Photographer Tips for Instagram Success

It’s no secret that Instagram is a great way to connect with potential clients. This visual-based social media platform is a perfect way for photographers to showcase their work and wow users. However, many struggle to grow on Instagram, despite there being 500 million daily active users on the site. What are the biggest challenges facing photographers and how can they be overcome?

Here are my top five tips to growing successfully on Instagram.

Identify your target audience

Many photographers - many business owners in general - don’t know who their target audience is. Saying your target audience is “everyone” will get you nowhere. You need to be more precise!

What is your perfect client like? How old are they? What are they interested in? How do they talk? What are they looking for? The more specific you can be, the better!

Know who you’re talking to before you start talking. This will help you create an engaging brand voice and help you choose images that will appeal to your dream client.

Be consistent

Post consistently. Don’t post sporadically or go many days or even weeks without new content. Users want to see that you are active - and so does the Instagram algorithm! Consistency breeds trust. A great starting place is 2-3 posts per week, minimum.

You also want to use a consistent aesthetic to make your feed engaging and cohesive. Take a look at the first 9 photos on your grid - do they accurately represent you and your brand? Do they make you want to follow you?

Use hashtags!

Hashtags are a great way to be discovered! Think of them as search engine terms. On Instagram, you can use 30 per post. There’s some debate about how many to use, but I believe in maxing out your chances to be discovered.

Choose hashtags that describe who you are (#weddingphotographer), what your photo is about (#cutecouples), and where you’re located (#tampaphotographer). Always, always, always use a branded hashtag (#laceandcoweddings).

You also want to make sure you’re using hashtags that will get you seen - if a hashtag has too many uses, it’s likely too saturated for you to show up. If it has too few, there won’t be enough users searching it.

Details matter

Typos, low-quality images, or images that look mismatched from the rest of your feed are all things that will make you look less professional. Put your best foot forward with stunning imagery and captions that count.

Engage, engage, engage!

Social media should be just that - social! Don’t talk AT people, talk to them.

Write captions that ignite engagement - try including a question (“did you or would you do a first look?”) or a call to action (“double tap if you agree!”).

Respond to comments and DMs. Use Stories strategically to give followers a behind-the-scenes, unfiltered look at you! Always be engaging, open, and most of all--real.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Susanna Moore is a writer and social media manager. A UF grad, Susanna has ten years of experience in marketing and social media management. You can usually find her with a coffee in hand, dreaming of her next trip. She lives in

Tampa, Florida with her two cats.

For more social media tips and tricks, or full-service social media management, contact Susanna or visit Perfect Moments Marketing on Facebook. She can help you create a personalized hashtag strategy so you show up on the feeds you want to show up on.

And she has a new website also: https://www.perfectmomentsmarketing.com/