Social media is a powerful tool for amateur photographers. It’s not just about getting likes and shares, but about building relationships with other people who share your interests. To help you get started on social media, we have put together some of the best practices that will enable you to build an audience in no time.
Know your niche and your audience
Social media platforms have become an essential part of any photographer’s strategy for finding clients and getting their photo seen. With so many options out there, which ones are worth your time?
Based on what type of photography you want to specialise in and what audience you want to capture, knowing your audience and your niche will help you pick social media channels that make sense to you.
Some questions to ask yourself:
- Who are you as a photographer? What does your brand stand for?
E.g. Are you an adventure loving outdoor photographer, do you love architecture or do you love taking portraits? - What brand would you like to convey?
E.g. Are you bright, fun, organic imagery? Or are you well executed, staged, sharp, dark imagery? - What type of clients would you like to attract?
E.g. I am a wedding and events photographer, I’d like to attract newly wed couples, families celebrating birthdays etc.
Choose your social media platform/s
Instagram for Photographers
An attractive website is a great start, but social media is the best way to increase your online presence. Specifically, an Instagram account will help you reach new customers as well as other photographers.
Instagram has become the social network of choice for both media creators and consumers. As such, it’s the best place to build a solid community and position yourself as a reference in your field. But to do so you’ll need more than talent and creativity.
Want to learn more on how to grow your Instagram account?
Here are some great tips provided by Wix Instagram for Photographers: Grow Your Account in 2021
Facebook for Photographers
Nowadays, it’s more common for amateur photographers to make a Facebook page. Photographers can easily provide the latest updates and work by posting pictures, adding client reviews of their work and providing contact information.
Creating a Facebook page is a great way to advertise your service to potential clients – ensure you always update this and provide your latest work to showcase your expertise!
Expert Photography has created a fantastic checklist for you to go through when setting up your Facebook page.
Twitter for Photographers
Twitter might not be your go to or first choice for photography as it’s not visually compelling, but you might be surprised! If you want to engage with potential clients, future ideal companies you’d like to shoot for, or build your audience in general – Twitter is a fantastic platform to build your connections!
Contrastly provides 5 practical tips for photographers on Twitter
TikTok for Photographers
TikTok is the social media darling for millennials, but as you might have noticed, more people are getting involved!
TikTok is a fantastic way for amateur photographers to show snippets of their photography. You can use the filters and video prompts to showcase your best work.
Since this is only a new platform, get ahead of the curve and start creating posts of your own. Who knows?! You might be able to intrigue different audiences of your own. It’s a great platform to produce your own creative style!
Want to find out more on how to use TikTok? Here’s Shutterstock’s TikTok for Photographers: Tips for Getting a Head Start
How to find inspiration and showcase your photos on Pinterest, Tumblr and Flickr
So once you have chosen and set up your social media platforms, it’s time to create content!
If you don’t have any photos to showcase, finding inspiration can be hard. Where do you find that spark? Where do you begin?
Many photographers who are hobbyists use Pinterest, Tumblr or Flickr to provide inspiration for other photographers and inspiration for themselves!
Pinterest is great for those who love to photograph homewares, architecture and food.
Tumblr is fantastic to find the latest fashion trends and a personalised blog to spark your creativity – the more different the better!
Flickr has been a creative outlet for photographers who’d like to share their photos and also sell their photos!
Hopefully one of these platforms will help you get your creative juices flowing!
The importance of hashtags in marketing your photography
Using hashtags is super important if you want your content to be seen by like minded users! In particular for Instagram and Tiktok, once you are set in the algorithm of these social media platforms – you’ll be able to see a huge difference in how your content is engaged!
Here are some tools you can use to build your hashtags, so they’re specific to your brand:
- Hashtagify – A simple tool used to generate your Instagram and Twitter hashtags. You can set up, analyze and track your hashtags here!
- Inflact – Uses AI to generate hashtags that are most trending and popular
- TikTok Hashtags – A great tool to use when you’re just getting started with hashtags in Tiktok, it generates the newest trends to get your posts seen!
We hope we’ve given you some solid ideas of what kind of areas you want to focus on with social media. Always remember to ask yourself, which platforms are best suited for your business or creative goals? How can you make sure people notice you when they’re scrolling through feeds? And of course, always remember hashtags! Don’t forget to take advantage of all these tools and platforms available – and start building out your socials!
Cover Photo by Austin Distel
