INSTAGRAM MARKETING FOR WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHERS MEGAN BREUKELMAN PHOTOGRAPHY
FREE INSTAGRAM MARKETING STRATEGIES We all know that photographers can especially benefit from Instagram marketing, but it’s been such a shapeshifting game over the last few months and even years for business owners that we don’t even know where to start. Social media marketing is evolving more and more into a pay to play situation. So where does that leave small to medium business owners like wedding photographers? Let’s be honest, Instagram marketing is time-consuming and can be a less than rewarding effort effort for many wedding photographers. Put simply, many don’t have the time to implement a lot of Instagram marketing strategies for wedding photographers. These free Instagram marketing ideas, however, don’t cost a thing and don’t take very long to implement. Don’t pour your money into Instagram and Facebook ads just yet. Let’s take a step back and look at some of the free ways that wedding photographers can market themselves on Instagram.
GET THE DETAILS Make sure to photograph all of the little details of the wedding day. You want to make sure that the lead photographer is totally covered when they're delivering to their clients. Ensure that you're taking pictures of decorations, food, smiling guests, and all of the little details that they put so much hard work into for their special day. Planning a wedding takes a lot of work and even if the guests might not notice every tiny detail, you know that the brides or grooms are going to be thinking a lot about those tiny little things that meant a lot to them. When they were up until two in the morning grappling with decisions on napkin colors or menu cards, they will want to see that their hard work paid off and their details were noticed. Every couple has different details that are important to them, but of course, there are major things like the rings and shoes and accessories that cannot be skipped out on. Second shooting also frees up the lead photographer to be able to take more shots of the dress or have a little more one on one time with the bride to get the perfect shot.
HOP ON INSTAGRAM LIVE TO CHAT
TRY OUT INSTAGRAM STORY POLLS
Hop on Instagram Live to connect with your couples to give them a sense of who you are as a person, beyond your static brand. Instagram Live is a great way to show your audience a little more grit and behind-the-scenes about your business and brand. Even if Instagram Live makes you nervous, an alternative to this is videos where you’re showing your face and are talking to the camera. Talk to your audience directly and let them know what you’re all about. People love to connect personally with a brand, so get them invested in you as an artist and as a person. Share details about your life and business, answer frequently asked questions and give people a real sense of who you are as an entire brand. You can use Stories and other features in tons of other fun ways.
What does your audience look like? Is it primarily brides and grooms? Are you connected with mainly vendors? Use Instagram story polls to get deeper insights into who is interacting with your content. This is a totally free way to get data on your audience, to be able to tailor your content more towards who you want to market to.So you’re talking to your audience, but maybe that’s not that many people right now. How do you find an audience on Instagram? I’m not just talking about random followers–– I’m talking about an audience that converts. Let’s start with surefire places that your potential clients are spending their time–– following other vendors.
USE STORY HIGHLIGHTS Use your Instagram story highlights as portfolio previews. These days, so many people are turning to stories over posts in the feed. They’re easy to swipe through and they’re right there at the top of your feed. They’re the first thing you look at when you log on! Now more than ever, your business needs to be using Instagram stories in its strategy. Not only are Instagram Stories getting the prime real estate at the top of the app, but when people visit your profile, story highlights also come before your feed. They sit right there above your carefully curated grid feed posts that you may have spent minutes to hours thinking through how to lay out. Use these story highlights as an opportunity to share portfolio previews, reviews from couples, and a little more insight into who you are as a wedding photographer. This Instagram marketing strategy for wedding photographers is often overlooked, as photographers can find themselves to be more focused on a curated grid. Try and keep at least a story a day up on your feed and show people that you’re busy, you’re active and you’re you. Stories can also be a great space to show off the face behind the brand.
INTERACT WITH PEOPLE FOLLOWING OTHER VENDORS Many of those who are freshly following wedding vendors like planners and venues are people who have become recently engaged. Take some time out of your day to interact with accounts who are recently following wedding vendors. Watch their stories, comment on their photos, and take a peek for their classic engagement-gram. Leave them a little comment congratulating them on their engagement if they’ve got a shot showing off their beautiful ring or proposal moment. Wedding photographers on Instagram should be seeking out their ideal clients over seeking a follower count, so start with vendors that align with your brand. Check recent followers of venues you love or want to shoot at–– those ideal clients are following and interacting with those venues.But where else are these future dream brides and grooms hanging out? They’re looking at vendors through hashtags. I’m not just talking about #weddingphotographer, #planner–– I’m talking about specific hashtags.
USE LOCALIZED HASHTAGS Try out localized hashtags on Instagram for better results and more local leads. Instead of tagging your post #weddingphotography, give #NewYorkWeddingPhotographer a shot. Hashtag local spots that you’re taking the images like #ProspectPark and #ParkSlope over #NYC. You’d be surprised at how many people are lurking those localized hashtags. Make it way easier to find you by using localized hashtags. Yes, these hashtags in bigger cities can get absolutely saturated, but it’s so much easier to find posts and Stories tagged #BrooklynWeddingPhotographer over #WeddingPhotographer for couples who are scouting in their area.
TAG OTHER WEDDING VENDORS Always tag the wedding vendors involved in your posts. People who may have signed on with certain venues, officiants, etc. will be scouting their tagged photos and what they’re posting. If you tag the vendors you work with, it’s more than likely that you’ll be reposted or put into their Instagram story in front of their audience. Plus, your post will end up in their “tagged photos” space–– basically another feed your work can sneak its way into.
QUICK TIP: INSTAGRAM IS NOT A NUMBERS GAME FOR WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHERS. WHAT MATTERS IS *WHO* IS FOLLOWING YOUR ACCOUNT, AND IF YOU CAN CONVERT THEM. Instagram accounts with 400 followers can convert just as many clients as Instagram accounts with 10,000. It's all about how you're using the platform to reach potential clients.
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