Professional photographers may roll their eyes at Facebook feeds full of overworked Instagram photos, but even the pros admit that the photography-sharing site and mobile app have been a boon for marketing photography services and building portfolios. Instagram has a cult-like following of more than 100 million users, but many of them have cried foul since the service announced its plan to sell user photos without their consent. While Instagram continues to backpedal in the face of a potential user exodus, other services are stepping up to attract both photographers and their potential clientele.
Just before the company announced its plans to monetize user photos, developers put an end to users posting Instagram photos directly into Twitter feeds. Instead of a photo, tweets now carry a link that navigates to Instagram’s site. Twitter users were unfazed, however, after the social media giant released its own photo-editing filters that, with development, could rival Instagram as the exodus continues. As an added bonus, photographers who already have an active Twitter following don’t have to lose all their Instagram followers if they choose to leave, thanks to a loophole in a new Instagram feature.
3 Easy Steps to Take Instagram Followers With You
- Link your Instagram and Twitter accounts, and encourage your followers on both services to do the same.
- In every photo caption on Instagram, include an IG username @mention. Instagram will convert those usernames to Twitter usernames inside tweets, alerting your mentions of your activity.
- Retweet every @mention you get on Twitter, as a rule, but especially those from Instagram.
If you’re not sure how to get started, use Instagram and its parent company, Facebook, to send proofs to clients. Tag them, @mention them, and tweet them, requesting feedback. Retweet that positive feedback, and use that day’s most popular hashtags to boost your tweet views. Even if you’re not in line to exit Instagram, boost your marketing and your social media credibility by linking all your accounts – and then actually using them. Twitter is useful for anyone wanting to break into stock photography using Flickr; just follow @GettyImagesWant on Twitter to see what the Getty editors are currently looking for.
Get it Framed
When someone finds your work useful and you finally get to see it in print, it’s time to preserve that moment with a custom article frame. Make sure you get it from That’s Great News, where the quality, durability and selection are unsurpassed. See how your photography skills look in a custom frame today with our FREE, no-obligation, online preview. Just click below to get started.