Ahh, Instagram. Love it or hate it, it’s here to stay. If it was a country, it’d be bigger than the USA. By far. And believe us, we know how intimidating of a beast it can be sometimes. It feels like things are always changing: the algorithms, the likes, the DMs. And not to mention the way we know it’ll continue to change into the future with more augmented reality, robot influencers, advertising schemes, etc., it makes our heads spin just thinking about it. And how in the world do people get millions of followers? We’ve just hit the 10k mark and we’ve had our party hats on since 9.5k. But to celebrate, we’d love to share 6 ways to grow your following and connect to your tribe.
1. Up your caption game
On a platform flooded with heavily filtered Acai bowls and impossibly peachy sunsets, it feels like a bit of a stretch to talk about authenticity. But this is exactly where the magic happens. We’ve found that people really do want to connect with one another, and being open and honest with the stories that you share closes the gap between us. Captioning a photo with emojis or some vague comment about “that golden afternoon light” doesn’t cut the mustard anymore.
Treat your caption like a mini blog post, and aim to get the conversation flowing. Use the opportunity to talk about things that are meaningful to you. If the image you post is of a couple, you could share a story from your client questionnaire, talk about how they met, or a funny moment from the shoot. Talk about the location, why you chose it, how it’s relevant. Maybe include a testimonial, and elaborate with a little blurb on the unique thing that your photographic skill brings to the table.
Caption ideas list:
- A story about the beginning of your love affair with photography
- Style guide: what to wear when you don’t know what to wear
- Why photos are important and worth investing in (capturing memories, legacies, nostalgia)
- Top tips for a smooth day of shooting
- Inside scoop on what it’s like to work with me
- Offer a monthly portfolio building creative session - tag a deserving pregnant friend/engaged friend/family/senior/etc.
- A story about overcoming adversity
- A story about vulnerability (and the importance of this in creating connection with strangers)
- A story about one of your most inspiring clients (with their permission)
- Talk about why you love your job and the places it’s taken you
2. Freshen up your hashtag library
If you’ve been using the same hashtags since Obama was president, we’ll be the last ones to blame you. We know the feels. Life, amirite?! But using hashtags are a real powerful tool to add a bit of rocket fuel to your reach.
Hop into the ‘gram and have a look at who you’re associating yourself with by using the hashtags that you use. If #photooftheday, for example, has 731 million followers, then your posts are probably getting buried under mountains of cat photos, and using that hashtag probably isn’t connecting you to your people. But on the other hand, super specific hashtags like #unscriptedposingappforthewin might not connect you with anyone (yet... watch this space).
And, don’t forget that you can create your own! Making your own hashtag and encouraging others to use it is a great way to build community and gain new content for your account.
What we’ve learned is that it’s about navigating the balance between reach and niche. Using hashtags that speak directly to your niche link you to an engaged audience of like-minded people. Using hashtags that have a broader reach put you on the radar for those who may not have come across you otherwise. Roll up your sleeves, have a good troll, and do some digging.
Here's how we find ours:
- Brainstorm keywords that have to do with your location, your craft, or the content of your image. If you get stuck, look up other photographers you admire and see which ones they use.
- Search the tag. Look at the content it brings up. If you like what you see, check out the drop-down menu that says ‘related.’
- Jackpot! A mini-list of potential relevant hashtags for your post. Repeat steps 1-3 as many times as necessary to build out your hashtag library.
3. Giveaways
Surely you’ve been tagged in one or more posts by friends trying to win a facial, or a trip to Hawaii. If you’ve participated by liking the linked profile, sharing the post, and tagging your friends in the hopes of digging your toes into a sandy beach in Oahu, congratulations! You’re on the giveaway train.
Look at it like your friendly neighbourhood raffle. It directs people to your page, and connects you with like-minded humans and brands. As a photographer, look into collaborations with other relevant brands like local makeup artists, or florists. Offer a free styled session and broaden your portfolio in the process. Run a photo contest. Set your goals, create a hashtag, promote your giveaway, and announce the winner. If you’re anything like us, fresh new content does not go astray, and giveaways give you fodder for weeks.
4. IG stories
This is a great place to showcase up-to-date snippets of your life as a photographer as well as mini galleries from your most recent work. It’s the first thing that pops up when people visit your profile, and for potential clients looking to scope your work, often the first place they’ll look. Use a story building app such as Unfold to create schmick looking stories to save to your highlights. You’ve got one chance at a first impression, and you want people to swipe right your skills.
5. Romance local businesses
As tempting as it can be to schedule posts and just post and run, the Instagram algorithm gods favour regularity, activity, and meaningful interactions.
Once you post, allow yourself half an hour to hang out with your community. If someone comments on your post, engage with them. Be active, participate in the conversation, and connect to the other good humans out there. If you’re a wedding photographer, low-key stalk all of the local celebrants and florists in your area. Be genuinely curious and take an interest in what they’re doing. If you see something you love on their feed, make sure you let them know that you love it. Don’t be shy, romance the crap out of them as they’ll be the first to refer you to potential clients!
6. Curate your feed
Are your polished and refined professional photos sharing the limelight with selfies you took of you and your dog in your kitchen? If so, THIS IS NOT A DRILL: make the switch now! You should have a dedicated account for your business that shows off only the best of the best, darling.
If, moving forward, you want to photograph families but you’re doing a ton of business headshots, then keep the business headshots on the hard drive for when your Grandma asks you to show her your recent work. Put the shoots you’ve done with families front row and center on your profile! Posting photos of business headshots will attract clients looking to recreate this kind of work. ***Not that we have anything against business headshots, of course!
Cultivating your creative fire in your spare time is especially essential when starting out. It’ll position you in the direction of your dreams. Once you have nailed a series of amazing photographs, plan it out for your Instagram feed using an app such as Unum so you can see what your grid will look like.
Organize light airy photos next to darker, heavier images to create contrast. Mix up golden hour photos with blue daylight photos and forest photos with mountain photos so your feed shows variety and the eye continues to wander - splash a few black and whites throughout your grid, et viola!
We hail @dawncharles as an absolute expert at this, feast your eyes on her feed for inspiration!
Having said this, don’t forget what really matters in all of this: the relationships we create, and the connections we make. We’d love to hear you weigh in with your thoughts. Any hot tips that we’ve missed? Do you like the removal of visible likes? How do you think social media has affected the way we relate to one another?
Let's recap:
- Write longer, more genuine captions
- Freshen up your hashtags
- Offer creative season as giveaways
- Make some stories (and make them pretty!)
- Engage your audience
- Quality over quantitiy - be mindful of your grid
lead your photography
sessions with confidence.
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