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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 through this blog, we tell you how!

Why Focus On Social Media?

What’s the buzz about social media? And how can it really help you maximize your wedding photography business? Let’s reflect on the words of Pierre Morad Omidyar, the founder of eBay and Omidyar Network, to understand better.

“We have the technology, finally, that for the first time in human history allows people to really maintain rich connections with much larger numbers of people.”

So when put to good use, social media can help you amplify your efforts, reach, and even profits. And one of the essential parts of being a wedding photographer is to learn how to navigate around people - build connections, create an impact, and manage their expectations. Therefore, making social media platforms a medium to unlock the true potential of your business.

Here Are Some Social Media Marketing Statistics:

1. As of January 2022, the average daily time spent using social media is 2 hours and 27 minutes.
2. Consumers are six times more likely to make a purchase from a product page that includes pictures from social media.
3. 70% of the U.S. population has a profile on at least one social networking site.
4. 39% of Gen Z consumers say that their purchasing decisions are influenced directly by what they see on TikTok.
5. 44% of users shop for products on Instagram weekly.
6. Pinterest boasts 400+ million monthly active users.
7. 52% of Twitter users use the platform daily.
8. LinkedIn has one of the highest-earning and most educated bases on social media.
9. 79% of American internet users are on Facebook.

Note: These statistics are courtesy of LYFE Marketing, Data Reportal, Marketing Charts, and SproutSocial.

How To Do Social Media Marketing For Wedding Photographers?

1. Set Social Media Marketing Goals

Begin with setting up a realistic goal - a result that you wish to achieve using social media marketing for your business. From lead generation and brand awareness to increasing engagement and driving traffic, it could be anything. If you are not sure about what your goal should be, reflect on this - what do you wish to gain from social media for your business? Weigh in the current business requirements, and formulate what a majority of them might lead to. Beginning with a set goal in mind will also help you to better monitor your progress.

2. 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 when it comes to sharing videos and photos, 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 making it suitable for each of your social media platforms.

3. Study The Current Trends

If one thing is certain in the social media universe, then it is that change is the only constant. For example: What got you more traffic and engagement last year might not help you now. Always study current trends, what’s new, and how you can incorporate them into your content to create maximum impact. Even though it is advised to not always blindly follow anything that’s trending, it helps to be aware of what’s getting more traction and why.

4. Build A Social Media Marketing Strategy

To set up an effective social media marketing strategy for your wedding photography business, we suggest that you start by reflecting on your marketing goals. The next step - identify your target audience and learn more about their expectations. Then, keeping in mind the pointers above, devise a publishing plan. Brainstorm different types of content ideas and formats. Decide on the frequency of your publishing and do some research on the best time to publish your posts. Lastly, put all this to effect, and create a social media content calendar.

To get accurate and competitive insights, you can take the help of various social media marketing tools. Some of the effective tools include Buffer, Biteable, Buzzsumo, MeetEdgar, Hootsuite, Mention, etc.

Suggested Read: How To Create A Successful Social Media Strategy

5. 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 help attract more clients not only to your page but also to your brand.

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, your aim should be 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 it could be beneficial for networking with vendors and other wedding photographers.

6. Use The Right Hashtags

Hashtags are the backbone of your social media posts, as it is through hashtags the social media world finds your posts. And therefore, using them right could be a game changer! The strategic use of hashtags can help you drastically increase engagement and expand your reach to people, to a new audience. However, the burning question is how to get the right hashtags? The answer doesn’t come without a few trials and errors. Here are some inputs:

• Search for relevant hashtags that are closely related to your post’s topic.
• Use social media tools to search for hashtags.
• Check similar posts from competitors for reference.
• Use branded hashtags.
• Use a mix of high, medium, as well as low reach hashtags.

7. 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 with 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 in your account altogether.

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 to post 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 to 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 always research what other wedding photographers are doing.

8. 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 express 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.

9. 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 look as the rest of your brand identity. In short, they should feel on-brand and reflect what your audience relates to the 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

10. Track Performance & Reflect

“We often overestimate how often we do things, but tracking eliminates this weakness. When we track we just have the facts, not our subjective reflections.” Writer and editor Betsy Ramser Jaime aptly explains the importance and need of monitoring and studying data. Moreover, to understand whether or not a social media marketing strategy worked for you, reflecting on the numbers is an essential step.

Study your reach, engagement rate, and followers count and assess what has worked and what requires improvement. These takeaways could be helpful in modifying your marketing strategy for better results.

11. Repurpose & Repost

One of the best ways to extract the most out of your older long-form content is to repurpose it into shorter yet engaging social media posts. Instead of always creating something new from the scratch, you can rely on your blog posts. Try turning them into bite-sized content in the form of infographics or short-form videos. In addition to this, you could also try reposting and retweeting your top-performing posts from the past. The #ThrowbackThursday social media trend exists for a reason! Apart from reminiscing about the past, it helps brands brush up old, rusty content, repackage it, and increase its longevity. This also opens up new ways for businesses to engage with consumers. However, remember to limit the number of your reposts.

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 while 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 on how to increase your page views and maximize the reach of your posts.

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 most 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.

Suggested Read: 100 Instagram Captions For Wedding Photographers

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: Facebook For Wedding Photographers: A Quick Guide

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 your go-to social media platform. And when it comes to Twitter, it’s all about keeping your posts short and crisp. 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.

Related Read: Twitter Marketing Strategy For Wedding Photographers

Types Of Social Media Posts

Set a definite goal, check! Strategy on point, check! Social media account setup, a home run! So you are on to unlock the power of social media for your wedding photography business. All that’s left is to start posting. But wait. Are you thinking, “What do I post?” Surely, random posts won’t do you much good! Let’s get strategic! Here are some post ideas that you could give a shot!

1. Photo Inspiration

#PhotoInspo - is a no-brainer! Being a photographer, let alone a wedding photographer, your social media feed is almost always expected to be a mirror of your work (aka - stellar and dreamy photographs that kind of make your clients nurture the same dreams). In short, your feed acts as your online portfolio for all the people who haven’t visited your business website.

But does that mean you should post every other wedding that you photograph? A BIG NO! Rather, select some of your best works - images that represent your style the best, work well with the color tone and format, and showcase the repertoire of the services you offer. Think of your social media feed as an artwork - a gallery on display - and curate it just the same!

Remember, more than your consultation calls and follow-up emails, these posts are where your prospective clients actually get to see your work. And, in most cases, for the very first time as well. So if an image (or your entire feed) catches the eye of a prospective client and they come on board thinking, “I want this person to shoot my wedding” or “I want my wedding pictures to look like that” - half your work is already done!

2. Behind-The-Scene Posts

However aesthetically pleasing you might want your wedding photography social media feed to appear, the truth is that it cannot entirely deviate from reality! Understand that social media platforms are, first and foremost, a means to connect with people. Genuine connections are built based on trust. And to gain trust, it helps to show what’s going on behind the scenes, behind that camera of yours that captures everything so beautifully!

In addition to your work, your future clients might also look forward to learning more about you - as a person and a professional. Here are some behind-the-scene post ideas that you could give a try:

• Sneak peeks of an exciting upcoming project
• A look into your daily life (or work life)
• BTS of how to get a shot
• BTS of scouting the event venue
• BTS of setting up the lights
• Work shoot bloopers (circling back to keeping it real!)

3. Personal Snippets

Are you perplexed by the thought, “This is a business account; what’s the need to share personal posts?” Well, then we seek your patience as you read the next few lines. For your couples, you are not just their wedding photographer, but also a guest at their celebration. It is an intimate event, and alongside your work, getting to know you as a person also helps them make the decision of finally booking you.

Getting to see a side of you beyond just work helps in building a personal connection. It could be you talking about your team, your vision, your hobbies, challenges, or sharing a glimpse of your family (be it kids, partner, or pets). However, rewind to when we said: “personal snippets”. The word “snippet” holds significance - for as much as your account should help you connect, it is still a “business” account.

So if you ask how much is too much when it comes to posting your personal posts on your business social media accounts, we’d say moderation is the key! And relevance; allow your personal posts to introduce your vibe, story, and likes, but keep them limited to a brief extract. Try not to let them dominate your feed!

4. Business-Related FAQs

There are different ways to address client queries, and they must always be addressed. But there is no guarantee that the numerous people visiting your profile are familiar with it and your posting style. Making it all the more helpful (for your viewer) to do an FAQ post every once in a while. No matter how many times you have answered a common query, there will always be someone asking it for the first time.

Therefore, creating business-related micro-posts that address some of the burning questions can be a great way to answer your clients’ queries. Moreover, you can always repurpose and repost the same content time and again. What’s more? Next time someone asks you a generic question, you have something interactive and cool to redirect them to.

5. Short-Form Videos

As per a recent report published by Hubspot, “Short-form video has the highest return on investment of any social media marketing strategy.” There is no doubt that the short-form video post format has taken over all the social media platforms - be it TikTok, IG Reels, YouTube Shorts, or Facebook. Moreover, they are an intriguing as well as a faster way to draw attention to any topic, making them apt for social media marketing for wedding photographers.

Make use of current trends to highlight some of your best content. You can use these videos to put together a how-to guide in multiple ways and even highlight a milestone or a process. As a wedding photographer, you can create short videos on a lot many topics such as posing techniques, the behind-the-scenes of a shoot, wedding venue inspiration, wedding planning tips, and vendor shout-outs. Here’s a roundup of 2022 IG Reel trends for some inspiration!

Suggested Read: Social Media Marketing: Should Wedding Photographers Use TikTok?

6. Testimonials

“The best advertising is done by satisfied customers.” We couldn’t agree more with this quote from marketing author Philip Kotler, emphasizing the power of word of mouth. Customers are often very vocal about negative feedback on a product or service. On most occasions, they share their grievances on almost all platforms and also in great detail. But when it comes to sharing a positive or good experience with a product or service, there aren’t as many reviews expressing what they like with equal vigor. So when good reviews come your way, share the love your work has received as much as you can!

7. Shout-Out To Vendors

Social media is a wonderful place to be vocal about vendor appreciation! Wedding is a huge industry, bringing together several businesses such as wedding photography, catering, venue, wedding planning, hair and makeup, etc. And at a wedding gig, you have to work alongside all of these service providers. Maintaining a good rapport with these vendors only increases your chances of spreading the good word to prospective clients. One of the best ways to do that is to feature and tag them in your posts. You never know, they might as well reciprocate the love with a kind feature or even a referral! However, please make sure that you have permission to feature them in your posts.

Related Read: Why Networking With Wedding Vendors Is Important For Business

8. Announcement Posts

These might not always be a regular on your feed, but when you do have something to share with the social media world, shoot them live! An announcement could be regarding anything that circles around your business. A new service, product, a change in price, a holiday discount, a giveaway, a new blog - whatever it is that you think of introducing, announcement posts can help a great deal. One of the things to keep in mind while working on such posts is to keep them simple and make sure that the message that you wish to share is loud and clear.

What Are The Benefits Of Social Media Marketing?

The benefits of social media marketing for wedding photographers are multifold. Not only can it be a helpful tool in maintaining your online presence but also in driving more business. Below we have listed a few benefits of unlocking the true potential of social media marketing.

1. Raise Brand Awareness: With the scope of increased engagement, easy social sharing options, and ease of promoting your content, you can easily work toward improving your brand awareness. The benefits of social media marketing for wedding photographers are multifold. Not only can it be a helpful tool in maintaining your online presence but also in driving more business. Below we have listed a few benefits of unlocking the true potential of social media marketing.
   
   
2. Expand Your Online Presence: Social media is a powerful tool to connect people around the world. A burning issue, a funny video, a lucrative product, an appealing meal, or an exotic location - almost anything can go viral on social media within seconds. Therefore, it is safe to say that social media holds the power to help you reach even those prospective clients who might not live in your area or know you through someone.
   
   
3. Generate Leads: Having a constant flow of leads is one of the much sought-after byproducts of a flourishing social media account. Even though you might have set up a website, adding one more source of generating leads never hurts. A successful social media strategy helps your posts reach the right audience that might even convert into a future customer.
   
   
4. Better Networking: One of the most rewarding benefits of a well-executed social media marketing plan is that it helps you in expanding your business network. Not only do you reach out to people who might be interested in your services but also to wedding planners, florists, venue managers, videographers, etc. And exploring these networks might even yield new opportunities for you.
   
   
5. Generate Traffic: Every time you add a link to your website on social media post, it has the potential of driving traffic back to your website. Moreover, something is more likely to go viral faster on social media than ranking first on a search engine results page (SERP). However, to make it work, you might have to customize your content for social media.