Top Tips for Instagram Success - Pictures, Captions, Hashtags, Oh my!
Instagram success doesn’t have a secret formula.
Just like any marketing platform, it takes time & testing to determine what will work best. Feeling overwhelmed by the what to post, when to post and how often can make anyone’s head spin. However, the current generation of couples is using Instagram regularly, so if you want to reach them, you need to be too!
Instagram is a powerful visual platform, so choosing the right imagery is the first step for “success”. But it’s not just about photos anymore.
Your captions have a huge impact on the level of engagement a post can create (fun fact- 3% is considered average, however, the fewer followers you have, the higher your rates usually are), as well as how people view you, your experience and the potential of doing business with you. #nopressure
When you find yourself stuck, here are some great topics to discuss in your feed
Educate your followers. Couples are hungry for tips, delivered in an upbeat yet straightforward way.
Talk about where you get inspiration. This may just spark the interest and desire to work with you, and help couples craft a better vision for the day.
Share one of your core values or mission statement
Texture tips (our linen inspo gallery works perfectly for this)
Explain who your ideal couple is (yes, you CAN put that info out into the universe)
Tell people about your favorite part of the wedding day
Provide a budget breakdown for a wedding expense that couples often don’t understand or are surprised by
Attire tips - share tips for wedding wear during the various seasons in your market
Timeline tips- talk about how to save time or things to keep in mind to ensure that the day runs smooth (ps- this is a great opportunity to promo how you can help with this).
Share a collage of color combinations
Tell them something fun & interesting about yourself
Share a wedding nightmare (names shall not be named- ha!) and how you handled it
There are enough ideas here to get you through 1/2 a month of posting! Whoa! Use a tool like Planoly and you could knock this out in under an hour (or two). You can also use Pops of Pretty imagery to bridge the gap when you’re real event content is getting sparse.
We love how @aisleplaniteverywhere interspersed Pops of Pretty Images with her events. It helps to visually diversify her feed and makes the posts that are educational/tip-based more obvious.
Caption Tip
Be sure to always end your caption with a call to action. What do you want people to do? Read a blog post? Email you? Answer a question. Like your photo? Let them know with concise wording.
Now that you know what to include on your post, let’s talk about hashtags.
Statistically, your post will reach far more people when using hashtags, then not.
Most of us know that we should be using hashtags, but deciding which ones to use (and how to find them) can often feel like a challenge. If hashtags seem like a mystery to you, think about what is in the image and what you want couples to know or find you for. When you start looking at them as search terms, it's much easier to determine what should be used.
Quick Hashtag tips:
Hashtag your location + wedding vendor on every post (ex: #Torontoweddingplanner #nycweddingvenue #atlantabridalsalon )
Place your hashtags in the caption area to ensure they're searchable
Use between 10-30 hashtags per post for maximum reach
Find two to three hashtags to engage with each day. Customer centric tags such as #weddingvenuehunting & #recentlyengaged are a great place to start
To help kickstart your hashtag research, here is a collection of wedding industry hashtags that we’ve found beneficial for reach + impressions. Switch them up to suit your needs + geography.
#weddingpro #weddingprof #weddingindustry #weddingvendors #weddingprofessional #weddingbusinessbosses #weddingindustryeducation #abcassoc #thisisnace #risingtidesociety #weddingcompany #eventprof #weddingplanners #eventplannerlife #weddingplannerlife
Avoid using generic tags such as #wedding, #bride, #groom and do your best to specify the ‘what kind’ question- #floridawedding, #tampawedding, #bohowedding are significantly more beneficial for reaching your target client.
We hope this is makes Instagram a little less overwhelming! There is SO much more that we can share, and will in the near future. For now, get posting! Consistency is key!