IG is the only social platform I spend any effort on and don’t expect to draw new buyers or clients from IG. The last few years and especially this year, word of mouth and networking with existing clients without being pushy or trying too hard is what has been working for me. But to be clear, my landscape, wildlife and underwater work is strictly for myself and NPN is the safe, enjoyable and eye opening place for my personal work/growth.
I really don’t know who would hire a photographer based on their IG account? I am sure maybe some are out there, I just don’t see this a solid way for a photographer to get a steady stream of clients.
So back to your question, I am a fan of websites and not social media to show buyers/clients who I am and what I do. (I may be completely off that this is the best way, just my 2.5 cents)
I’m late to the conversation here but I’m on instagram mainly for entertainment - sports, comedy and some photography observing. It’s a great platform for getting snippets of content and great for passing time while you’re waiting for something or someone.
I personally think its a terrible platform for showcasing photography and it used to be much better. For instance a photographer has to comply with the platforms aspect ratios and they do not offer an option to tap an image and have it occupy the full screen of a device. Further to this they throttle the audience and then try to encourage you to buy an advertisement. This is outrageous! Other platforms like YouTube have ad sharing models to encourage content creators. Instagram will tell you a particular post is doing really well while they will only show it to a small percentage of your followers. Unless of course you promote the post.
I started using Instagram in around 2016 and after talking with photographers who were around in the early days I feel like I missed the boat. Some of those who got in early managed to build a decent following of say more than 80k followers. They were able to monetise this following by approaching tourism departments and taking and publishing photos on their feed for certain locations. I know another photographer who published work using a hash tag and got approached by a large tech company to license the image.
I feel that the platform is so saturated that these types of opportunities are a thing of the past. My wife is a social media coordinator for an outdoor brand. The amount of photographers that approach their account offering free content for a mention is staggering. This is not a major outdoors brand but a mom and pop shop and I think the longer-term effect of Instagram is that it has devalued photography. To the point that I know people socially who have approached a photographer on instagram and have asked is it okay if I print this?
I think one of the challenges with Instagram is that there is no competition if one wants to find an audience. Facebook and Instagram are part of the same company and have a monopoly of sorts. Remember the Vero experiment a couple of years ago? Photographers bought in but the audience stayed with Instagram.
I feel that Instagram has brought about more negative impact to society than positive but with that said there’s value in it for marketing.
Having social proof for any potential clients who find you on the web then want to check out your social profiles after
Making some sales (I made my first sale that I can attribute to Instagram this week though I don’t post consistently).
Paid social / lead generation
I use it frequently to research current conditions such as fall foliage. The most useful images are done by amateurs / non-photographers since they’re more likely to be real time and not excessively manipulated.
How did you foster these friendships? I try to make comments when I like what they have done, but the response is very often, thank you. That is nice but doesn’t open up any communication.
I totally agree with your rant. I am still fairly new at it, but it takes up too much time. I do post the things I like and I have made my name known a small amount but not enough to compensate for the time put into it. I am working on a mailing list, but that is a very slow process when you are unknown. I will just keep plugging with both until I can give up on IG.
I’m almost four years late to this thread. I just joined IG a few months back because of NPN posts. You asked about the positives. . . . I love the cat videos and the jokes. . . . I haven’t even figured out how to use it or really how to find anything unless it is handfed to me in the daily popularity feeds.
I did not expect to see this thread resurrected when I logged on tonight!
A lot has changed across social media platforms since 2020. My own relationship with social media has changed pretty dramatically since then as well. So I’m probably not the best person to answer your question, but in my own experience, the comments aren’t where you find that spark of connection; it’s all about the DMs and stories. That’s where actual, authentic conversations can get started.
Some ideas that come to mind:
If you like someone’s work, share it in your stories! Show it to your friends and tell them why you like it.
Respond to other people’s stories! If they are sharing something that resonates with you, respond to it and tell them that. If they are asking a question you have an answer to, let them know!
Conversely, don’t be afraid to use Instagram stories to pose questions of your own. The photography community is immensely helpful and in my experience always willing to offer advice (and opinions ). I asked lots of questions when I started getting into film photography and found other film users to be a wealth of knowledge and always willing to help.
And above all, be authentic! Don’t try to game the system. I think it’s usually pretty easy to tell when someone is trying to do that.
Personally, I despise social media and have no accounts and spend no time on it, except for occasionally checking friend’s accounts to see family/kid/grandki pictures. I prefer interacting personally with people (phone, email, texts, NPN)
I think social media is retarding social growth and meaningful communication in everyone.
A few months ago, we were eating at a hamburger place. Across from us was a booth with 4 teen girls about 14. One texted something and the two across from her laughed. This happened a couple times before we realized they were texting things to the person 3 feet from them, rather than looking them in the eye and TALKING DIRECTLY.
This sealed my distaste for social media. I’m probably in the great minority.
). I asked lots of questions when I started getting into film photography and found other film users to be a wealth of knowledge and always willing to help.