Social Media Advice I Wish I Had (Photography)
I’ve been on social media since early 2018 and in that time I used it as a normal person, a hobbyist photographer and now in a professional sense. I’ve seen a lot, made mistakes and tried to find the best balance between growing a platform and not getting sucked into it. In this blog I will share the best lessons I’ve learned.
Create a new email
The first tip is by far the most important. I’ve seen so many people get hacked and honestly there is a simple solution to this. Create a new email address that has nothing to do with you or your name. Call it monkeyballs23 or something like that. Only use that email as your log in for your social media. Your public facing email for people to contact you is of course something else. Unless you specialise in monkey balls I guess. This means that when people try to hack your account or email you scams, they will be doing it to the public facing email and you know 100% that it’s fake.
Have a clear why
You need to have a clear understanding of why you are on the platform and what your goal is. There is no shame if you want to grow and do brand deals. Equally there is no shame if you’re happy to share something a few times a year to a handful of your friends. The key is knowing what you want and not trying to copy other people’s dreams. There’s nothing worse than growing your account to 50k only to realise it’s not what you wanted and you’ve lost your way trying to be someone else.
2 Primary & 3 secondary
There are many social media apps out there and while it’s tempting to do everything everywhere all at once, unless you hire a team or devote your life to social media, it’s impossible. I suggest picking 2 main apps and 3 secondary ones. The main accounts will be where 90% of your energy goes. For me this is YouTube and Instagram. For you it might be Threads, Pinterest or something else. Then have 2-3 accounts where you’re still active and share things but not as much. They take up the remainder 10% of your bandwidth. For me it’s Threads, X and Facebook. Finally make an account to publish a few posts on any noteworthy app and then leave it. This secures your username and gives you a presence. For me this is TikTok, Pinterest, Vero and any other app that comes along.
Batch time online
With all these apps at your disposal, it can be tempting to periodically check and see who’s followed you or left a comment. Initially it’s casual but for most people, this becomes a compulsive addiction. It’s not uncommon to meet people who spend upwards of 7-10 hours on social media per day. I won’t go into details on why this is insane as it’s obvious. The way I avoid this is by creating a special social media period of time and batch posts or message replies. By batching it together, you save time while removing the need to use multiple apps throughout the day. The more time you spend stuck to your phone, the less time you spend on photography, your family and yourself.
Chose what you make public
This applies more to those wishing to build a big following however I think anyone sharing online should also consider this. Be careful about what you share and make sure you have it clear in your head what remains private and what can be posted. I’m very private with my life outside of photography, I rarely share my family and at no point will I make them part of the channel. Once something becomes public, there is no going back. I’ve seen too many people share intimate relationships in full detail on the internet, only to then create ‘life update’ videos explaining their breakup. To me this is childish but I understand how gossip keeps people interested. I can’t tell you what you can and can’t share, this is up to you. Just be very intentional and really think it through especially when it comes to family, your kids and relationships.
Avoid gossip, politics and drama
Unless you plan to build your social media around gossip, politics and drama, I suggest you avoid it at all costs. Sure making a video slagging off another photographer will get many views, but it will also make you look like an attention seeking child and people will talk about you not because of your photography, but because of the drama you started. Equally avoid politics or any other sensitive subjects. Most people have way too much time on their hands and if they disagree with you, they will do anything to try and bring you down. They will screenshot, start blogs, spam, make up lies and generally cause a nuisance. Keep your page strictly about your topic unless you want to be known for drama, hot takes, politics and gossip. It’s a can of worms you really don’t want to open.
Avoid bitching and complaining
Recently I’ve noticed a trend where photographers go on the Threads app to complain about their Instagram reach, clients, the weather or anything else really. Sure complaining feels good and it’s even better when many others share your view and those likes and affirmations come rolling in. Just be careful with this one because you don’t want to be known as the photographer who always complains. You want to be known for your photography, not for your moaning. Not to mention if you actually want to attract clients and brands, this makes you look childish.
Ignore & block trolls
The moment you start gaining some attention, you will attract trolls. They are easy to spot because instead of offering constructive criticism, they will insult you, make it personal and generally try to bring you down. Don’t fall for this and bite back. They want your attention so by replying and starting an internet argument, you give them exactly that. These people are actual losers with a very shitty life, don’t waste your time on them. On a more serious note, you don’t know how mentally unstable they are. The fact they are trolling in the first place, already puts them firmly in a mentally unstable category. I’m sure it wouldn’t take much for one of them who’s extra mental to try and find you in real life. I once had a reddit thread started on me over a joke I made about film photography. Of course it was full of very emotional grown men freaking out but it also had a couple people say that one way to stop me making such jokes is to put their hands round my neck. Next time you get trolls, delete and block. Never reply.
Your own space
Social media is great but it’s important to remember that you don’t own or have any rights to your account. If the app decides to shut down or shut you down, your years of hard work will go to waste. So although this is about social media, I highly recommend your own online portfolio or website especially if you want to take this seriously. That way you have full control of how your work is presented. For that I use squarespace but there are a ton of different options. If you want 10% off squarespace, use this link or code romanfox at checkout. https://www.squarespace.com/romanfox
Don’t share your plans
Avoid sharing your plans, goals or dreams. I’ve lost count of how many people have posted “watch this space” or “big things coming” or my favourite “2024 is the year of YouTube”. In 99% of cases there is no space to watch, nothing big is coming and selecting their YouTube profile picture is the most they would ever do on the platform. There are many reasons why goals can go off track. It could be a change in heart, laziness, illness or something else that’s out of your control. The issue is that to the outside world, you said you will do something and you didn’t do it which means that people won’t take what you say seriously if you keep repeating this cycle. If you have goals, work on them in silence until they are finished and ready, then announce them.
Don’t compare
Comparing yourself to other people is a basic human trait and there is no avoiding it. However keep in mind that comparing your real life to a curated, exaggerated and often made up life of someone online, especially if they are an influencer, is a recipe for disaster. I have a friend with a large online following. On his instagram he’s driving nice cars in Dubai, wearing expensive watches, eating at fancy places and generally coming across as super successful. Yet not too long ago he asked me if he can borrow some money to cover rent one month. I also know someone who on instagram is living this super healthy successful life in Spain, always positive, has a villa and seems to really be in control of his life. Yet when I meet him in person, his life is the biggest mess I know. Finally there are plenty of photographers with huge followings that seem successful yet when speaking to them, they are totally lost mentally, creatively and financially. Social media is all smoke and mirrors.
Avoid overnight success
If your goal is to grow online, keep in mind that growth looks different to everyone. For one person it can take 5 years of small consistent growth while for someone else it will take 5 weeks with a couple viral posts. With that said, I would suggest avoiding overnight success by creating something that will go super viral unless you want to be known for that. I know of a photographer with a small street photography account who made a couple travel style reels that went viral and his account exploded. After the initial buzz wore off, he realised that no one cared about his photography because they signed up for travel reels. Not long after he deleted his account and started again.
Don’t post too much
It might be tempted to start posting as much as possible in the hopes of growing faster, getting more engagement or because you think people want to see more. In reality over posting can do more harm than good. With all social media I generally found 3 times per week to be the sweet spot. For YouTube once per week is optimum. For you it might be different but either way be careful with posting too much because it will overwhelm your audience and many will gloss over what you shared.
Trends
Be careful with getting too sucked into trends to the point where you become known for it. Many years ago there was this trend of taking a photo at night in Central London of a famous landmark with light trails from cars passing by. Then colour grading it blue and watching the likes flood in. I tried it a few times but thankfully I grew out of this very quickly. Many didn’t and they built their entire online presence off the back of a temporary trend. Once the trend passed, so did any interest in their work and the accounts went dormant. By all means follow trends, we all do to a degree, just don’t forget to develop your own voice too.
Create for yourself, not for your audience
I first heard this quote by Rick Ruben and this really applies to photographers who share their work online. The moment you start to create for your audience and not for yourself, you start to lose your voice and the very reason your audience loved your work. A good way to know if you’re creating for your audience is when you take a photo mostly because you know it will get a lot of likes online. Unless you are shooting for a client, always prioritise creating for yourself.
Be careful with deals
If one day your account grows and gets big enough, it will attract brand deals. 95% of all deals that you will get will be spams and scams. Even with the ones that are legit, really think about whether the product is relevant, how it might be received by the audience and how it will impact your image. Sure it might be amazing to accept 10k in return for promoting a dildo, but then you will forever be known as the photographer who promoted a dildo. All be it with a new Leica now. Jokes aside I’ve seen photographers push all sorts of shit from cheap Chinese watches to a weight loss energy bar. It’s cringy and makes you look like a cut out copy and paste influencer. Be careful and use your common sense.
Keep your ego in check
If your account grows you will get more attention, more positive comments, more messages and maybe even more money. I’ve seen a few people let this get to their head and go from a cool photographer to a celebrity wannabe. It doesn’t matter if you have 5 followers or 5 million, don’t think you’re above others just because of small internet fame. It can quickly turn you from likeable and relatable to brash and out of touch.
Think before going full time
Finally if you are 100% sure you want to do social media full time, then go for it and don’t let anyone else discourage you or tell you to be ‘realistic’. However if you’re not sure, then do really think it through beforehand. When you turn your hobby or art into a business, it can add a lot of pressure. Some people like myself love that pressure while others hate it and lose the very thing that inspired them to shoot in the first place. I’ve said this before and I say it again, for most people having a good 9-5 and keeping photography as a small side hustle is one of the best options. You can create freely without the worry of paying rent while making a little money on the side to cover the cost of gear, travel etc.
