Creating a Marketing Strategy for a Local Photography Business

Using social media platforms like Instagram and Pinterest is key to running a successful business. They’re free and have millions of active users. There’s only one catch: their user statistics include those from different countries. That’s great for destination photographers, but what about those running a local photography business?

With millions of active monthly users, you might be wondering how you can reach your target audience in a specific location. While it may sound impossible, it’s not. That’s why we’re bringing you our tips for marketing your business to a local audience.

1. Define Your Audience

Do you know your audience—like, really know them? Before you’re able to create a marketing strategy, you need to understand exactly who you’re trying to reach. Each social platform tells you important audience insights, but you can also gather this data from Google Analytics. This will provide you with the top countries, ages, and gender of your followers.

Knowing these statistics will be an advantage when it comes to drafting up your marketing strategy and building your branding. You’ll be able to cater your content to be more relevant to those specific people who engage most with your content.

2. Share Educational Content That’s Location Specific

As a photographer, you shouldn’t just rely on being a source of wedding inspiration. You should also strive to become an educational source for users. Sharing information and advice on a particular location will help build credibility in that area and lead to more hires. Plus, sharing saveable content gives your page purpose, meaning followers will continue to revisit for more.

But how exactly can you share information and advice about a specific area on social platforms like Instagram or Pinterest? If you’re a Texas-based wedding photographer, odds are you want to reach more Pinterest users who are located in Texas. Start by brainstorming about what information you could share that’ll solve problems for potential clients. Some examples are the best wedding venues in your area, the best proposal locations, local vendors to work with, etc. What questions do your clients typically ask you? Answer those.

Image by Jiewa Visual Studio

3. Use Hashtags and Location Tags on Instagram

Sharing stunning images isn’t enough to attract clients on Instagram. There are many small, often overlooked, steps you should incorporate into your workflow to attract your target audience—we’re talking about hashtags and location tags.

Your hashtags bring personality to your Instagram profile and determine how people find, follow, and even hire you. This is the same for location tags. When used correctly, hashtags and location tags can increase your post’s reach and overall engagement. And when you’re running a local business, you’ll want to use specific hashtags and locations that’ll be discoverable by those in your area. Here are a few examples:

#[insertregionname]weddingphotographer
#[insertregionname]photographer
#[insertregionname]wedding
#[insertregionname]elopement
#[insertregionname]engagement
#[insertregionname]proposal

For more hashtag examples, check out our ultimate Instagram hashtag guide for wedding photographers.

4. Create And Join Local Group Boards on Pinterest

Pinterest is a visual search engine where wedding-planning couples search for inspiration, so, if you’re not already using the site, you’re missing out. Yes, even those running a small local photography business. With millions of active users, there are still many ways for you to reach a local audience—one of our favorites being group boards.

You should be creating or joining location-specific boards like “Texas wedding inspiration” or “Texas wedding venues.” This will give you a chance to connect with other local vendors and get your content in front of their followers, who are likely from the same area. Keep in mind that keywords are important, so make sure your location is in your board and Pin descriptions.

Recommended reading: 5 Pinterest SEO Tips for Wedding Photographers

5. Use Facebook Ads

When creating your Facebook ads, you can define who will see your ads. This is a win for those running a local photography business. You’re able to target users based on just about anything. In your situation, you’ll be interested in location. You can even get more specific based on user’s interests, behaviors, and more. This will help you better find and advertise to your ideal client.

Facebook’s location targeting specifically allows you to reach people based on locations like country, region, or city. You can refine your audience to serve ads to not only people who live in a certain location but also to people who were in that location or are traveling to a location.

6. Network With Local Vendors

It’s important to follow and engage with other vendors in your area. This can be as simple as following other local vendors on Instagram or engaging with them in Facebook groups. However, if you want to take networking to the next level, we recommend putting together a styled shoot.

Styled shoots are the perfect opportunity to build your portfolio and network with vendors in your area. Your shoot also has the potential to showcase a unique wedding location or style that’ll lead to more bookings. Plus, when vendors share these images on social media, you’ll be exposed to their audience, which is probably specific to your area as well.

Without a well thought out marketing strategy, your images will never reach the right audience. This goes for all photographers, regardless of experience or location. You need to be mindful of everything, from what you post to the hashtags you use. Want to make sure your business marketing plan is top-tier? Take our 11-day challenge to revamp your business, including your marketing strategy.

Image by Rach Martin

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6 Ways To Create a Marketing Strategy for a Local Photography Business