My senior studio instagram feed ran like a well oiled machine. Every Sunday I would plan my week of posts and have them all ready to go in Planoly, my online instagram scheduler. And every morning at 7am a fresh new image and text would hit the instagram feed. Sometimes when I was feeling overly enthusiastic there was 7am AND a 7pm posts rolling out. Seriously, it was like clockwork.

But I would be lying if I didn’t tell you it was exhausting too.

Here’s what I saw happening too. My audience knew what to expect. That was the good thing. It was also the not so good thing. It was almost too predictable and maybe even taken for granted that something pretty would just be there to see every morning. Don’t get me wrong! Consistency is great! But I needed to take a step back and re-evaluate my efforts and how I was spending my time.

Was I really getting the payoff from all the time I spent planning instagram posts? The answer was no.

How To Keep Your Senior Model Team Engaged

I wanted more engagement. I wanted more followers in that 13 - 17 age bracket because they are my target audience for my senior photography studio. But how in the world was I going to get it?

The answer I stumbled upon? Less posting. More showing my face & having real conversations.

Engagement with your followers (and soon to be followers) is much more important AND effective than posting pretty images to your feed everyday.

How To Effectively Engage On Instagram:

Use the bookmark / save feature on Instagram. Go through your client list, current seniors and your model team. Put them into a save folder in Instagram. Now go through that folder once a day to like and comment on their posts and stories. This will tell Instagram that these are your people! You can use this same idea for local business and sports teams too.
Turn on post notifications for this same group of people. When they post look for the top comments. These are usually their best friends and ones you should have on your radar. Head over to their accounts and start engaging with them too :)
Train your audience. If you want REAL engagement then you have to give it first. Heart eyes and likes is what you will get if that is all you give. Now, I understand that there is a fine line between being creepy and being visible. Don’t go overboard here. We are dealing with teenagers! Just be cool, you know?
Pay attention to who is watching your stories. Give extra time to the people who are following your stories. Go through your viewers list and watch theirs too! If you see an opportunity to engage - a poll, a question, a quiz - DO IT!!!
Show your face! I’ll continue to repeat this one over and over y’all. People want to do business with people. Get in your stories, be real, be silly, have conversations, show up and be the expert in your area. Let your guard down a bit and bring some life into your own instastories!

Are you exhausted from the Instagram game and not booking any sessions from it?

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