Instagram has retained its simple photo-sharing function while simultaneously growing into a rich marketing platform in recent years. Which provides a perfect opportunity if you’re in the photography business. Moreover, the pandemic and the corresponding lockdown measures caused a 67% surge in Instagram use last year, which spells good news for businesses relying on social media engagement. With so many people tuning in, posting photos has become more valuable than ever. Here are five tips for professionals and amateurs alike looking to grow their photography businesses through Instagram!
Tip 1: Edit Your Work
Color correction can help showcase the best of your photography on the platform and give your brand a distinct look. In addition, it is beneficial for photography that needs to be shot multiple times for different versions, which is usually the case with e-commerce and wedding photography businesses.
Our Color Correction Services can give photographs the right balance of shade, hue saturation and value, casting, and more resulting in more balanced skin tones and eliminating reshoots that require different-colored backdrops or items. It reduces your photography costs as a whole and lets your photos shine on the Instagram feed.
Tip 2: Have a Posting Strategy
Your business can engage your target audience with a posting strategy that involves publishing relevant, quality content. While optimal posting times are evident on social media platforms like Facebook or Twitter, social media expert Neil Patel shares that consistency matters more for Instagram’s algorithm than posting time. You can still supplement this with Instagram’s analytics feature to see when your audience is most active so you can post accordingly.
Tip 3: Utilise Hashtags
In a sea of millions of Instagram accounts, getting your target audience to find your photos is possible with hashtags. These are # symbols followed by text that lead to posts under the related topic. For instance, a user looking for film photography content can search “#filmphotography.”
It means that the right hashtags hold the power to connect you with your target audience — all without you having to pay for promoted posts. There are different kinds of Instagram hashtags that you can work with. Community hashtags such as #photographersofinstagram allow you to find specific groups under your industry. Branded hashtags are specific to your brand identity and can use your company name or products. Meanwhile, campaign hashtags are short-term hashtags that coincide with product launches, special events, or partnerships and are excellent for boosting engagement.
Here are some tips on finding the best hashtag for you:
- Focus on quality rather than quantity by keeping your hashtags relevant and searchable.
- Check what hashtags your competitors, audience, and industry leaders use to understand what people search on Instagram.
- Remember that you can only use up to 30 hashtags, so choose wisely!
- Avoid banned hashtags since these will flag your post for violating Instagram guidelines.
Tip 4: Interact with Your Followers
Image source: newsfeed.org
Engaging your followers doesn’t stop with compelling content that they can easily find. Take the time to interact with them by replying to their comments and listening to the direct feedback. Include behind-the-scenes shots or even a mini Instagram Story series on a day in the life of a photographer, for example. When writing captions, text for stories, or replies, keep your tone casual and conversational to gain the trust and loyalty of your followers.
Tip 5: Include Video Content
Image source: mention.com
There is no denying that video is one of the most effective marketing formats on social media. You can pull more viewers onto your Instagram profile by sharing video content and encouraging them to explore your feed. You can also engage existing followers with different types of content rather than just images. Posting videos on your feed won’t deviate from the intended content; it can help you work around the Instagram algorithm and engage audiences for longer.
It’s no secret that other social media platforms, like Facebook and Pinterest, can be used to expand your photography business. However, photography businesses create products that are displayed beautifully for audiences to appreciate; what better way to promote them than through a photo-sharing app? For the perfect balance of photo-sharing, user engagement, and marketing, nobody does it like Instagram, and your business would do well to maximize it.
