How can you grow your Instagram organically as a wedding photographer? As a photographer, it’s hard to post photos without over saturating your profile – or on the other hand, post enough while still getting comments and likes on each post.
While there’s no secret sauce to getting a large Instagram following, I have a few tips that can help you grow in the same way I did!
These are a few things that I started implementing into my Instagram strategy, and it helped me gain over 70,000 followers in less than a year! And I want to help you show up on social media to improve your engagement. So buckle in, folks – let’s talk Instagram!
1. Post Consistently
Consistency is key when it comes to Instagram. You should be posting as consistently as possible, whether that’s once a week or every day – whatever is doable for you!
While you should post consistently, be sure you shake up what types of posts you put out!! Rotate between a few different types of posts, like a carousel post, single image, reel / videos, etc.
Captions
When you’re posting, it’s important to create engaging captions for your audience to stay on your post longer! What does this look like?
- Use an interesting hook line
- Treat captioning the same as ‘blogging’, so make it longer than 10 words.
- Create captions that add value to your followers lives! Whether that’s educational, a funny story, or whatever!!
2. Use Hashtags
Hashtags are a great way for new accounts to find your profile, and it’s great for growing within a specific area. Hashtags aren’t just for getting featured. In fact, I might even say that I don’t think it’s worth hash tagging just for the ‘chance of getting featured’ on a popular page. Instead, use hashtags as a potential client would – what hashtags does your audience use when they’re looking for a photographer? Try using hashtags specific to your location, and engage with those hashtags before and after you post.
I suggest doing some hashtag research before you post, and see what hashtags are best within your area. You’ll want hashtags that have less than 200,000 posts on them so your post doesn’t get lost.
3. Plan Your Feed
Your Instagram is your portable portfolio, so treat it like that!!
Please please please, put the time into planning your Instagram feed out ahead of time. If you do this, users will want to stay on your profile to check out your work. I use Later.com to plan out my posts two weeks in advance, so I can be sure my feed is looking goooood.
When you’re planning your feed, be sure to add in a variety of composition within your work, including dark & light images. Remember, creating a visually pleasing feed is based 100% on your artistic eye, so trust your gut and use your creative eye!
4. Promote Your Instagram on Other Platforms
How are you truly going to gain followers if you’re JUST on promoting on Instagram? A great tip is to start promoting your Instagram on other platforms. Try posting about your Instagram on Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, or Tik Tok. A lot of people prefer to follow the same people across multiple platforms, so it’s an awesome way to keep consistency in your brand!
A fun idea is to do a giveaway on your Instagram profile, and promote that giveaway across all of your social media pages! This will quickly attract followers from other platforms to join your Instagram journey too.
5. Show Your Face!
While I’m sure you have tons of pretty images to post for months and months, it’s CRUCIAL to show your audience the person behind the camera! At the end of the day, your audience is going to want to know who their engaging with – and they feel a better connection with your work when you’re popping in to say hi!
Try using stories as a way to show your face, and don’t forget to show your audience some Behind The Scenes of you working your magic!
Want to step up your Instagram game? Join me for a one-on-one social media mentorship, where we can talk through way to improve your online presence!
Read more of my photography blogs here:
How to Start A Photography Business – read it here.
How to Shoot in Manual Mode – read it here.
Why Lighting Matters – read it here.
