Growing your IG and blurring the lines….

I get a lot of questions about how to grow a following on social media , mainly Instagram.  Since , even though it definitely has its failings and shortcomings .. it is still the main place for photographers.

First , you need to decide if your social media is personal, entertainment, or are you trying to focus on your work, point people to a website to purchase prints, workshops and such..

I’m going to focus on the latter since IG is part of my photography business.  First I am going to talk about, or give some tips on how to help grow your following.  First, on IG.. check your Insights. Find out when your account is getting the most traffic and try to post in those  times.   Second, find a niche.  Don’t try and be all over the place, don’t try and be a “ jack of all trades” .  What I mean is,  decide.. “ Am I a landscape photographer, a wildlife photographer, a nature photographer that does both, a portrait photographer, a product photographer?   Find the one that is your passion and stick to that.. If you do all of those , or more than one, create separate accounts.

Try to keep the “ personal” stuff low and keep it to your stories.  Keep only your work on your grid.  Speaking of the “ personal” stuff… try to keep politics, religion,  hot topics ( unless it pertains to your genre of photography) to an absolute minimum.. and again , only in your stories.   Also, Keep your hate/dislike of the platform off your account.. I see a lot of fellow photographers complain about IG and do the “ I hate IG so I may delete it” .. “ I never get the likes or views I want” … “ I hate the algorithms, so I am leaving “. ….. only to go away for a day or two … show back up for a couple posts and start the same complaining..   All of this will turn people off of your account. No matter how good your work is… they are there as a get away from life, to see places and things they have never seen or will never get a chance to go to….  So keep that stuff to DM’s with friends.

And, yes…. As much as you may hate it.. play the reels game…try and center it around your photos… a little behind the scenes.. how you got the shot, what you went thru to get the shot.. your trip, they love seeing what went into the image… make it fun..

Now….  With all that said.. be careful of blurring the lines.  And I am saying this… because I have been guilty of this.. time and time again.  As you gain followers, become more known.  Once you get set in your niche, you will start to notice things.   First, the amount of comments and DM’s skyrocket and can be very hard to keep up on.  It can be a full time job.  The amount of hate mail and comments will blow your mind, so have a thick skin.. ( how people can be offended by nature photography blows my mind) ..

Try and remember , this is your business, how you either make a living or your extra money… people are going to want things for free.  Free lessons, free advice, free merchandise.  When you don’t deliver on some of those things , they will get very angry with you.

Me, being a self admitted push over and genuinely want to help people, spread the art and knowledge, I struggle in this area.. and I am here to tell you… I have let myself be walked on almost every single time.  While you can’t let those people and things change who you are… you also have to stand up for your business and yourself… this is where lines can get blurred..  I will give you some personal experiences I have had… things to watch for in yourself..

Making friends is the absolute best thing about social media, and can also be the best way to get used.  I personally thought I had made friends, or was trying to build friendships on the back side of my account via DM’s , IG phone calls. FaceTime calls..

I have had these friends ask for help with their accounts, websites, advice on trips , financial help thru direct contact or go fund me they set up for themselves.. only to have almost every single one , once they got what they were asking for .. just stop talking .. not even a thank you for the help.. even though either money or a lot of hours were put into helping them.

People will befriend you as you spend months getting to know them, then ask for print donations for this cause or that cause … once they have the donation.. they vanish.. you wont even know if the print was used for the intended purpose.

People you think you know will use you for “ shout outs”… this can be a constant thing.

Something I learned that was very weird .. for me to understand anyway…. The more your following you get, the higher that number…. People think you have big groups of well known photographers you hang out with, you shoot with, that you are constantly busy with these groups, living the “ famous photographer life”….  Or because they have a small following they wouldn’t  be accepted by you to shoot with or hang out with….  In fact… it is the complete opposite….  For all the reasons listed above.. you wont get included, you wont get asked for “ IG meet ups”.  Wont get asked to “ go shoot”….  I have made so many friends that end up all meeting and getting together .. and I’m told it’s the “ under 10,000 club”.  ( not sure why the number 10,000 is magic?? lol ).  But the higher your following.. the more time you will be by yourself..

That subject also brings up one of the subjects that probably bothered me the most.. in fact it was a subject of a conversation  a very good female photographer and I were having just the other day….  And it actually speaks to many different levels on where we are at as people, and what the world is today..    She was asked by a guy , who she met on IG ( never in person yet) and they have been talking for quite awhile, in fact a long while.  He mentioned maybe meeting up and shooting together… she shot him down right away… and now, that friendship dissolved….    She was upset and talked to me about it… That is a very sticky situation..

As a female, I understand she has to think of her own safety.. no two ways about it.  She had to make that judgment call… I also however pointed out the other side of the situation..  He had never been out of line, disrespectful, nothing of the sort… ever…  My friend has in the past met someone in person that she met on IG, and a long wonderful friendship became of it… that person was me….   What was different about this situation?  She didn’t know.. nor did I..   

But I opened up to her about seeing the other side of that situation.. because I recently was kind of in that same situation..  I was making friends with another photographer, we had been talking for quite a long time. I had been there for advice, to listen to issues, to listen to problems she was having in photography and life.. had never said a thing off hand, disrespectful, off color… nothing, that isn’t me….  I love meeting and shooting with like minded people, other creators, … I by no means have ever looked for anything other..  or had other intentions.

I mentioned .. one time , about meeting up.. shooting together… instantly shut down, in sort of a cold rude way..  even after building a friendship , … To be honest.. It made me feel like a creep, I don’t know.. like some kind of internet predator… did she mean it that way?  I sure hope not.. and I don’t think so… but it came across that way.. it made me feel horrible  After explaining that to my friend .. that is when we started discussing the blurring of lines on social media.. and prompted this long blog….  So if you are still here , thank you.. and if you are still wanting to grow that account.. follow my tips above …

And remember… be careful of blurring the lines… keep it about your work.. I know myself I have decided to back off on my interactions..  answering comments and DM’s….  Keep it professional, and true to your art!