What’s the best part of using Instagram for your wedding photography business? You have the opportunity to place your images and other resources in front of potential clients to encourage them to access your website and blog (and book you for their wedding day). There are plenty of strategies you can use to connect with followers, and really make an impact on their decision of who to hire as their photographer.
If you have read our Instagram Guide, you learned some of the top tips and tricks to use on Instagram. (Haven’t read the guide yet? Check it out here). But, if the process you use for Instagram takes too much time, there is a chance you are not getting the most out of your account.
Your Instagram strategy should be streamlined, so you can reach potential clients and focus on other important tasks for your business. How can you maintain a fast process for Instagram? Here are 7 Instagram shortcuts you can implement to save time on the social media app.
1. Try a Hashtag Generator
By now, you likely have hashtags to use on your posts. To add hashtags to posts that are different, use a hashtag generator to speed up the process. A generator, such as Hashme or Hashtags by Pregram helps find the best hashtags related to the post you share. This saves you time, and helps you place images in front of unique audiences.
Related: Do you use these 12 Apple Shortcuts to save time in your daily routine?
2. Use Hashtag Keyboard Shortcuts
When you find the best hashtags for your posts, where do you store them? Perhaps you save them in a notepad on your phone. To save more time, use hashtag keyboard shortcuts to quickly apply your hashtags to each post. All you have to do is go into your phone settings and navigate to the “Keyboard” option. From there, go into the “Text Replacement” and add your set of hashtags as a new Phrase. Then, create a Shortcut name that describes this set of hashtags. When it’s time to upload a post and use a set of hashtags, type the Shortcut name into the caption area and press the space bar for them to appear in your post.
3. Find Accounts to Follow
Because interaction takes quite a bit of your time, use the shortcut for the suggested following tab. When you are on an account of someone you follow, click on the arrow next to “Following.” You can see other accounts that are similar to the account you are viewing. This can save you quite a bit of time when you need to find new accounts to interact with, so you can encourage engagement on your account and images.
Related: Have you defined your unique photography style?
4. Maximize the Explore Tab
As you interact with photos and hashtags, use the Explore tab to quickly search. If you click on every individual photo and go into a new window to like or comment on it, you spend more time than you need to. While in the Explore tab, hold the image you want to view. This allows you to view the image, and you do not need to leave the Explore tab. To interact with the photo, swipe up to access the like, view profile, and send a message buttons.
5. Reach All Social Platforms
Although your Instagram profile will have a different strategy than your other social accounts, use a shortcut that helps you reach all of your platforms at once. To do this, access “Settings” on your profile, click “Linked Accounts,” and choose the social platform you want to include. After you enter your username and password, authorize the app, and continue the process for each platform. A quick trick to use for Facebook is to “Page” rather than “Timeline” to share your Instagram posts on your business page.
Tip: Save yourself additional time before you post to Instagram by sending your images to a wedding photography color correction company. Once they are color corrected and consistent, you can share them on your Instagram account (as well as your website, blog, and other social platforms).
6. Receive Notifications
With Instagram’s current algorithm, it is necessary for you to take steps to place your posts in front of followers who are ideal for you. It is also important for you to maintain high interaction with your followers, so you engage them to engage with your account. To speed up the time you take to interact with other accounts, without having to search for too long, is to turn on notifications for specific followers. When on their account, choose the option to “Turn on Post Notifications.” When they post to their account, you are notified and can easily access their account to like and comment on the posts.
Tip: If you haven’t already, encourage your followers to turn notifications on, so they know when you post on your account.
7. Upload Stories All at Once
The addition of Stories is a great feature for you to use on Instagram, but can be time-consuming if you constantly post. If you have an objective for your Stories (to reveal a new product, or share about a wedding shoot), upload them all at once. Take videos or photos from your camera on your phone, save them, and upload them to Stories all at once. This saves you time, and helps you tell a story.
What shortcuts are you currently using for your account? Did you see any new ones you can implement to save more time? Let us know in the comments! And, download our Instagram for the Wedding Photographer Guide to discover some of the industry pro’s best practices on the social app.
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