How to Use Instagram Hashtags in 2021
Discoverability on a visual social network like Instagram is crucial for most photographers to reach potential clients, engage with the local community and showcase their work. Not understanding the platform and its features will be like shouting into the void - no one new will book, you'll begin to feel stagnant, and you may feel like giving up.
But this can be easily solved by understanding how the platform was intended to be used. In this blog post, I will share why Instagram is the best platform for discoverability. Although this is targeted to newer photographers, these tips can be applied to any experience level or creative visual field.
Discoverability on Instagram vs Facebook
If you have some background on photography marketing, the big four ways most photographers gain clients is through word of mouth, optimized SEO, Facebook and Instagram.
Word of mouth is as it sounds: You tell your circle that you are a photographer and that you are taking clients, and they tell their friends, and so on.
Optimized SEO is utilizing your website to be discovered on search engines like Google. To be "discovered" on here is to be on the first page of a Google search when someone types in "{Your City} photographer". You will need some competency in website builders to achieve this.
Now, the two biggest social media sites for photographers to get clients is through Facebook and Instagram (Pinterest is another site, however most folks won't start there to search).
Facebook has 2.38 billion monthly active users while Instagram has 1 billion monthly active users. (source)
To reach people through Facebook, you will need to have certain afluencial friends to share your post, and hopefully their friends will see your posts and book you for their next photography session.
Facebook Ads are another way to target your ideal client.
Another way to find photographers in your area is to search Facebook photography groups because most cities have one. But once someone asks if anyone is available for a session next Saturday for newborn photos, 200+ other local photographers will be commenting and trying to gain the person's attention.
Through Instagram however, you have a dedicated place to showcase your visual brand right at a glance.
Let's say a couple is travelling to your city for a weekend and hope to get couple photos done. Most likely they will search for "{your city} couple photographer" on Instagram, and will go with the person who's at the top of the list.
Now, let’s talk about Instagram hashtags.
Use 30 hashtags for each photo you post, because 30 is the maximum of hashtags Instagram allows. Obviously, to maximize your outreach, you must use all 30 hashtags.
But coming up with that many hashtags is impractical every time you post. So,
Prepare your hashtags. You don't have to come up with hashtags at the time of posting. Use the Notes app on your phone to keep ready-to-go hashtags.
Now in terms of selecting the hashtags that you are going to use, consider these:
Use hashtags between 50k-500k use. In order for others to see your post, you want to select hashtags that aren't oversaturated. You don't want to get lost in the hundreds of thousands of photos a day. For instance when searching 'portraits', you would want to select the following hashtags:
Have different sets of 30 hashtags. Have different sets of 30 hashtags to change things up and rotate through, depending on what kind of photography you do. For instance, I have different hashtags for my senior portrait sessions, couples, and model tests. Some of these hashtags overlap, but make sure to differentiate the genre being used within the hashtags.
Change up your hashtags from time to time. There's no real requirement on this, but changing it up will open new chances of discovery.
In terms of what words to actually use, there are various ways:
Use what your competitors using: an easy way to figure out what hashtags you should be using is by looking at your competitors hashtags. Just go under one of your favorite photographers hashtags and take a look at what they use. Copying each and every hashtag may not optimize it for your own content- so be smart about it.
Location based hashtags: city name photographer, both the city spelled out and the airplane code.
Featured hashtags: a lot of feature accounts have hashtags that can be used on your posts. If a larger photographer does ___-inspired photography, use these as well!
Equipment you use such as sony, nikon, or canon
The photography genre, obviously, the style or genre of photography that you use
Any presets that you used in the photo. Most photographers who sell their presets have a dedicated hashtag to share your work.
Save some spots for relevant keywords about the photo you’re going to post. Is this particular photos neutral tones? Include neutrals.
Once you've selected your hashtags, you can now copy and paste the hashtags onto your new posts.
You may wonder, "should I post the hashtags within the post or in the comments?" I would say it's up to your personal preference. Some like to keep the captions short, but some don't want the hassle of posting an additional comment after sharing the photograph.
Interacting With Local And Relevant Communities
After you've gotten the hang of copying and pasting the hashtags, hold on - there's still more to do!
As Instagram is a place for you to be discovered, it's also a chance for you to discover others creatives in your local area or beyond.
Choose a hashtag like '[your city] photographer', go through the recent images and like a few of the posts. Many will reciprocate you with the likes, and sometimes they'll even give you a follow! I have received a lot of follows from taking a few minutes every few days to go through and reach the community outside of my following.
Doing this is also a chance to see what other local photographers are doing. If you like someone's work, leave them a genuine comment and follow them!
Did you learn something new about hashtags today? If you do other creative things outside of photography, most of these tips can also be applied!
Let me know what you think on my Instagram.