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Do you know how to increase social media engagement with potential wedding clients? With over 2 billion people in the world with social media accounts, there is a huge pool of followers you could have. Knowing this, how do you increase your reach and engage even a fraction of these people?

How to Increase Social Media Engagement

While there are several ways to expand your reach on social media, a great way to increase engagement on social media is through contests. With contests, you have the ability to get in front of your current followers, as well as their family and friends.

This can result in obtaining numerous new followers. Done right, you could skyrocket your reach on social media, allowing you to book more weddings and have a strong social presence.

Here at ShootDotEdit, we specialize in editing photography. We also love to provide valuable resources and information that can help you grow your photography business. We put together a few tips for contests you can use as a part of your social media engagement strategy

Set Goals

Before you can successfully expand your reach with contests, you must set goals for each one you execute. What do you want to achieve through them? Are you looking for a certain number of new followers, increased engagement on your blog, or more weddings to book? With your goal, assign a metric (a numerical value) to it. This helps you have a clear and defined goal of what success looks like.

It is also important to have your workflow under control so that you can place your focus on running contests on social media.

Organize the Contest

Before holding a contest, you need to figure out the logistics of it. This step is crucial! A well-planned contest will make a huge difference in the number of people that choose to participate in it. By taking time to plan, you can generate a better outcome, making the contest worthwhile. Here are a few items to determine:

• How people enter: Are they able to submit only their name and email, or are they required to complete additional steps?
• What is the giveaway: Will you give out one prize (such as a free engagement session), or will you share several prizes (like free prints)?
• Which platforms to use: Is there a certain social account that you receive the most wedding inquiries from or have the best following on? Use this as your main platform for sharing. It is also encouraged to use multiple platforms to expand your reach!

Spread the Word

Once you have figured out the logistics of the contest and it is set up, spread the word about it! At this point, you want to get this contest in front of as many people as possible. Even if you determine that Facebook is the main platform you are going to use, use your other social accounts to drive traffic to this page.

For example, create enticing posts on Twitter and Instagram that link back to your Facebook Page. From here, people can learn about and enter your contest.

Tip: Use hashtags on Instagram and Facebook to get your posts in front of even more clients.

Also, consider emailing your contact list about the contest. Several of these contacts may be past or present couples who trust you and your brand. If they learn that you are having a contest, they may eagerly participate in it. Along with this, they may share it through social media, helping you gain more traction.

For example, Dallas Wedding Photographer, Kevin Jairaj, knows his current and past couples are his ideal clients. For him, reaching their unmarried friends is the next logical step in his marketing outreach. He created a series of contests designed for this group of contacts:

“I run contests asking my couples to share blog posts that feature their wedding. When they have at least 10 friends comment or share their post, I reward couples by gifting them with a free print. I’ve booked weddings in London and Trinidad and Tobago from this promotion alone!”

Encourage Sharing

Once the initial word about the contest is live, constant sharing is key! Without the help of people sharing, it can be challenging to gain traction and expand your reach on social media. Continuously encourage people to share the contest with their friends and family. Also, give them an incentive to do this. Make sure that when you design the contest, it is set up in a way that rewards sharing. Allow people to gain additional entries or votes for your contest each time they share it.

Tip: Find an app that gives participants additional entries when they follow you on a certain social media account or each time they share the contest . This way, there are several ways for your followers to participate in the contest and gain entries! Apps such as Rafflecopter are simple to use and customizable.

Related: Use these 14 tips to create a strong social media plan for your photography business!

Keep it Simple

Remember that simple is better, both in how to enter the contest and how to spread the word about it. If people are unclear about what you are giving away or it is too complicated and time-consuming to enter, they will quickly lose interest. If they are not willing to enter, it is unlikely that they will share the contest with their family and friends, making it difficult for your contest to gain a large reach and grow your social media following.

By creating a simple contest that your followers can quickly participate in, they are likely to spread the word about it (especially if it will gain them additional entries!). Also, the less time they are spending on filling out information for the contest, the more time they can spend looking at your website and social media accounts.

There are several social media engagement ideas you can use as a part of your photography social media marketing. Click the banner below to access our Comprehensive Guide to Social Media and discover actionable social media photographer tips you can implement today!