7 Ways to Boost Your Photography Business on Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat
If you’re on Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, and all the other social media sites available, but feel as if you’re still not getting noticed, we’ve got a few ideas that might help you boost your visibility. Take a look at these seven simple ways to change your social media strategy to help new clients find your photography business.
1. Have a consistent vision.
Wedding photographer and social media strategist Susan Stripling has shared that social media pages that have the same tone and visual style throughout tend to be more successful. “Make a decision and stick with it. A confusing feed, whether it be Facebook or Instagram, won’t help create loyalty from your viewers.”
2. Give your audience a reason to share.
That doesn’t necessarily mean running contests or giveaways (though you can). You can get shares by creating content that’s meaningful to your audience. For example, Cindy Johnson Photography created this emotionally resonant video, which has been viewed nearly 58,000 times and shared 883 times on Facebook.
3. Play tag.
When you post content on your site, tag clients (with their permission) to reach friends and family (and maybe get them to share your content). And don’t forget to ask them to tag you too, if they share videos or other digital content you create for them.For Snapchat, Instagram Stories, and Facebook Live, the idea is a little different: you want to share your Snapcode, Facebook, or Instagram handle before you have a session so that clients — and their friends — know to look for their story or session. (Read more about incorporating Snapchat into your marketing strategy on our blog.) You can make this process easier (in Snapchat at least) by using your Snapcode as your profile photo for Facebook, Twitter, and other social media sites.
4. Upload video natively.
In other words, don’t post a YouTube link on Facebook. Facebook loves video, but its algorithm favors video content that’s uploaded directly. So even though links may seem easier, more eyes will see your work if you post native video. You can do this in Animoto, or directly on Facebook’s site.
5. Keep posting.
Maybe not every minute (you don’t want to spam people), but posting once a day to Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat keeps you on people’s minds, and gives your posts a higher priority in the Facebook and Instagram algorithms.
6. Always make more than one video.
When creating videos for social media, keep in mind that different types of content perform better on different platforms. Make multiple versions to get the best results everywhere. To find out more, check out our blog post on repurposing videos for Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
Get mobile.
- Both Instagram and Snapchat are mobile apps and Facebook Live is very mobile friendly, so it’s a smart idea to get comfortable using them on the go. Download behind-the-scenes footage from Snapchat and Instagram Stories to mix with photos and videos you’ve shot on your tablet or smartphone. Even if you’d prefer to use the desktop version of Animoto to create your videos, you can still use Stories or behind-the-scenes clips shot on your phone to add realistic flair to your slideshows. You can also build videos on a computer or laptop to share on Instagram, as Ana Brandt does.
A video posted by Ana Brandt (@anabrandt) on Jun 6, 2015 at 11:18am PDT
A few small changes to your strategy can have a huge impact on how your business does on social media. Try a few of the ideas we’ve suggested above, and let us know how they work for you. Or, if you’ve got a tip we haven’t mentioned, share it with us in the Animoto Social Video Marketing Community on Facebook.