How to Use Instagram for Your Photography Business
Instagram is my favorite social networking platform. You are passing up a fantastic opportunity if you are not using it for business purposes. Below are some tips for getting the most out of your Instagram account.
1) Be Selective
Provide valuable content to your readers. I enjoy getting a peek into the daily lives of the creatives whose work I admire. However, I quickly grow tired of people who over-post irrelevant information. I post about 5 times per week because I don’t want to overburden my readers’ feeds.
I post the same type of content that I want to see on others’ pages. Such as:
- Behind the scenes shots
- Shot of my packaging and branding
- Iphone photos of what business items I am working onm whether it be editing on my computer monitor, or hand-making little presents for my clients
- My other creative hobbies– such as a ceramics, calligraphy, or darkroom work
- Scenic shots from travels
- My family (both current photos as well as old snapshots from when we were kids)
- Sneak peeks of up coming work
- Where I live/where you I work
- Myself
2) Use Tags, Hashtags and Geotags
When you tag another user, it looks like this @lsmruthijince. When I posting photos I like to tag clients’ names. They are notified of my post, can view it, comment, and also share it themselves.
Hashtags look like this: #photographylife or #colorado. They are a great way for new followers to find you.
you can create a unique hashtag that is very specific to what you are posting. If you type in #sunset, you will see over 10 million posts. But if you want it to only be sunsets from you, create a specific and unique name like #sunsetsfromlpicfixs. The general rule is to use 1-5 hashtags per post, although I do see people who use MANY more than that. You can see the most popular tags on Instagram here: webstagram. People use hashtags for location, theme, and subject matter.
Geotags direct viewers to the precise location of your Instagram post. When you enable the “add location” option, Instagram will link to the location. You can also add the geotag yourself if you post after the fact. The benefit of this is that new followers will be able to find you when they search for specific geographic locations.
Find, follow, and comment on the users whose work you admire
Make contact with vendors you want to work with, and Start interacting with them by leaving comments on their photos. Congratulate them.
I have a great working relationship with several professionals whom I met initially on Instagram. Be genuine and start a conversation.
4) Make your account public
Because I use Instagram for business, I want as many people to find it and follow me as possible. My account is public, which means that anyone can access it. Instagram has a variety of privacy settings, and I prefer the public setting for business purposes.
5) Get your readers involved and host contests
Hosting a contest on Instagram is a tool that I have yet to use. However, I have participated in a number of Instagram contests.
Create content – give something away, such as a matted, signed print of your work or a book that you found useful. Post it to Instagram and ask your followers to use a specific hashtag so you can track the responses. Set a time limit for the contest and announce the winner at the end.
I’d appreciate it if you could all follow me on Instagram. You can follow me on Instagram by clicking here. You can also look me up by my username picfixs/
Note: If you want to make some adjustments to the photo just let me know. I can do it for you at a very low cost. You can hire me to edit your photo.