Social media marketing for wedding photographers isn’t exactly a new concept. For a wedding photography business, social media marketing could prove to be one of the most effective ways to establish your brand identity, increase your reach, and even book more weddings. How and which social media platform or platforms you decide to use entirely depends on your target audience and needs. Another way for you to display your work, build a digital portfolio, and even let your creativity flow, your social media platforms are where your target audience gets to know your brand. However, even though the benefits of using social media marketing are manifold, there are specific ways to make the best use of these platforms. And we tell you how through this blog.
Social Media Marketing For Wedding Photographers: The Basics
1. Know Your Social Media Platforms
Social media marketing for wedding photographers requires a thorough understanding of what content works on each platform. So, before you even start planning your social media marketing strategies, you need to know the difference between each social media platform.
While Instagram and Facebook may be similar, you might still need to have completely different content strategies for both. The same applies to Pinterest and Twitter. Since your target audience for all the platforms is most likely to be the same, you could consider repurposing your content and make it suitable for each social media platform.
2. Be Original
You are a wedding photographer, and therefore sharing original content shouldn’t be a hassle for you. You could share your most beautiful and unique photographs on your Instagram with a caption that describes the scene or what you did to get that photo. You could also do the same on your Facebook page. For both platforms, you could also come up with entertaining and educational video story ideas that will help attract more clients not only to your page but to your brand as well.
One significant benefit of social media marketing for wedding photographers is that you can also use your social media platforms as digital portfolios that are easy to find and view by couples. If you blog for your website, you could also share those blogs through your Facebook page. On your Pinterest, you could start by sharing photographs that brides can use as inspiration. Since it’s a photo-sharing website where millions of other users, especially wedding photographers, share their work, you should aim to share photos that stand out. Lastly, you can also share your pictures on Twitter. This social media platform is not too popular in the wedding photography industry but could be beneficial for networking with vendors and other wedding photographers.
3. Consistency is Crucial
It’s important to make consistency a part of your social media marketing plan. This means that you have to fix a posting schedule for each platform. Staying consistent helps establish credibility, and an updated social media page paints your business as a brand that is active and looking to engage users. Consistency also gives your audience something to look forward to. If they have been following you long enough, they will know when they can find new content on your social media accounts. If you are not consistent, they might just lose interest.
The best part is that with the help of different scheduling software, you don’t have to spend time thinking about what to post or take time out for posting each day. Just fix your posting days and timings and if possible, use a software to schedule a week or month ahead. Ideally, you should post on Instagram and Facebook every day. You can share your photos on Pinterest three or four times a week and perhaps use Twitter twice a week. However, the frequency of your posts depends on your business model and needs. If confused, you could do some research on what other wedding photographers are doing.
4. Engage Your Audience
One of the most challenging yet crucial steps of social media marketing for wedding photographers is engaging the audience. If your audience doesn’t engage with your posts by liking, commenting, and/or sharing, even the best social media marketing plan could fail. You might think that you take the best wedding photos in the world, but a disengaged audience is proof that your content might not be relatable enough for them. And while your followers might be on the rise, non-engaging content could also prompt people to unfollow your page.
When it comes to Instagram and Facebook, try to engage your audience through polls, lives, and even giveaways. When you post something, request your followers to comment their opinions or drop a comment about your pictures or even suggest captions for the post (this is also a great giveaway tactic). In the end, your social media platforms are not just about beautiful photographs. The bigger picture is to get your followers to engage with your content.
Suggested Read: 100 Instagram Captions For Wedding Photographers
5. Use Social Media Ads
Once you have a social media strategy in place for all your social media accounts, you could also consider creating ads. But before you start doing that, think about their purpose. Not just that, even the ads you make should be engaging and have a similar voice and imagery as the rest of your brand identity. In short, they should feel on-brand and reflect what your audience relates to most.
Additionally, platforms like Facebook and Instagram also offer the options to narrow down the demographics and the geographical area of where you want your ad to appear. Ensure that you use this feature to your advantage as it increases the chances of your ad reaching the right audience.
Related Read: How To Create Social Media Ads To Book More Weddings
Which Social Media For What?
1. Instagram
Your Instagram page allows you to easily give your audience a glimpse of what you do. The Instagram Stories feature is especially great because you can take your followers behind the scenes with a click of a button. So as you are photographing a couple’s wedding or engagement session, your audience gets to see how you do it. It’s undoubtedly a great platform to showcase your work. But the trick is to stay updated with how to increase your page and your post’s reach. Look for relevant and popular hashtags that complement your content and use that to make your post visible to potential clients. Instagram is the holy grail for brides looking for wedding inspiration, and therefore, it’s an excellent platform for getting your work seen. If you showcase your work creatively and with the intent to attract more brides, you might just be able to book more weddings too.
2. Facebook
Like Instagram, you can also use Facebook to showcase your work and even share more text-heavy content, such as blogs. You can also promote your wedding photography business by hosting giveaways or live sessions through your Facebook page. The great thing about sharing photos on Facebook is that when you tag your clients, their pictures will appear on their Facebook Walls, and their friends will be able to view them too (unless your couple has a specific setting that disables that feature). This way, more people will be able to view your photos. Using Facebook ads, which allow you to target particular groups of people in specific areas, increases the chances of your target audience coming across your brand and content.
Related Read: How To Create Facebook Ads To Book More Weddings
3. Pinterest
A fantastic social media platform for the wedding industry in general, Pinterest even has a wedding category. This is not only a great way to showcase your work, but brides can also look at your photographs to draw inspiration for their wedding photography. You can also use Pinterest as a platform where your couples can share their mood boards with you. Since there are millions of pictures in a single category on this social media platform, there are chances of your work getting lost somewhere in the middle. You want to ideally only share photos that are guaranteed to make your target audience curious and make them go, “this is exactly what I want on my wedding day.”
4. Twitter
If you want to network with other vendors, get in touch with wedding bloggers or keep up with what other wedding photographers are up to, Twitter could be ideal. On this social media platform, it’s all about keeping your posts short and sharp. If you are looking to collaborate with other vendors for a styled shoot, you might have more chances of reaching out to them through Twitter.
Twitter also runs on hashtags, and therefore, you may want to do some research on what’s trending on the day you post. Usually, day-specific hashtags like #MindfulMonday or #FlashbackFriday would work. You can reach out to newly engaged couples or simply search for tweets wherein people are looking for wedding photographers. Overall, this is a platform for networking rather than showcasing your work.
Suggested Read: Why Networking With Wedding Vendors Is Good For Business
Strategize Carefully
Today, social media marketing for wedding photographers involves solid planning. Start with figuring out what platforms would work best for your business, and then carefully create strategies that help showcase your work and generate leads in the long run. Social media is where your clients and potential clients can see your work and reach out to you easily. Therefore, try to focus on making consistency, originality, and creativity your top priorities. Plan in advance, and then you won’t have to spend time looking for content daily. Know your target audience and what social media platforms they tend to be most active on, and invest your time in making that platform unique.
Further Read: SEO Tips for Wedding Photographers: The Complete Guide
At ShootDotEdit, we love sharing social media tips and are passionate about helping you build your wedding photography business. We aim to help you get to where you want to be easier and faster. We also offer professional photo editing services to lessen your post-production workload so you can focus on getting more business. To learn more about how we can help, check out our pricing plans.