5 Ways To Get Hired Using Social Media

When I first started my business, social media is what I used to get my name out there, to show my work and to book my first clients. Instagram and Facebook are forever changing and it may seem hard to keep up, but it’s one of the best ways to market your business. Here are my tips on how to get hired using social media...

Your clients are on social media so you should be too: Where are you when you're spending time on your phone? Facebook? Instagram? Pinterest? Yea I thought so. Well guess what? Your potential clients are there too! Brides looking up inspiration for their wedding on Pinterest, Moms seeing their friends adorable family photos on Facebook, High School Seniors scrolling through their friends senior portraits. You can reach virtually everyone via social media these days and we really need to be thankful for it! The fact is, you're losing out on so many potential clients if you aren't putting your work on at least two of these platforms.

Be social!: Social media was created with the main purpose of being social! Just because you're putting your business on there doesn't mean you still can't be social! You can connect with potential clients as well as other professionals in your industry. Those other photographers who are competition can also become friends, and those friends can refer clients to you. See a cute couple or family while scrolling through instagram? Let them know! Give out "likes" like it's your job and comment on photos you love! You'll start to see those people interacting with you as well, and guess who will come to mind when they need a professional? YOU!

Share about yourself: People want to know about you. It might seem a little weird but think of it like reality tv. We're obsessed with it because we like watching REAL people! Do you love certain Youtube vloggers, or even bloggers? They all share parts of their life and have made an income from it. I'll put it this way: there can be two different photographers, both with amazing work and the same amount of experience. Who then would someone choose? The answer is, the person they connect with most. The photographer whose personality they like, has things in their life they can relate to. If you aren't sharing ANY of your life, how will someone choose you over the next photographer?

Share your work: This should be a given, but I see so many photographers not posting for months and months on their social media pages. For me, I'm obsessed with social media so it comes naturally that I post something every day (and make Instagram stories maybe a little too much). For others it might seem like an annoying task, but it is so so important that you do! Like we talked about earlier, your potential clients are all over social media, and if you aren't too, how are they seeing your work? Find something once a day you can share. If you don't have any recent work, or any work at all, start taking photos of your friends and family. Or, put on a styled shoot! Learn more about why I think this is important here.

Utilize features of each platform: Facebook and Instagram are two very different platforms and different things work for each of them. For example, hashtags aren't as effective on Facebook as they are on Instagram. On Facebook though, you can share links within posts and create albums. You should be utilizing the features on each. On Instagram, figure out which hashtags work with your potential client. What hashtags would they be searching? On Facebook, share your blogs directly from your website and include photos that will catch someones eye and make them want to see more.

I hope you found these tips helpful and if you want to learn even MORE about social media marketing, contact me here for a mentor session!