7 Tips on using Pinterest for your Senior Photography Business

As senior portrait photographers, we have two clients in mind: We are first trying to appeal to the senior-to-be, and we also have to target the parents of these seniors because they are the ones who write the check. With the ever-growing world of social media and search strategies, Pinterest can be a powerful platform for appealing to both audiences. It also has some great SEO juice. I have a saying for my SEO clients, “I want to be found before they even know they need me.” And when it comes to planting the seed for your senior reps and senior photo clients, you need to be where they first even consider having this future session: Google Images and, pretty much, Pinterest. You see, the goal is not for someone using Pinterest to find my boards and pins and my business, the goal is to have my Pinterest board and images show up while they’re Google searching, even via their mobile device.

Many photographers are using Pinterest for Business, and if you are not, you really should be! It is a major driver of traffic to websites and a visual paradise for creatives like us. The great thing about Pinterest is you really do not need a personal account and a business account, just one account for all of it: your crazy recipes, fantasy decor ideas and all. So what about the people who are searching inside Pinterest? They search for research on purchases, and they spend more than users of other social media platforms, including Facebook, so they are online to shop. Here are some top tips on how to use Pinterest for your senior photography business.1.Convert your personal page to a business account. This way you can verify your account, which is very important. I recommend you actually input your blog URL in the website area because we often get clients from our blogs anyway. You can use a Pinterest verify plugin to verify your account. See official rules here.2.Have your strongest boards show up first. Since more than 70% of Pinterest users are using a mobile device, they see a limited number of boards, so introduce your brand and its message right away. You can move boards around just by clicking on your mouse and moving it around easily. 3. Fill out your description! There is an area in your profile for you to fill out and state what kind of work you do and where. I don’t recommend putting calls to action here for users to leave Pinterest, but utilize this space with some keywords. For example: “Feuza Reis is a Wedding and Senior Photographer capturing fabulous seniors on the beach or on plantations in South Carolina.” Or let's take a look at Ashlei's profile. Great example.4.  Pin your work! People at first felt weird pinning their own stuff, but Pinterest wants you to be a contributor. Did you know that 80% of pins are repins, so that means only 20% of users are actually adding content to Pinterest? As photographers, we must be the 20%! 5. Sprinkle your work around: put it on both a general board and a more niche location board. So, if I did a high-school senior shoot in downtown Myrtle Beach, for example, which had an urban flair, I could pin some of the images on a board I called “Senior Photography Poses and Inspiration” and also on a board called “Myrtle Beach Senior Photography.” I believe many of you will have to rename your boards something other than your business name to incorporate some local keywords, or even high school names, if it is a high school you do a lot of work for.6.Text: When you pin, you should not be throwing out some loose keywords or using only hashtags. According to Pinterest, they are frowning upon “hashtag stuffing,” and they encourage the use of full sentences. Photographers get so stuck on what to write about, but it is actually quite simple. What is the photo about? A senior girl at a farm? On a beach? Wearing a cool outfit? Is she laughing? Is it sports related? Is it in a specific park or city? Is the photo black and white? You can use hashtags, but don’t go too crazy please. Hold it together... I know you can! Also, the top words you should be using are “ideas,” “pictures,” “photos,” and “inspiration.” You should also be using adjectives to describe the senior photo session. 7. Pin videos! Do you have a YouTube account where you are adding your slideshows? Or even fusion videos? You can upload YouTube videos into Pinterest by uploading via website and posting the YouTube URL. I suggest that you create a board called “Senior Photography TV” or “Business name TV.” Be creative and make it fun. This is a great place to add video tips on how to prepare for senior photos, too. Are you big on Pinterest? Do you have any other Pinterest tips not listed here? I would love to hear all about your experience!