How to develop Instagram as a photographer
Choose a good username.
Username is important – you can be found on Instagram by this name. If it contains your brand name or what you do, you can be more easily found by others who are looking for similar topics on Instagram. If you use an abstract username that is not associated with anything, and above all your brand, you may be avoided on this portal by your potential customers.
Build the right profile
I start with the absolute basics, but I think it’s worth mentioning. Make your profile your showpiece. Make your profile picture your face. It inspires confidence at the start. Preferably a positive, smiling photo. Another thing is the description. You have a limited number of characters, so use them wisely. My suggestion for description is:
- First of all, information about what kind of photographer you are (e.g. family photographer)
- What type of session / photography do you value (e.g. natural, unposed photos / emotional, intimate love stories, etc.)
- Some private information about you what you are / what you like / how you like to spend time (e.g. mountains, traveler, crime movie lover) – it attracts similar people
- Link to your website – The website is your showpiece
Use the highlights (the circles below the description) to present your work better. These can be your favorite photos from weddings, sessions, backstage, your travels, guides for couples. Arrange them in categories so that everything is separate.
How to research engagement
What does it all mean to you? Regardless of whether the followers were bought or not, if they are silent and not engaging with the influencer’s content, there is a good chance that they will not take advantage of his recommendations and your influencer marketing will turn out to be ineffective.
Check your engagement rate
Your engagement rate will help you assess the chances of your influencer marketing being effective. In various types of tools (such as Influtool or IGBlade) you will usually find it under the name “engagement rate” or “average engage”. The exact formula for calculating the coefficient can differ, so it happens that sometimes some tools show slightly different values, but generally it is the ratio of the number of interactions to the number of followers.
Obviously, the larger the account is, the lower the engagement rate will be. In addition, some topics are more engaging than others, so in some industries it is easier to obtain a high rate. So it is difficult to give here one “golden number”, which will be adequate in every case. So it’s best to check different creators within one category and on that basis determine what ratio will be satisfactory for you.
Influencer marketing isn’t all about numbers
Once you have the quantitative data, do a thorough account analysis and thus check the credibility of the influencer. If the comments under the photos of the creator you want to offer cooperation to are dominated by emojis or incentives to follow commenting profiles, then this is not a real commitment to the content either. Reliable comments refer directly to the photo, video or description published by the creator.
Remember that it is also worth checking if the influencer is also active in other places on the network. It is worth taking a look at, even if you do not plan to use these spaces in cooperation. Valuable knowledge may be waiting for you there.
When I see that an influencer has a Patronite account, I go in there and see how many people have decided to pay him monthly to support his work. If there are many of these people, it is proof that the creator has gathered a community involved in his work and that my campaign has a good chance of being successful.
Combine what you’ve learned
Once you have the data from quantitative analysis and qualitative analysis, all you have to do is combine the information. If the collected material has made the influencer credible in your eyes and you can consider that the influencer community with which you want to cooperate is engaged, you have a very good chance of successful cooperation. If the collected data made you have doubts, it is worth considering finding another influencer.
