When it comes to imagery, there is no better picture sharing platform than Instagram. But if your photography is also your source of income, this particular app needs to be leveraged as a business tool to ensure your growth and visibility as a photographer. Nicolette Louw (@nix_rakker) looks at how, by targeting your content and engagement skills for optimal optimisation, Instagram can lead to success.

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To start off, your Instagram account needs to feature your biography: Who you are, what you do, where you are located and, importantly, how people can contact you. Instagram gives you the option to share your content to other platforms, such as Facebook and Twitter, but it should be a given that your main webpage include your best work.

Brendon Wainwright (@brendon_wainwright) and Hayden Brown (@haydsbrown) have appropriate biographies on their accounts so that users can see what they are about.

Remember to add your Instagram handle to your other social media platforms as well as your website. It is a valuable idea to have your Twitter and Instagram handle similar so that it makes it easier for users to find you on different applications.

Because you are sharing business related content to other platforms, it could be beneficial to keep your private and business Instagram accounts separate in order to keep your content consistent to your photography genre.

Share your images to your Facebook and Twitter business pages, which will produce an impressive media album on both social media platforms (Photo credit: @ant_churchyard and @zooncronje)

CONTENT

The success of a photographer rests on a couple of key factors, amongst others, technical savviness, networking abilities, keeping a cool head in tough situations, and building your brand. When it comes to Instagram, part of your progress will boil down to your uniqueness in the market.

Your account should have a storytelling vibe that gives followers a glimpse of what your everyday life is like, by sharing behind the scenes images of your next photographic destination or sneak peeks of new project and of course, the final end product.

Think about what type of images you would like to have seen pertaining to your business and let your individuality ooze from them. Post regularly but use the ‘quality over quantity’ rule as a guideline when it comes to the number of posts per day.

Andrew Beck (@andrewbecksa) shares a behind the scenes snap of his next trip, complete with his boarding pass and passport. Shots like this have a storytelling appeal that should be posted regularly to Instagram.

INSTANT ON

Instagram (and photographers) has benefited from an increasing number of cameras that are featuring built-in wi-fi, which allows one to send images straight to your smart device for faster and more efficient sharing. But what to do on the editing side when you are skipping your PC? The use of filters has given rise to the debate about whether or not it takes away from the true essence of photography. Nonetheless there are a lot of efficient photo editing apps, such as Snapseed and Enlight, which are at your disposal to edit images much as you would on your PC if you do not want to use filters.

Adding a watermark to your images that you share on Instagram will make users aware of authenticity and your brand but it can be distracting so keep it small and to a minimum. Try out different watermarking apps, such as Marksta or iWatermark, if you don’t have time to add your watermark to your images on a computer.

Shannon Wild’s (@shannon_wild) commercial shot includes her company watermark, as well as the appropriate hashtags

ENGAGE

The best way to bring exposure to your brand and Instagram account is to connect with other users. If a social media platform was an oyster, Instagram would be your pearl. There are now over 400 million users worldwide, which means your content is out on an international podium, ready to share with the world.

The search tab allows you to search for various themes and will filter top posts, users, tags and locations

Instagram features a search tab where you can easily find other content around the world that pertains to your business. Start following the relevant users and get inspired, but do remember that your images need to be original so avoid copying another user’s work.

Start making friends and engage by commenting on other users’ accounts, remembering to always be sincere. Compliment them on their work, ask questions about equipment or location, give them a shout out if they were the inspiration behind an image, share tips and tricks with your followers or reshare other Instagramers work (available if you download the Repost app to your smartphone.) The depth of your engagement with others is vital to your own growth on Instagram.

Gerry Van Der Walt (@gerryvanderwalt) shares shutter speed tips for his users and because Stephen Segal (@stephensegalpro) included the correct hashtags, he got a response from @Magnetmod about his image

When it comes to your own work, advertising specials or deals on your account is guaranteed to give your photography more exposure, but beware of spamming. Try running a competition with a price such as a free signed print or discount on a shoot. Everyone loves an awesome prize and running a contest campaign is worth the time and effort because it creates an incentive for followers and users. Create a hashtag for your contest that can be used across social media platforms and always remember to include the terms and conditions, plus the duration of competition.

Red Bull photographer Craig Kolesky (@craigkolesky) shares Red Bull’s latest competition  and goes on to explain the mechanics and T&C of the contest.

HASHTAG

Understanding the influence of the hashtag is vital for your success on Instagram. In a nutshell, the hashtag is a metadata tag used on social media networks that enables one to easily find specific content that already has the same hashtag attached to it. When it comes to Instagram, hastags enable other users to easily access other images pertaining to a place or subject they might be interested in, and ultimately your account if they find your images attractive enough.

Luke Tannous’s (@luketannous) originality jumps out in this shot but he also applied the correct amount of hashtags for optimal search results and included the client’s handle so she could also see his post.

There is, however, hashtag etiquette to adhere to: It is redundant to add hundreds of hashtags to one image because the majority of them are most likely generic, overused and will saturate the search results. Keep it simple by using hashtags that pertain to the image which should include the theme, subject matter, location and equipment.

For your photography business, it is integral that you implement a business hashtag that is user friendly, stick to it and add it to all the content you upload. This will ensure not only that users can locate you but also draw visibility to all your images that have your business hashtag.

Shem Compion (@shemimages) always shares his safari business’s hashtag in all his images, #c4photosafaris . This makes it easy to find his work on Instagram.

Instagram gives you the option to tag other users in your images as well as to indicate the geographical location of the image.  Along with the applicable hashtags, be sure to include other Instagram user handles that pertain to the image, such as the brand of equipment or a location.

Brendon Cremer (@brendoncremer) added his location to this image and included the relevant hashtags on theme, subject and equipment. He also tagged Instagram users that would like his image, potentially resulting in reposts and more followers.