Social Media

If you're anything like me, you will struggle with social media. What are the best platforms to use for photography? How often should I post? How do I keep up with posting regularly?

So many questions!

To be honest I have never liked posting, I struggle with being creative with my content and putting myself out there. Before trying to push my photography, I would probably only post a few times a year on Facebook and Instagram about random things. I've always been more of a scroller than a serial poster!

I struggled with the concept of displaying my photography to the big wide world, was it good enough, what will people say. Will I fail!

2024

This year I finally took the plunge and put 100% effort into growing my photography and putting myself out there, five months in and I’m still learning. Every day I seem to pick up little tips to some of the questions above, however since taking the plunge I have been pleasantly surprised by the positive reaction from friends, family and the wider audience.

I have received plenty of support and admiration for my images, which has been a big morale boost and encouragement to do more. I have also had a massive increase in engagement which has led to me putting on my first photo exhibition in June.

What are the best platforms to use for photography?

Instagram - In my opinion Instagram is still the leading contender. Now I know in 2024 Instagram priorities promoting short form video content in Instagram reels but there are still plenty of people that use the platform to view and post images. Plus, if you are worried that the algorithm won't favour you if you are just posting images you can always make a video carousel of your images and post a reel to gather more engagement.

To help with engagement remember to tag the places you have photographed and use the relevant hashtags. For example, if you have taken a picture of a beautiful sunrise (like below) then using hashtags such as #sunrise #earlymorning #landscape #seascape would be a good start. Think about some of the keywords that jump out at you when looking at your image.

ONE - Sunrise at Maldon Prom park

Print available to purchase

Facebook - I still heavily use Facebook to promote my photography as there are tons of photography groups on there that you can join, post your content and get involved with the community to either provide good advice or pick up some great tips or discover new photography destinations.

Also, another good tip, if you're using both Instagram and Facebook then you should link your Instagram account to Facebook so when you post on Instagram you can set it to automatically post to your Facebook account which is a great time saver!

X (Twitter) - being honest I use X to mainly follow football groups to keep up with the latest information, but I do post my content on there too. I’ve never had a massive following or engagement on this platform but trying my best to grow it.

Something I find very frustrating on X is that you can only post a maximum of 4 pictures in one post!

How often should I post?

Again, this is only my opinion, and I’m no expert! But for what it's worth I certainly wouldn't stress yourself out in trying to post every day! You see these videos on YouTube with the flashy clickbait thumbnails –

I posted every day for 6 months, and my Instagram grew 500%.

Yes, it goes without saying that the more you post the more chance your social platform audience will grow! However, we all have lives and if you're an armature photographer like me then remember this is meant to be fun so trying to post every day and work full time with a family will certainly be a quick route to burnout!

Canva

Canva is a fantastic content creation website that is totally free! I use Canva all the time, not just for my social media content but also for work. I do have a Pro account, but the Free account certainly has plenty of tools to create some engaging social media content. It's easy and intuitive to use and you can even share your designs direct from the site or mobile app.

Community

To build an audience on any social media platform it's important that you grow your community. Just scrolling through any social media platform and hitting the like button occasionally won't massively grow your audience. You need to spend the time engaging with your fellow creators, comment on their posts, ask questions or post good advice. Be genuine!