How important is Social Media Marketing for Photographers?
Social media marketing is now recognized as
a very effective way of winning new customers and building trust and loyalty
with existing ones. Many experts are citing visual marketing as one of the most
essential business trends for the years to come, and social media platforms
such as Instagram are a perfect tool for this.
Pictures appeal to human emotions, and they
are a compelling way of promoting products and services and developing a
brand.
Considered
using Instagram marketing?
Instagram marketing may not be something
you have considered for your photography, but the increasing popularity of this
social media platform means it could be an excellent opportunity to reach more
audiences.
If you currently take photos for a hobby, a
living, or are just starting out as a photographer, and you are not on
Instagram, you could be missing out on a ton of potential exposure. A lack of
familiarity with this social media platform could mean that you don't know
where to start, so we have created a simple guide to help photographers get up
and running on Instagram Marketing.
These questions and answers will help you
decide if Instagram marketing is a productive activity from which you will see
a return?
1. What is Instagram Marketing?
Launched in October 2010, Instagram is an
online platform for sharing photos. It integrates with Facebook, Twitter,
Tumblr and other networks, and allows the user to share pictures instantly. One
of the things which set Instagram apart from other similar photo-sharing apps
is the ability to apply different filters for aesthetic effects. Simple
snapshots can be made to look like professional photographs with the creative
use of digital filters.
Publish
or perish!
On Instagram, the more often you publish,
the more you can boost your brand awareness. Yes, you are not only an artist
but a brand as well. The channel is brimming with thousands of curators,
potential clients, and agencies looking for fresh talent like yours.
Furthermore, having an Instagram
photography account will help you build an enthusiastic community that will
hopefully, associate with your imagery. This platform allows for one-on-one
engagement that can bring you valuable feedback on your work and endless
inspiration.
The
Best Part
The best part of Instagram marketing is
that you don't even need to be a professional and seasoned photographer.
Instagram marketing is all about capturing and sharing the moment and making
your audience feels close to you.
The quality of photos most smartphones
capture is very good, so there's no need to worry about technical skills. If
you want to share pictures of your products, you just need to make sure they
are in focus and in a well-lit environment. If your pictures look too
professional, you could lose the impact of sharing images which should appear
to be taken at the moment.
2. Do I have to have a product?
Visual marketing is advisable for marketing
products, but you can also use the same techniques for the services you offer. If
your business is in the fashion retail niche, it's easy to see how sharing
photographs of your apparel can raise awareness and lead to revenues. An
industry like dental hygiene, however, may need to think more creatively when
it comes to Instagram marketing, sharing abstract images associated with
freshness and confidence.
Several of the most successful examples of
Instagram marketing involves sharing pictures of satisfied customers
with testimonials, and this is a great idea if you have willing volunteers.
3. What Should I Post?
Instagram shouldn't really be a carbon copy
of your website or portfolio; think of it more to showcase the world your own
unique personality and style. Try and strike a balance between excellent
shots that show your ability, and some ad-hoc phone photos as well that
offer a glimpse into your business – a bit like a visual diary!
You can likewise use Instagram to
experiment with different styles and get some feedback from your followers.
4. To Filter or Not to Filter?
Instagram's wide range of filters are
completely adequate for a lot of users and being able to modify the levels of
these certainly makes it easy to beautify your images until you're satisfied
and happy.
Nevertheless, as a serious photographer, it
is likely that you have your own style and technique already. Using filters is
okay (after all, it is your Instagram account, and you can do whatever you
please), but you may get closer to the output you are looking for by
experimenting with the various editing apps on offer or using your own
preferred software until you find one that's perfect for you.
5. Is There an Ideal Time for Posting
on Instagram?
Posting content at different times of day
will affect how your audience responds and engages to it. You want to post your
content during a time when most of your audience is online and engagement could
be high, so the Instagram algorithm identifies your content as popular. This
way, it will have a much better shot at landing a place on the explore tab
where you can get a ton of new followers. Once you know the time that works
best for your chosen audience, schedule all future posts around that time.
However, this can vary depending on your
location, the type of content you post, and your audience's routine. So how can
you make sure you're posting at your optimal time? Post, experiment, learn,
repeat.
Trial
and Error
Like many other things in life, the only
way to figure out what works for you is by trying out many different options.
Before you decide on a specific day or time to post on your Instagram
photography account, play around with different publication schedules. Keep in
mind that the most important thing is to be constant. There's no point in
searching for the best time to post on Instagram if you only do so once in a
blue moon.
6. What Caption Should I Put?
On Instagram, you don't have to write a
lot. That's one of the reasons for its huge success. Still, don't forget to add
a description (or "caption" in social media slang) to each of the
images you post. It can be short but should still be rich with valuable info
for your community.
Lacking
inspiration when it comes to the caption?
Don't worry. You have much more to tell
than you think. For example, you can talk about where your picture was taken,
the gear that you used or even the people you met along the way. For the more
adventurous audience, shape a funny haiku-like caption to show that you're as sharp
with words as you are with your lenses.
Useful
tip: Don't
forget to tag all the people involved in the photo (from the hotel where you
shot it, to the client that commissioned it. This way, you will multiply the
chances of your image being seen, liked and commented on.
7. What is User Generated
Content, and How Could It Help My Brand?
Some marketing experts believe UGC is
arguably the best form of digital marketing. Word of mouth recommendation is
deemed as being incredibly powerful, and businesses have thrived on this for
decades. In the online realm, customers can have an active involvement in how
your brand is perceived by others.
Promote
Authenticity
Satisfied customers may share photos of
themselves enjoying your services and products, and this is a very powerful
marketing tool. UGC builds trust and boosts awareness. More and more business
owners are encouraging their customers to take Instagram pictures that will
ultimately lead to positive reviews and further sales.
Moreover, it promotes authenticity.
Consumers are twice more likely to view user-generated content as authentic,
compared to content created by brands. That offers brands an important
credibility boost since most people say less than half of all brands create
authentic content.
8. How Can I Grow My Audience
with Instagram Marketing?
Instagram marketing only works if you
already have an audience and followers. There are several ways to develop a
following, and the strategies are like those utilized to build audiences on
other social media platforms like Twitter and Facebook. Engaging potential
customers by following them and liking their pictures is a great place to
start.
Great
way to Attract Attention
Once you are comfortable with Instagram, it
is a good idea to turn your attention to expanding your audience – especially
if photography is your primary source of income because of more followers = more
potential customers. Instagram accounts with big audiences will also attract
the attention of prominent companies like Associated Press, and National
Geographic, Getty, who may be on the lookout for new talent.
9. How Can You Make Sure It's Not Just Your Friends and Family Liking Your Photos?
Follow people whose Instagram accounts
inspire you, and don't just limit this to the most popular posters – by
searching hashtags yourself, you can find other photographers who are
interested in the same subjects, techniques, and technology as you.
Benefit
of Interacting with Other Photographers
Once you start using Instagram to interact
with other photography accounts, the app will begin to understand what your
interests are and will, therefore, populate the Explore tab with photos it thinks
you'll appreciate. This is another great way to find new accounts to follow.
Engaging with your fellow creatives by
commenting on their images and starting a conversation will introduce your work
to more people, and you might make some friends in the process! You may even be
able to find a local community that you can become part of, to the benefit of
everyone involved.
10. How Can I Draw More
Attention?
This is an easy, fun, and quick way to
engage in social media culture. You need to be up to speed with current trending
topics and relevant hashtags. Then you should shape some of your work to fit
the current trends. This can be an excellent way to get your photography in
front of millions of brand new and fresh eyes.
Use
of Hashtags
But with thousands of images published
every minute, there is little chance that a random user will stumble upon your
photos unless they are one of your followers. That is why we use hashtags: to
allow for new curious eyes to see our images without needing to pay for a
promoted post. A hashtag is a text following a # symbol that is connected to a
certain topic. Social media users can search a hashtag to discover content that
would be most interesting to them, allowing them to discover new exciting
artists.
You can utilize the power of hashtags every
time you attach one (or more) of them to each of your picture's descriptions.
Thus, you'll multiply your chances of being discovered and attract more
followers, likes and comments.
Three questions will automatically
arise:
1. How many can I use?
On Instagram, there is a limit of 30
hashtags per publication. However, on the contrary, there is no reason to skimp
on this. The most serious, scientifically driven studies show that on
Instagram, unlike Twitter, the more hashtags you put, the better your posts
perform. Since you don't want to overload your pictures, you can safely go for
something between 3-10 hashtags per post.
2. Where will I put them?
For your follower's sake, please don't
write your entire description with one hashtag per word. #Because #it #is #not
#really #legible #is #it? Simply put your hashtags at the end of your posts for
a clean look. You can also hide your tags, by including them in the comment
section below the post or by burying them beneath five lines made of one dot
line breaks (that's because Instagram caps off captions after the third line,
so your hashtags won't be visible).
3. Which should I use?
Don't try using obvious, common words like
#photographer, #love or #landscape. They are overused, which means that your
pictures will be instantly buried under thousands of new posts within a second.
Plus, you'll receive a lot of spam comments from bots, which can be extremely
annoying.
And
the worst?
Instagram could shadowban you, and your
posts won't appear when people search using those hashtags. Instead, go for
photography tags that are just popular and relevant enough to give you
potential, but not too crowded, so you have a chance to stand out.
How
to establish your hashtag repertoire?
·
First, check out which hashtags
other photographers in your field are using.
·
Second, consider related
hashtags by browsing through different posts containing a hashtag you have
already successfully used.
·
Thirdly, don't forget to use
Instagram's search function to discover a list of valuable new ideas and the number of related posts.
By shaping your content to be relevant to
these tags, you can find a huge range of new fans.
11. How Can I Protect My Photographs
on Instagram?
Putting a watermark
on your photos is hugely important because images on Instagram are meant to be
shared. Without a watermark, the source of a photo can quickly be lost. Make
sure your watermark is visible, without detracting too much from the image
itself. Check out our guide to Where to Put Your Watermark for ideas.