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As a part of your strategy to expand your reach and share images with ideal clients, Instagram is a perfect tool to help. With features for business owners and new additions to keep followers engaged, you can use the platform to find and attract couples who may be looking for a photographer.

The key to success in getting more followers is to use strategies geared toward ideal clients, so you can more easily connect with them and encourage them to visit your website and blog. How can you ensure you build your following and attract those clients? For starters, grab our free Instagram Guide, built with advice from a dozen successful wedding photographers on Instagram.

Orange County wedding and portrait photographer, Rich Lander of CHARD Photographer, has an Instagram account that caters to his ideal clients. Below, we share 7 secrets Rich uses on his Instagram to help him gain well over 70k followers. Take a look and see which you can implement into your current strategy.

1. Showcase the Top Photos

Just like you would for your website and blog, you should always showcase the top photos on your Instagram account. These are the images that share your unique photography style and are the best from your past shoots. When clients look at these images, they can better understand your style and what their images could look like should they book you.

Image Compliments of CHARD Photographer

On his account, Rich shares the top images from his past shoots. These are the images that share more about what he loves to capture as a photographer, and what his clients can expect from him. When the top photos are on display for followers to see, he can share who he is and why a couple should book him as their photographer.

Tip: After you receive your images back from a wedding photography post processing company, share them on Instagram to showcase your unique style.

Related: Another great way to grow your business is with your wedding photography blog. Learn how Fotoskribe can blog for you, week in and week out, with your unique voice!

2. Create a Hashtag Strategy

Hashtags are a simple and fast way to place your images in front of ideal clients on Instagram. Just like you should have a consistent posting strategy and images, your hashtag strategy needs to be the same. Decide how many hashtags are ideal for your posts, so you can always use the same strategy throughout your account.

On his Instagram posts, Rich has a consistent hashtag strategy that allows him to include hashtags that expand his reach with ideal clients. He uses 30 hashtags for every post and includes ones that his ideal clients search for on the platform.

3. Tag Involved Vendors

There are various parts of the wedding day that require other vendors’ expertise. From the cake, to the flowers, to the dress, you will encounter multiple vendors and their work. To expand your reach, and to make connections with vendors, tag them in your images.

Throughout his account, Rich includes tags for dress designers, caterers, planners, and more. This keeps him top of mind with vendors and gives him an opportunity to reach the vendors’ followers with his images.

Related: What are the tools to help you expand your reach on multiple social media platforms?

4. Add Accurate Geotags

The locations you work at can help you place your images in front of ideal clients, especially when you add accurate geotags. Geotags allow you to highlight the venue and place your images in front of ideal clients who search for it. When followers know where you shot the photos, they might get the same idea to use that location with you as their photographer.

When he posts on Instagram, Rich uses geotags on a majority of his images. Whether it’s a wedding at the Four Seasons Resort and Residences Anguilla or an engagement shoot at Dana Point, California, he includes the geotag to expand the followers who will see his images.

5. Link to Other Sites

One of the reasons you should use social media for your business is to attract followers back to your website and blog. This is where ideal clients can learn more about you and contact you when they are ready. Instagram has business tools that help you lead clients to your website and blog, and allow them to contact you through the social platform.

In Rich’s bio, he has a link to his website for his followers to click and see more of his work and information about his photography business. He also includes his email address in his bio to encourage ideal clients to reach out to him from his platform.

6. Include Relevant Hashtags

With your consistent hashtag strategy, ensure the hashtags you use are relevant. This means they are relevant to the wedding photography industry, your location and specialty, and vendors and venues you are connected to.

For example, Rich uses hashtags that represent his business, his location, wedding companies, and ones that his ideal clients may search for on Instagram. He uses #CHARDphoto, #destinationweddingphotographer, #junebugweddings, and #weddings as some of the hashtags to attract followers.

7. Create Unique Instagram Stories

Instagram Stories are an addition to the app that gives you the opportunity to share more about you and your photography business. They are a way to invite followers and ideal clients to get to know you and see more behind-the-scenes of what you do for your business.

On his Stories, Rich shares sneak peeks of his past shoots. He incorporates music to create a mini-slideshow for his followers to view. This gets his followers excited about the images and it encourages them to visit his blog to see more. When he consistently posts to Instagram Stories, his followers will know to look for the newest ones.

What steps will you take to ensure your Instagram strategy is geared toward increasing your followers that are ideal clients? Learn additional tips and tricks to use on your account with our free Guide: Instagram for the Wedding Photographer!