Alaina Pinto is a digital creator in Boston who focuses on experiences, itineraries, adventures & things to do all around Boston and New England. A former Channel 7 morning anchor in Boston, she moved on from network television to focus on her passion of travel and delivering social travel content to her more than 100,000 followers on Instagram and other channels.
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Alaina, as a content creator, you share a lot about your travels and adventures around Boston and New England. Can you walk us through your creative process for developing engaging content?
Yes. There are two types of viewers on social media that are consuming my content. I think one is the person who is looking to go on a new adventure, and the other is someone who is watching for that nostalgic, homey feeling. So, I keep those ideas in mind when going out and shooting these things, but also, I just genuinely do the things that I like to do and share them with people.
There are two types of viewers on social media that are consuming my content. I think one is the person who is looking to go on a new adventure, and the other is someone who is watching for that nostalgic, homey feeling.
What role does your background in media production and communication play in your approach to content creation today? And do you think this has helped your overall success?
When I was let go from Channel Seven in Boston , I had all of these skills already, not only from working in Boston but also from working as a multimedia reporter in Burlington, Vermont, where we had to shoot everything, edit everything, write everything, do everything ourselves. So, with all that experience, I think that I was just ready to go to create this content. A lot of people in this industry will edit on their phones, but I use editing software on my computer because it’s what I’m familiar with from working in TV news. So, there’s a lot of good overlap; I know how to tell a story, and I think that helps a lot with content creation on social media.
You’ve experienced both traditional media (TV News) and the digital influencer space (social media). What are some key differences you’ve noticed and how have they influenced your career path?
TV news is very structured, very strict; it must be this way, and there’s a lot of approval processes that you must go through. With content creation, I’m obviously working for myself, so it’s a lot more freedom. It’s a lot more enjoyable and it’s more fun because I’m telling stories that I want to tell versus telling stories about sad things that happen in the world. And I think that people who are watching are craving happiness and maybe craving the inspiration to go out and have an amazing weekend, and I’m happy to provide that for them. I feel like that’s something that’s missing on the news.
Social media can be both rewarding and challenging. What do you find most fulfilling about connecting with your audience online? What’s the most challenging?
It is very rewarding. When somebody comes up to me in real life and says, “Oh, Alaina, it’s so nice to see you. I just want you to know that I take my daughter on the adventures that you recommend, and it’s so great. Thank you so much.” That warms my heart. It makes me feel good, even if just one person is having a great time. If somebody is having a great time because I recommended something, that is a success to me. As for the challenges… There are challenges to social media, and I feel like I’ve faced a number of them. One of the biggest ones is comparing myself to other content creators. You can go down a rabbit hole of looking at someone else’s videos and critiquing yourself while watching their videos, and it is not good. Everyone’s on their own journey, and I’ve come to understand that what I’m doing is different from what someone else is doing, and we’re both allowed to do it. So, I think just limiting the amount of nitpicking you do about yourself is something that you have to keep in mind, especially if you’re starting new in this content creation world. Just be kind to yourself.
Your content is all about highlighting the beauty of New England. What inspires you about New England and how do you capture its essence in your work?
I’m originally from Ohio, and I took my first TV news career job in Burlington, Vermont. So, when I moved from “flat land—big box store land” Ohio where you must drive to the mall to have a good time—I just fell in love with Vermont’s beauty: the forest, the lake there, and the neighboring states in New England just really captivated me. I found that these small towns were so cute—so much cuter than the towns in Ohio (no offense to Ohio, as I loved it growing up). But when I moved to Boston, it just grew even further away because I feel like Boston is this central hub for exploring all of New England, and I am just obsessed. I think it’s so beautiful here. Coming from Ohio, I love all the seasons; but the seasons in New England are so much better because we have these beautiful landscapes for the snow to fill up. And I haven’t gotten bored yet—there are so many nooks and crannies and cool things to do here—and I just find that I’m always doing something new. I’m always asking myself, “Is it ever going to run out?” I don’t think so.
Can you tell us the top three places you’ve visited around New England and why specifically? These can be for completely different reasons.
I don’t have a top three; I love so many different places in New England. But I’ll share my top three cute small downtowns that I think would be perfect to visit for fall or winter: The first one is Bethel, Maine—this is near Sunday River which is an amazing ski resort—but the town is so cute! There’s a gems museum and there are a couple of nice restaurants for every occasion; so, there’s a lot to do for a nice weekend in Bethel, Maine. There’s also Grafton Notch State Park there—love it! That’s a fabulous place! Similarly, Littleton New Hampshire has similar vibes; it’s a little bit bigger small town but again has hiking shopping activities—it would be perfect for fall! Finally North Adams Massachusetts too—they have MassMoCA there—they have Mount Greylock which is highest peak Massachusetts—again another cute small downtown—all these places could enjoy good weekend not run out things do if like doing all things!
You continue building strong connection audience; what’s secret maintaining authenticity while growing online presence?
Just doing things that I want to do for me. I’m constantly thinking, okay where can I go this weekend? What sounds fun that I haven’t done yet? For example, something that’s happening now is the Renaissance Fair, the King Richards Faire. I’ve never been to that, and I feel like I need to see the hype about that. So basically, I’m constantly having new experiences and sharing my takeaways with people I think is the best way to stay authentic and not sharing the experiences that aren’t so great.
As follow-up, authenticity is key to building a loyal following, how do you decide which aspects life personality share audience while still maintaining privacy?
Great question. I’m currently working on trying to figure out when to turn this off. This past weekend, for example, I went to Burlington Vermont and stayed with one of my best friends who still lives up there and we went to Art Hop which is an artsy festival in Burlington which I had been to before. Going into it I was thinking that I wasn’t going to take any video, but rather I was going to take pictures of things that I genuinely wanted to take pictures of, and maybe I would share them, but there were no expectations set that it would be something that I would share with viewers. I just can’t stop capturing moments that I find beautiful which I genuinely want to share with people; obviously things that are personal to me won’t be shared online.
We spoke about AI earlier; AI has become tool people building brand; do opinion personally use any way?
I Love AI! I have it read contracts for me because that’s the most tedious time-consuming thing that I must deal with. A lot of brands want you to read a contract and sign it. So, I have it read my contracts. I also recently toyed with the idea of asking it what cute small towns should I visit in New Hampshire? And it came up with a list of these small towns that I’ve never heard of before. I’m excited to keep asking it these interesting questions that could make my life easier. And I think other people should use it too. Maybe if they’re going on a trip, why not ask AI to help you plan this trip? And then if you want to see it, come to my page and you can see what it actually looks like.
Looking ahead what’s vision future brand any new directions projects excited explore?
I have so many things that I would love to do, but I lack in time in doing those things. I would love to launch some sort of merchandise. I think that would be super cool. And I would also love to provide consultations for people who are looking to visit New England, who might need some help figuring out what they want to do on their week-long vacation here in the fall or spring or whenever. So those are on my radar. I also want to learn how to fly a drone, but you must get certified and licensed for that. I do have all these things, but I am busy still going out and seeing the world. One day when things slow down, maybe those will be the next things that I do.
Learn more about Alaina Pinto on her website here. To get her latest whereabouts and keep on the places to go in Boston and around New England, follow her on Instagram @Alainapinto.
