Last updated on 10/01/2024
Cover photo by Michelle VanTine Photography
In a crowded space where content seems to be posted more frequently than the Kardashians are having surgery, you may feel like your work is not receiving the visibility it deserves. If you need direction on how to effectively promote your photography business in this congested space, Imagen is here to give you simple steps on how to harness the power of digital marketing for photographers. In addition to sharing these tips, we have created a tool to measure and assess how you are doing now, and where you need to improve.
TL;DR: Analyze and optimize your photography business profile on Instagram to attract more views and bookings.
Creating an Effective Online Presence for Your Photography Business
While you may be creating entertaining reels on the gram that bolster your viewership, it will take much more than that to create a truly effective digital marketing strategy as a photographer.
In this article, we will share a few pro tips on how to market a photography business, and one great tool to make sure that you have an efficacious online presence. Here we go on marketing for photographers: the cliff notes.
Marketing for Photographers 101: Don’t Skip the Website
In today’s era, websites seem to be losing their appeal as social media platforms like Instagram gain traction. Building a website may seem time-consuming and pointless since your portfolio is posted on social media. This couldn’t be farther from the truth. One reason you want a website is that it’s much easier to find a business you want to contract if they have a website.
Just think of the last time you needed to find the closest Thai restaurant or plumber. Did you go on Instagram? Of course not, you opened a search engine and typed “Best Thai restaurant in…” or “plumber near [zip code].” Having your website makes you a business that people can find.
With all the website builders available these days, the process can be very affordable and relatively pain-free. I’m in the middle of my own website facelift. I’ve spent around five hours on it, and it’s about half done.
On your website, you want to make sure your work is strong and cohesive. You want quality and cohesiveness. Include your own picture on your About page and a call-to-action that directs visitors to your contact page.
Pro tip: You can search URLs relevant to your business. You may, for example, search to see if bestweddingphotographer[yourcity].com is taken. If it’s not, you can buy it for a very low price and redirect it to your site. This will increase your chances of being found in search engines.
Make Sure Your Company Is Listed On Google Business
This is a quick and painless process. Simply search your business name in Google Maps, then click “Claim this business.” You will follow a few steps to get your business listed and they will verify your listing via a postcard in the mail.
Pro tip: Make sure you ask for a Google review every time you turn in images as it will improve your search engine rankings and the overall trustworthy appeal
Assess Your SEO Performance
If you are using a website builder, these platforms have built-in SEO optimization. Find where it is on your site manager, and enter your keywords. Remember to think as if you were a potential client searching for a business online. What would they put in the search engine? Include these words in your SEO keywords.
Instagram Marketing for Photographers
Did you know that studies have shown that people form an opinion of a service or product in 0.2 seconds? Less than one second! That’s a complete knee-jerk reaction based on visuals. In less than one second, they will think either “professional” or “unprofessional” as well as a host of other snap judgments.
This is an important consideration for optimizing your Instagram profile and maximizing your Instagram growth. It is imperative that your Instagram profile nails that initial impression. Imagen’s new IG Optimizer tool, which I will discuss more below, can help you assess the strength of your profile and give you specific areas to improve.
Here are a few important practices to optimize your Instagram SEO.
Optimizing your Instagram Profile
Your Instagram bio is instrumental in increasing your chances of appearing on search results. This is not the place to write that you love yoga and oat milk lattes. (If I had a dollar…)
You want to include keywords that people would search for. Think of what a potential client would write in a search engine. Include these words, as well as your city in your bio.
Also, make sure that your contact information, under settings, is switched to “visible.” The default mode is not visible.
You want clients to easily be able to contact you. Your bio should be informative. This is not the place for your creativity. Again, think about what people are searching for.
If you want to be found and make more money, save your creativity for your pictures, not your SEO.
Alt Text Instagram SEO
Many people don’t know this, but when you post an image on Instagram, you can go into the settings of that post and enter what Instagram calls “Alt Text.” This is the text you can add to describe your image (originally created for the seeing impaired.)
This additional information will help your post come up on those searchable terms. Here is how to access that interface.
Content Strategies for Instagram
Before I begin the “how-to” of this section I want to touch on one important note. It seems like an obvious one- but I see this mistake constantly. In my mentoring, the question I get the most often is “How do you get so many clients?”
The answer is complex, but one part, as it relates to Instagram is a very simple rule: You attract what you put out. Put out content that attracts paying clients.
Many photographers put out content that attracts other photographers. If you have a product or service that other photographers would purchase, that makes sense. Some “how I took this shot” is great, I post those on my Insta stories also. However, the purpose of your page is to attract paying clients to hire you as a photographer. (I hope at least!) Make sure your content reflects your purpose.
Best Practice for Posting on Instagram
The content you put out should be strategic to that end: attracting paying clients.
With that in mind, a short investment of three minutes or less can maximize your reach on each post.
Don’t ever skip your photography keywords and hashtags. They put money in the bank. Put your keywords in your text area, and hashtag that bad boy!
Instagram Post Ideas for Photographers
Instagram post ideas for photographers are now more abundant and accessible than ever and they will help you market your account.
Everyone wants to crack the code on how to get followers on Instagram. While this one topic itself could be an entire article, you want to make sure your posts are creative and engaging. Apps such as Capcut, for example, can allow you to make fun montages easily while piggybacking off what’s trending.
Make people laugh, learn, or feel inspired. Remember to include your call to action, to convert the view to a follower, or customer.
Using Analytics to Improve Your Instagram Strategy
Instagram provides great tools for analytics. Take a moment every so often to look at your analytics and insights to determine what types of posts are most successful and what time of day your posts perform best.
Advanced Tips for Promoting Your Photography Business Online
There are many Instagram marketing techniques we have covered already, but here are a few more advanced marketing photography strategies.
A way to gain more Instagram followers is to work with influencers and other photographers to expand your reach through collaborations and partnerships. Whether it’s using a piece of gear and tagging the brand for a repost or working on a multimedia piece with a respected videographer in your industry, exponential exposure gets more eyes on your work.
Another successful marketing strategy for Instagram is building a loyal community and fostering engagement. You can put two images on your story from the same shoot and have people vote for which is stronger. You can show behind-the-scenes as you’re working and add stickers for people to ask questions. You can promote people in your industry and support others. Building an engaged community will benefit your business.
Your Photography Digital Marketing Cheat-Sheet: Utilize the Free Instagram Analyzer Tool by Imagen
Let me introduce you to the new IG Analyzer by Imagen: a one-click Instagram analytic tool. This new free Instagram analytic tool for photographers offers insight by analyzing your professional Instagram account and providing tailored suggestions to help improve and monetize it.
The IG Analyzer scores Instagram profiles specifically designed for photographers, providing insights and useful tips to help you improve your presence. Think of it as your personalized Instagram optimizer.
- Comprehensive Scoring System: Its scoring is based on various factors, utilizing industry best practices and insights from top photographers.
- Focus on Key Elements: The IG Analyzer highlights the significance of quality, creativity, authenticity, and the photographer’s unique style and preferences.
- Actionable Insights: The IG Analyzer delivers valuable, actionable insights to enhance your Instagram profile and attract more customers.
- Useful Tips: Get practical tips from industry experts to refine your strategy, boost engagement, and enhance visibility.
It’s incredibly easy and quick to use -all you need to do is submit your IG handle and Imagen’s analyzer does the work. The process only takes seconds. You can choose which one of the recommendations to implement or you can implement all of them.
How It Works
The IG Analyzer evaluates your Instagram profile based on:
- Optimized account settings (category, account type…)
- Name + username structure
- IG bio
- Links
- Posts frequency
- Hashtags
With this innovative and free new tool, you can instantly take your Instagram game to the next level, and turn your profile into a powerful business tool.
Free Instagram Analyzer for Photographers: Let’s Give It a Test Run
Since I niche in two different markets: product and sports, I have two accounts. I ran both through the Instagram SEO optimizer to see how each scored. This was the score on my product photography account.
Not bad! I got top scores for my profile picture (#jobhazard) and my account settings and keywords. I lost points for the frequency of posting (guilty as charged) and the analyzer provided insightful suggestions on how to expand my profile reach. The process took about 15 seconds.
Let’s see how my sports account performed.
As a surprise to me, I scored one point higher on this account. Once again, I received a high score for a professional photo and the correct account settings. I had a few “pro tips” and I will share two that I am eager to implement.
- One was a profile setting which allowed me to expand my profile’s reach by turning on the “Show account suggestion on profiles” option.
- The second was to change the settings on my photo resolution for posting. This was an enormous benefit to me. I’ve often felt that the images aren’t as sharp on Instagram as they are on my computer.
I’m excited to implement this and see the difference.
Recap: Mastering Digital Marketing as a Photographer
One false assumption among photographers, as in many other service industries, is that if you have great skill you will succeed in proportion to your talent. Within a short time operating under this premise, you will find your expectations do not meet your experience.
In fact, one of the most successful business books on this topic E-Myth revealed that: One million small businesses are founded in America each year, but 40 percent of them fail in the first year and 80 percent in the first five years.
The reason? To be successful you need to have strong photography skills and strong business practices. Tools like the IG Analyzer can greatly help you access valuable insights to improve your business skills. If you have used Imagen’s AI photo editing software you will be familiar with its core brand value: helping you focus on what you love. This newest tool was built to support that exact purpose.
Give it a try. Share your score below and leave a comment about what you’re crushing and where you need to tweak things for optimized Instagram performance and visibility.
After that, get back to doing what you do best: taking those beautiful images that only you can create!
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Michelle VanTine has been a full-time photographer since 2008 working all over the US and internationally, capturing the world through a unique lens, blending a Fine Arts degree with an athletic background. Starting with a grandma’s A-1 film camera, Michelle quickly moved from darkroom days to thrilling global stages. Her professional highlights include Serena Williams’ first post-pregnancy shot, the Spartan World Championships in Abu Dhabi, and portraits of MMA Champion Amanda Nunes, as well as working with NFL players, the American Association of Physical Therapy, and lots of global brands. A former Division 1 athlete, Michelle brings a passion for sports and art to every shoot, focusing on movement and creativity with a modern, gritty edge. Named among the “Top Sports Photographers in Miami” in 2019 and 2021, and “Top 12 Editorial Photographers” in Miami in 2022, Michelle VanTine balances artistic fun with technical excellence. Off the field, she creates stunning product photography in her home studio and writes for the Fstoppers blog.
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