Social media has changed the world, especially for creators. It opens up to paths and new opportunities to grow and have your work seen by so many people. But how does one go about marketing themselves and growing their audience on social media?
Growing on social media can be tough these days, but there are ways to market yourself as an independent photographer and effectively grow your photography business. Here are some tips on how to properly begin marketing yourself and your business to reach new clients.
Major Social Media Channels
Facebook is a little more old-school these days. Although, it does have its place and uses when trying to grow as a photographer. Running your business or hobby page through Facebook will give you access to an entire business portal, where you can communicate with potential clients, as well as run ads to promote your work.
Instagram is an amazing tool for photographers of any kind. At its peak, it was the best spot to show off your work and, honestly, it probably still is. This is the best app to post your work and communicate with other creators at the same time. Though Instagram focuses more on video than it used to, it is still a photo-sharing app.
TikTok
Tiktok exploded in 2019 and has been an amazing outlet for photographers ever since. Creating content for Tiktok isn’t as easy as simply posting a photo and caption. You must create video content that is centered around your photography. Whether it is posting behind the scenes of a photo you took, or creating a video that shows the scene and transitions to the photo, Tiktok allows its users to grow quickly.
Youtube
Youtube can be an intimidating platform for photographers. It takes a ton of time to create content and you have to be so consistent to make it work. But if you do make it work, it is one of the most rewarding and fulfilling mediums. Youtube also does a fantastic job on paying their creators once you have over 1,000 subscribers.
Photographers seemingly flocked to Twitter looking for a new platform to promote their work. For a year or so, this was a great app to network and show off photography, but it quickly became a platform that is heavily involved in the NFT space. That being said, I still post my work there often, as my followers and brands are still likely to interact with it.
Yes, LinkedIn is technically a social media platform. Though it is more business-minded, you have friends, followers, and a system of networking. This app is a great way to communicate with potential clients. You can even find emails of certain brands that other social media platforms would never offer.
Social Media Marketing Ideas
Find Your Niche
Most photographers specialize in a certain type of photography. I myself specialize in travel and adventure content. Whether it’s nature and travel, like myself, or portrait, lifestyle and even wildlife photography, choosing a niche will help you stand out. It will also help any algorithm categorize your work and showcase it to an audience that prefers that genre of photography. Utilize hashtags that are directly associated with your niche. I am a landscape photographer, so I will often use hashtags like, #earth, #roam, and #beautifuldestinations.
Finding a particular niche isn’t the only option. Some photographers actually thrive off of not having a niche. A diversification strategy essentially does the opposite of a niche, where the photographer showcases multiple genres of photography. Some will focus on lifestyle, portrait, and even landscape all throughout their social media. This can give you a wider variety of clientele, it may just prove harder to organically grow on social media, but it is certainly not impossible.
Adapt to Different Platforms
One mistake that photographers tend to make is sticking to one platform, rather than spreading their focus to different mediums in order to widen their audience. Though Instagram has been the main outlet for aspiring and professional photographers, Tiktok came on the scene in 2019 and quickly gave photographers a new way to create and put out their work. Some creators immediately saw an opportunity and began creating content on Tiktok. Growing on the app was quick and easy if you were able to put quality content on the app. But not everyone jumped on board right away. Now it is much harder to grow on Tiktok, but still very possible.
Diversifying where you post will only help you reach new and wider audiences, as well as new clients. The same strategies won’t work for every platform. You may have to adapt how you approach each one. Instagram encourages posting, Twitter encourages conversation, and Tiktok encourages trends. Focus on what your community wants from you on each app.
Post Frequently
Maintaining consistency on any platform is important. Algorithms favor accounts that post on a consistent basis as they bring more content to the platform. Not only that, your followers will expect a certain amount of weekly content.
Does this mean you need to do a static post every day on Instagram? No. You can simply post a Q&A on your story, or post a video of behind-the-scenes content from the day before. Even sharing the work of other photographers is a way of bringing more attention to your page. In the end, I recommend posting on apps once a day, though platforms like Youtube will make this tough. That being said, don’t over post on any of these apps. You don’t want to annoy or overwhelm your followers and the algorithms wouldn’t like this either.
Make sure you are still posting quality content at all times. A lapse in quality content will cause a lapse in the interest of your audience. Take your time and if you don’t have something to post that day, that’s ok. You don’t have to post every single day.
Interact with Your Followers
Anyone can post a photo — that’s the easy part. From there, it is important to interact with those that interact directly with your work. Making sure to like and reply to comments, respond to direct messages, and do anything you can to humanize your work and show your followers who is behind the photos will give them a connection to the work. You never know when a follower can be a potential client or might lead to a gig.
Running contents, paid ads, and even questionnaires will give your followers something to talk about. Authenticity is also important. Be yourself, express your voice, and create an authentic brand of who you are as a photographer.
Interact with Other Businesses
If you want to make photography a full-time job, interacting with brands and businesses on social media is a priority. This doesn’t mean you send over pitching via direct messages. It simply means commenting on their posts and acknowledging them as a business. The more you interact with a brand, the more likely they are to think of you when needing a job done.
Interacting with other photography businesses will also help you network in the industry and see how others are navigating social media to grow their own brands. I work with other photographers on almost all of my jobs — all of which I met on apps like Instagram. I’ve also been introduced to new clients by these same creators. The more you involve yourself in the community, the more your name will be mentioned throughout it. Partner with other photographers and cross-promote each other on platforms.
Conclusion
Whether you’re a professional or hobby photographer, getting your name out there is important if you want your work to be seen. By learning and testing each app, creating and adapting social media strategies, and consistently posting will allow you to grow on any of these platforms. If you feel a strategy may not be working, take a step back and reevaluate. This process takes time!
All of these apps have their place and are helpful tools to promote your work and find new clients to work with. Find goals to achieve, plan out your strategies for each platform, and grow your photography business.
