repetition)
It’s important to leave room for mystique and mysteriousness in your Instagram profile. For example, if you traveled to Naples, Italy, post one or two pictures from your trip, but don’t overdo it. Don’t post 100 pictures of your first and only trip out of the country. Make sense? You want women who visit your profile to discover that you went to Italy, and in a way that you weren’t even trying to feature or brag about it. For you, “traveling out of the country is no big deal” is the perception you want to portray.
If you don’t have any good photos, consider hiring a professional photographer, which we’ll discuss next:
Hire A Professional Photographer
Most men suffer from a lack of good photos on their Instagram. I faced this issue, too, for many years, so when I finally hired a professional photographer, I wish I had done so much sooner.
Strive to kill two birds with one stone – hire a professional photographer while traveling. I did this once in Poland and again in Hungary, and I continue to do so in each incredible city I visit. The sessions resulted in over 200 quality photos, with about 10 fantastic images from each. Taking numerous photos allows you to hand-select the perfect ones, which is another reason women often take so many pictures to find the perfect one to post.
Hiring photographers while traveling overseas can be surprisingly affordable. For example, my photographer in Poland charged $100 for two hours; in Hungary, it was $50 for one hour. They were worth every penny. This represents incredible value for the quality you get and is usually much cheaper than in countries like the USA, UK, and Australia.
Step 2: Do Location-Based Searches
To meet foreign women on Instagram, you first need to find them. The Instagram search feature allows you to type in a location and see recent posts from that area, such as famous landmarks, trendy clubs, restaurants, parks, or gyms. This can be a gold mine for finding 1000s of women close to you.
You can also target particular hobbies that you enjoy. For example, I enjoy playing tennis, so I search local tennis clubs on Instagram search and find beautiful female tennis players that tag themselves in those locations. After I target a potential match, I follow them, DM them, and await a response. I may even suggest getting together for a tennis match with them. With a quality profile and pictures already set up, you’re much more likely to get a favorable reply.
Also see: 5 Steps To Create A Great International Dating Profile
Step 3: Follow and Like Some Of Her Pictures
After using location-based searches to find women that seem like potential matches – follow their profiles, like some of their pictures, and send them a direct message. I usually practice patience, giving them about 48 hours to respond, and if not, then I will unfollow them. The reason for unfollowing them is not out of spite, but over time, you don’t want to be following hundreds of women you’ve never met. Women easily pick up things like that and consider it a turn-off.
It’s important to have your profile publicly visible, not private. After you initiate contact by following and liking some of her pictures, she’ll probably make her way over to your profile, and if it’s set to private, that’ll be the end of your chances. Instead, have your profile public so that she can browse the great profile and pictures that I’ve already taught you how to set up.
Another rule of thumb that I follow is to avoid messaging women with over 5000 followers. For some odd reason, these women hardly ever respond to a DM. They probably already get tons of DMs. Instagram is a bit of a popularity contest, and women with many followers consider themselves in the “cool club.” Instead, I suggest trying to find the “girl next door” type, which is essentially women who are beautiful but don’t know it.
When you find an attractive woman you’d like to meet, start by “liking” some of her pictures. Once that’s done, you can send her a DM.
Also see: 7 Ways To Flirt With Foreign Women | In-Person & Online
Step 4: Send A Good Direct Message (DM)
In your first message, avoid writing anything lengthy. Women flooded with messages will likely ignore something too long and messages that make them think. Opt for short messages that are easy to answer, ideally ones that prompt a yes or no response. For instance, “Cebu City?” (if you think she lives in Cebu City). Any response from her, whether short or long, is a fantastic sign which indicates that she likely checked your profile and viewed it favorably.
Beautiful women often receive numerous direct messages from men every single day. I recall a stunning Filipina woman telling me she gets over 20 messages a day from men she’s never met. These men are constantly soliciting her with a wide range of requests, from first dates offers to asking for promsicious photos in exchange for money. By the way, I strongly recommend against asking for promiscuous photos. Instead, separate yourself from the “losers and the creeps” by striving to be a gentleman in all circumstances.
Still, remember, just like any dating platform, success on Instagram is a numbers game. It will likely take following this process hundreds of times to get the hang of it. If you can get one date for every hundred DMs you send out, that is a good goal.
Remember, strive for constant improvement over time. Continuously improve your Instagram profile and over months and years, you will have a profile you can be proud of – and one that is a honeypot for bringing gorgeous women into your social circles.