Today we’d like to introduce you to Cristie Anne.
Hi Cristie, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I started The Traveling Red more than a decade ago as a creative outlet to share my love of travel. I had always loved exploring new places, taking photos, and sharing recommendations, so starting a travel blog felt like a natural extension of that. At the time, I had no idea it would eventually become my career.
My background is actually in business. I earned my MBA from the University of Miami, and I think that foundation has played a huge role in how I’ve approached content creation over the years. I’ve always looked at this as both a creative passion and a business.
As my life evolved, so did The Traveling Red. When I became a mom, I didn’t stop traveling. I brought my daughter along, and family travel naturally became a huge part of my content. I’ve now traveled to 47 countries, and my daughter has already experienced 21 of them with me.
One of the most memorable chapters of our story began in 2018, when we bought a yellow school bus and my husband transformed it into a tiny home on wheels. In 2019, we took our first cross-country trip with our daughter, Charlie, who was only 2 at the time. It was a completely different way of traveling as a family and gave us the freedom to slow down, explore places we might otherwise never have seen, and turn the journey itself into the adventure. We eventually traveled from Miami all the way to Washington State and back. That school bus became such a fun and recognizable part of The Traveling Red and represents a period of our lives I’ll always love.
My content also expanded into Disney, home, fashion, food, family, and the products we genuinely use in our everyday lives. Disney has always been a big part of my story, long before it became such a visible part of my brand. In 2020, my family purchased a home in Golden Oak at Walt Disney World, which gave me an incredibly unique perspective to share Disney beyond a traditional vacation or park visit.
The social media side of the business has evolved tremendously too. For years, Instagram was really the center of my business and where I built most of my community. As short-form video took off, I embraced TikTok, and it grew into a major part of The Traveling Red as well. It opened my content to an entirely new audience and dramatically expanded its reach. Today, I create across multiple platforms, with individual pieces of content often reaching millions of people.
Over the years, what started as a travel blog has grown into a community of more than 500,000 followers across social media. I’ve had the opportunity to work on more than 100 brand collaborations, partner with hotels and destinations around the world, work with Disney, attend incredible media experiences, and see my work featured in national media.
But the heart of what I do really hasn’t changed. I still love discovering something special, experiencing it firsthand, and sharing it in a way that makes someone else want to experience it too. The platforms, destinations, and adventures have changed tremendously over the years, but that genuine excitement for sharing great experiences is still what drives The Traveling Red today.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It definitely hasn’t been a completely smooth road. One of the biggest challenges of building a career in social media is that the industry is constantly changing. When I started, I genuinely thought I was just going to have a travel blog. Then Instagram became the center of my business, photography shifted heavily toward video, TikTok completely changed the way people consume content, and suddenly I had to teach myself how to create and edit videos. Just when you feel like you’ve figured out what works, an algorithm changes and you’re learning all over again.
Like any business, there are highs and lows. A piece of content you spend hours creating might not perform the way you expected, while something you filmed spontaneously can reach millions of people. Brand opportunities can be unpredictable, platforms are constantly evolving, and there is very little about this industry that you can completely control.
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about The Traveling Red?
The Traveling Red is a luxury travel and Disney lifestyle brand with a community of more than half a million followers across social media. I share incredible places and experiences while giving my audience an honest look at the things I genuinely love. Travel and Disney are at the heart of my brand, but over the years it has naturally grown to include much more of our everyday life.
A big part of my business is working with brands to create content that gets people excited about what they have to offer. I never want a partnership to feel like an advertisement. I want people to enjoy the content first and then realize they just discovered somewhere they want to go or something they want to try. I think that’s a big part of why my audience trusts my recommendations.
I’m also very selective about the partnerships I take on. Many have turned into long-term relationships, with brands coming back to work with me year after year. That means a lot to me because it shows that the partnerships are working on both sides.
I’ve had multiple campaigns reach millions of views, including one Disney Cruise campaign that generated more than 60 million views across platforms. That’s definitely one of the accomplishments I’m most proud of. But after more than a decade of doing this, having an audience that continues to trust me and brands that continue to come back is just as meaningful.
Are there any books, apps, podcasts or blogs that help you do your best?
Social media apps are obviously at the heart of my business, but they’re also some of my biggest resources. I love seeing what other creators are doing, discovering new places and finding inspiration for my own content. I’m not usually someone who jumps on social media trends. I share a mix of our everyday life and content that offers something useful to my followers. I love sharing tips, hacks and things I’ve learned along the way that can make someone else’s experience better or easier. Ultimately, I hope my content inspires parents to really live, explore and travel with their kids.
I also use AI quite a bit for wording. It helps me with captions and especially with the on-screen text that can make someone stop and watch a video. I’ll usually ask for a lot of options, pick out my favorites and keep narrowing them down until I find something that sounds like me. It’s made that part of the creative process so much faster. I don’t use AI to edit or alter my photos or videos, so the experiences and visuals I’m sharing are always real.
Outside of social media, travel is probably my greatest source of inspiration. Experiencing somewhere new always gives me fresh ideas and a different perspective. For me, the best inspiration comes from getting out, experiencing life and having something worth sharing.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://thetravelingred.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thetravelingred/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thetravelingred
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cristieanne/
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@thetravelingred
