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13 Steps To Marketing Your Photography on Pinterest

Pinterest may be the best way to market your photography, here are 13 tips to get you going.

If you’re a professional photographer, chances are you regularly share your work on social media sites like Facebook, Instagram, and Google+. But have you considered Pinterest? More and more photographers are using this image-based platform to market their photography and build their brand. By pinning photos, videos, and infographics to their digital boards, photographers gain greater exposure, more website and blog traffic, and potential new clients.

If you’re new to Pinterest, here are 13 tips to help you create a strong Pinterest presence.

1 | CREATE A BUSINESS ACCOUNT

With a Pinterest business account, you’ll be able to track which boards and pins are the most popular. If users are frequently pinning your senior portraits, consider adding more photos to that board or creating a second board. If one of your YouTube or Vimeo videos is being pinned consistently, share a second video on a related topic.

2 | ADD THE PINTEREST BROWSER BUTTON TO YOUR BROWSER

To make it easy for you to pin your photos to a variety of Pinterest boards, add the Pinterest browser button to your favorite browser. (You can also download the Pinterest app for your mobile devices.)

3 | MAKE A PINTEREST BOARD

After creating a business account and adding a browser button, the next thing you’ll want to do is create a board that showcases your work. Go through your portfolio, select your best images, and pin them to the board. Remember to link directly from an individual page or blog post, not from your general website or blog. Lifestyle photographer Brit Chandler pins her photographs to a board entitled, “Brit Chandler {Photos}.”

Brit Chandler Photography Pinterest Screenshot 2

4 | CREATE ADDITIONAL BOARDS

If you shoot different types of photography, consider making several Pinterest boards to showcase your work. For example, photographer Mindy Newton created three Pinterest boards to share her images: Families + Children; Seniors; and Newborns.

Mindy-Newton-Photography-Pinterest-Screenshot

 

5 | DESCRIBE EACH PIN

Optimize your pins by using keywords, links, categories, and even hashtags. Mention your name, your location, and what type(s) of photography you specialize in. Some photographers like to include a copyright symbol, along with the year in which the photos were taken.

Mindy Newton Photography Pinterest Screenshot Seniors

6 | WATERMARK YOUR IMAGES

To protect your images, it’s best to watermark your photographs. Plus, if for some reason the link to your image does not work, a pinner can search for your business using the Pinterest search bar.

Mindy Newton Photography Pinterest Screenshot Newborns

7 | USE STORYBOARDS

Instead of simply pinning one photograph at a time on Pinterest, place a collection of images from a single session or event in a storyboard. Then, upload it to your website or blog and pin it to one of your Pinterest boards. That way, potential clients can quickly view multiple photos and get a good feel for your shooting style.

8 | CREATE A CLIENT TESTIMONIAL BOARD

It’s likely you have client testimonials on your website. Why not share those testimonials on Pinterest? Some photographers, particularly those in the wedding industry, have had success with placing a short quote from the client (in an eye-catching font) on a photo of the newly-married couple.

9| ASSEMBLE BOARDS FOR YOUR CURRENT CLIENTS

Clients often wonder what to wear to their portrait session. Creating a “What to Wear” board is an easy way to provide seniors and families with clothing suggestions. You can create your own infographics or repin others you find online. Or if you shoot engagement sessions and weddings, consider making inspiration boards. Some examples include: engagement shoot ideas, wedding venues, reception decorations, and wedding details (bouquets, shoes, rings, etc.)

10 | FOLLOW OTHER PINTEREST USERS

Of course, it’s important to pin images to your Pinterest boards regularly (your own content AND that of others), but if you want to build up a substantial following, you’ll need to follow other Pinterest users. Start by following your friends on Facebook. (To do so, look for “Find Friends” on the left side of Pinterest.) You can also invite your Facebook friends to become Pinterest users.

11| ENCOURAGE PEOPLE TO PIN YOUR IMAGES

One way to do this is to install Pinterest buttons on your website or blog. (With a plug-in, you can easily add a Pinterest button at the end of each blog post.) Some photographers take it a step further and add a “Pin It” mouseover button to their blog. (If you’re curious to see what people are pinning from your website or blog, use this URL, replacing “YourWebsite” with the address of your site or blog: https://pinterest.com/source/YourWebsite.com/.

12 | SHOW YOUR APPRECIATION

When people pin your images or follow you on Pinterest (you can easily add a “Follow Me on Pinterest” button to your blog or website with a plug-in), take a moment to thank them. Some photographers also offer exclusive promotions or incentives for clients who follow them on Pinterest.

13| JOIN GROUP BOARDS

To increase your exposure on Pinterest, join a variety of group or community boards–boards with multiple contributors. Start by asking fellow photographers which group boards they are a part of, and then request invitations to those community boards you’re interested in.

By pinning your work to Pinterest, people all over the world can easily view your images and videos. With each pin, they can choose to click through to your website or blog, browse your work, follow you on Pinterest, and perhaps, subscribe to your blog posts. And even if they never land on your website or blog, just by re-pinning your image, their Pinterest followers will see it, too. Such is the viral and powerful nature of Pinterest! It’s a tool by which many photographers are now successfully marketing their businesses and building their brands—and you can, too. Happy pinning!

About the Author

Jennie Harless is a hobbyist photographer who loves capturing life through her lens. Her favorite subject is her 3-year-old son whom she and her husband adopted at birth. Jennie and her family make their home in Northern California, but love to travel to places all over the United States. Her photography and writing can be found at www.jennierosedesigns.blogspot.com.

5 thoughts on “13 Steps To Marketing Your Photography on Pinterest”

  1. What I am confused about is whether you create separate boards with your own work, or do you combine your photography with other ideas? For example, if I have an album titled “Outfits for Maternity Shoots” do I create a board with just my photos? Or do I create boards with both my photos and ones I find?

    1. It depends on what style maternity you would do. If you provide maternity gowns then create a pin board showcasing your gowns, if you expect the client to provide their maternity clothing, you can use other’s pins to help your client understand what will look good in a session. Either way you can do either one or both. 🙂

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