Why I Don’t Love Instagram For My Photography Business: Where To Find Ideal Clients

I was having a conversation with Event Planner Marley Majcher of The Party Goddess about social media. That woman knows what she’s doing when it comes to getting high-end business. Every time she brings me on board for a shoot it’s either a celebrity and/or someone who chooses my top package. They are also people who trust, respect, and appreciate my work, as I am equally grateful for them choosing me.

During the last 10 years I’ve learned a lot from Marley regarding where to find my ideal client. Hint: The top Event vendors who get the million+ dollar Event budgets, typically don’t have the “hippest” website or social media because…they don’t rely on it. Surely it doesn’t hurt to have a nice presentation of your work, but they know it’s not how they get their business.

Marley is helping me put together my next photography workshop. I told her that the photos are going to be mainly promoted on Instagram. She said, “I was running analytics on Twitter, and it may seem like no one is on there, but the demographic who is paying for the luxury weddings is on there, so I wouldn’t be closed-off to sharing the photos there as well.”

As soon as she said that it clicked.

I’VE BEEN IN MY CREATIVE BUBBLE FOR TOO LONG! What’s funnier is that I teach Branding + Marketing and am always asking entrepreneurs, “Who is your ideal client, and where do they spend their time?.” Yeeeeah. It’s been a couple years since I’ve evaluated myself.

I thought about how I’ve attracted ideal clients up until now, and it’s always been through high-end event planners, publicists, at a charity event, and generally from word-of-mouth.

I thought about when I was on a private yacht a few weeks ago with (as I like to simply call them) my “rich friends.” Male + female entrepreneurs in their early 30’s – 40’s. NONE of them are on Instagram. Every morning they read the news (politics), articles (on business, entrepreneurship, and politics), and if on social media, they are on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn. In person they network at work functions, openings, and charity events. Oh yeah, and of course at friends’ weddings and other celebrations.

I know this already, so why am I spending so much friggin’ time on Instagram?

Me glued to the phone while in beautiful nature. Faaan f-cking tastic.

I love being on Instagram because it’s an amazing platform for Creatives. It’s centered around trend setting, visual ideas, and inspiration among the Creative Community. I’ve met countless friends and vendors to collaborate with and find it inspiring to look at the content. It’s fine for me to go on there for personal satisfaction + peer networking, BUT, if part of my goal is to reach clients who like my work and can also afford my wedding packages, Instagram is not the place.

By the way, this is a very in general statement. I know that a luxury demographic exists on Instagram, and that it’s possible to meet them there. In the 6+ years I’ve been using Instagram, I’ve booked 2 weddings through it. I’m EXTREMELY thankful for those weddings, but for the amount of time I spend on it (EVERYDAY, 10+ times per day), it’s not worth the time invested.

Every business is different based on their branding and how they got started. I’m sure some people do use Instagram as their main booking source and are happily booking ideal clients from it. But for those who keep pushing their content out and are wondering why they aren’t booking what they would like to be booking, it may be time to consider a different approach.

Marley’s comment was a lightbulb for me to re-evalutate how I’m distributing my time on social media. If one of my goals is to be seen by potential clients, I should be spending more time pushing content out and engaging in places their eyeballs actually go.

Save

Save

Save

Save

This Post Has 4 Comments

  1. Felix

    Aaaaand THIS is one of those bullet point items on the list of “Why CC is one of my favorite people in L.A.”
    High-five! Miss you.

    1. Christine Chang

      I love that you continue to read my blog after all these years. Miss you, friend. <3

  2. Hannah q

    You and your friend, Marley make some pretty great points here. Noted!!! ❤️ Thanks for the good info

Leave a Reply