Growth Hacks for Instagram: Learn from Photography Icons

Although many find it tedious and cringeworthy, the reality is that Instagram plays a profound role as a creative business. These trends will help professional photographers and creatives grow their audience.

Features And Highlights On Instagram 

One trend we see the best photographers in the industry utilising is their highlights on Instagram. Highlights are curated collections of Instagram Stories saved on your profile for long-term viewing.

This allows photographers to showcase their best work, services, or behind-the-scenes content in an easily accessible format. This also enhances storytelling on your profile, which can keep users engaged and help improve your follow rates. 

This will positively impact your profile inside Instagram's algorithm because users are staying engaged on your profile for longer. This can help you build trust with your professional profile. 

Pro Tip: Don't overload your Highlights with too much content at once. Instead, focus on curating only your best work or most engaging stories.

Gregg Williams using this strategy on his Instagram account

Showcasing Your Unpublished Photographs  

Another awesome way to improve your Instagram following and engagement is to start sharing previously unpublished or exclusive photos that haven't been featured in your portfolio.

Why? Well, it gives your followers a sense of exclusivity and provides fresh content that keeps your feed interesting. This can also be done in formats like stories, reels or highlights. This really helps with storytelling in your photography by offering them something unique and personal.

Of course, with everything personalised and engaging this will lead to boosting interaction rates and encouraging more shares, which signals to Instagram's algorithm that your content is valuable, leading to increased visibility.

Pro Tip: Create a series out of your unpublished photos. By releasing them gradually as part of a themed series, you can build a narrative that keeps your audience coming back for more.

Mark Seligers 'unpublished' series

Self Promotion By Featuring In Your Own Shots 

Now, something that is becoming increasingly popular in younger photographers is self promotion. This is not as common in older, veteran photographers. But now, we are seeing photographers with high instagram followings increasingly including themselves in their shots. 

The reason this is becoming more popular is because it personalises the photographer and builds a stronger connection with the audience. Let’s not forget it showcases the photographer’s personality and style which is the whole point of Instagram as well. 

Featuring yourself in photos humanises your Instagram, which fosters deeper engagement. The increased interaction with posts that feel more personal can lead to better performance and help you quickly grow your instagram account. 

Pro Tip: Strike a balance by mixing self-portraits with your photography work. Feature yourself in shots that naturally complement your content.

Tyler Mitchell self promotion 

Creating a Story Behind Your Content / Photoshoots 

This is something that will really help to improve your photography instagram account. We are now seeing photographers increasingly sharing the backstory, creative process, and inspiration behind their photoshoots.

Again, this can be done through reels, short stories, short series, carousels on Instagram and highlights. It allows your followers to engage more deeply with the content, giving them insight into the artistic journey and making the photos more meaningful.

Likely people who are going to follow you, will be interested in your work and the story behind it. And of course, the Instagram algorithm favours content that generates prolonged interaction, meaning the visibility and reach of posts that tell a compelling story will perform better.

Pro Tip: Use descriptive captions to enhance your storytelling. Pair each photo or video with a thoughtful caption that dives into the story or inspiration behind the shot.

Segmenting Your Personal Portfolio With Business Work 

One way to help grow your photography Instagram account is to actually create separate Instagram accounts for your personal creative projects and business or client work (e.g., having one account for personal photography and another for directed commercial work).

This approach helps maintain a clear brand identity for each type of work you are doing, allowing you to target different audiences more effectively. This will increase your following faster by niching down on a specific audience rather than diluting on your personal or commercial accounts with different content. 

By segmenting content, each account can cater to a specific audience's interests, leading to more relevant engagement. Plus, if one account starts growing faster, you can utilise the cross over followers to try and gain more traction on the other account. 

Pro Tip: Avoid overusing cross-promotion between your accounts. While it can be tempting to push followers from one account to another, remember that each account serves a different audience with specific interests.

Alexi Lubormirski personal and brand account

Showcasing Your Lifestyle Throughout Your Portfolio

Another trend being seen across photographers' instagrams is featuring well-known figures and celebrities they associate with in their photography portfolio, often tagging these individuals in posts.

Tagging other branded instagram accounts or people not only adds credibility and prestige to your profile but also exposes your content to the followers of those celebrities or brands, potentially attracting a larger audience.

This strategy leverages the social proof provided by high-profile connections, which can significantly boost follower engagement and credibility. Users are more likely to follow your account if they believe you are already credible in the industry. 

Pro Tip: Be selective with your tags. Tag only those individuals or brands that are genuinely relevant to the content you're sharing.

Atomised Content Creation To Create Engagement 

Atomised content is essentially where you are breaking down larger projects into smaller, bite-sized pieces of content that can be shared across various Instagram formats like stories, reels, highlights, and carousels.

This approach maximises your content usage by repurposing it across different formats, ensuring consistent engagement without overwhelming followers with too much at once. It also helps keep the audience engaged over time by gradually revealing different aspects of a project.

Atomised content encourages frequent interaction as followers will engage with your various formats. The Instagram algorithm favours accounts that consistently post diverse content, as it increases user interaction and time spent on the platform, thereby boosting visibility and reach.

Pro Tip: Plan your content release schedule. Map out when and how you'll share each piece of your atomised content to create a cohesive story over time. 

To Finish Off 

We can all agree on the importance of growing your photography Instagram. It is essential in today's digital age for building your brand, connecting with your audience, and showcasing your work to a broader community. 

A strong Instagram presence not only enhances your visibility but also establishes your credibility within the industry. By adopting these strategies you can significantly increase your reach and engagement. 

Ultimately, a well-managed Instagram account can open doors to new opportunities, collaborations, and clients, helping you succeed in your creative career.