How to Get the Best Hashtags Instagram - Hashtag Fox

I’m so excited to finally share one of my favorite new apps for Instagram. Everyone, meet the incredible Hashtag Fox. It’s an incredibly easy-to-use online app that allows you to clearly, simply, and quickly search the most popular hashtags being used and found on Instagram in real-time!

Hashtag Fox for Instagram

I have been using Hashtag Fox for the last few months when I sit down to batch scheduled my Instagram posts for my wedding photography and the podcast/business coaching Instagram accounts. They provide a wonderful how to use the program when you first join but here’s a quick overview of how I like to use the program.

First, I log into Hashtag Fox and do a quick search on hashtags that I use frequently. It only takes a few minutes for the app to come back with the best and most popular hashtags that are being seen on Instagram. The program is easy to read with visual aids to help you see the top 9 Instagram posts and rates them from good to bad.

Next, your results will start to appear on your screen. You can simply click on the hashtags you’d like to use (note: you can use up to 30 hashtags on each Instagram post) and gives you the option to either save them to a new Hashtag Fox saved collection or simply copy and paste them into your Instagram Planner (I use Later) or directly into the Instagram post.

I prefer to create a new collection each time and then see how well the new set of Hashtags performs. You simply repeat this process for each new hashtag term you want to use. So easy!

My Favorite Feature - Nerd Mode

One of my favorite features in Hashtag Fox is Nerd Mode (image below) because it breaks down the hashtags by their actual performance!! If you are a data lover like me, this is so valuable!! It says which hashtags are Excellent, Good, or Insufficient (I would steer clear of those!). It’s so helpful to see how they rank and which ones you might want to focus on when you are creating your new posts.

You can also sort by the Magic Score or EP Likes, Average Likes, Comments, and more so you can see how each particular hashtag performs on the platform.

I like to use a mixture of popular and not-so-popular hashtags to give my posts a good chance of being seen. Instagram will only show your posts to approximately 3-5% of your audience so having a tool in your back pocket to help you be found is really something every wedding photographer should invest in.

Instagram Hashtag Results

After a few months of consecutively using Hashtag Fox, I can confidently say that more and more people have been seeing my posts on Instagram. They typically are new users who do not follow my accounts but through the power of hashtags found and saw my content on Instagram.

With how hard it is to be found on Instagram these days, I will take any help I can get and Hashtag Fox is a powerful, easy-to-use tool that makes searching for new hashtags simple and fun!

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A Special Discount Just for You!

Just for our Tea with Jainé community - Hashtag Fox is $9 per month and you can use the discount code jainekershner to save money off of your monthly subscription. I’m so happy to partner with wonderful companies that support Tea with Jainé.

- I was given a free subscription to Hashtag Fox in exchange for my honest opinion and review.

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Understanding the Creative Shift in Editorial Content and Social Media Strategies Inside the Wedding Industry

We are chatting with Sarah Kay Love about understanding the creative shift in editorial content and social media strategies inside the wedding industry. Sarah shares her insight on what is going on with creating new content, how to use social media for your brand, and so much more. A little bit about Sarah is that she runs a creative agency, specializing in styling branding, killer content, and smart digital marketing strategies devoted to helping companies build brands that differentiate themselves and increase business. Sarah spent five years at The Knot magazine producing and curating visuals on a variety of media platforms from print to digital editorials, covers, advertising campaigns, and social media channels. She also spearheaded the real wedding and styled shoot submission process for the national and regional magazines. Sarah is now combining her unique skill set and sharing her knowledge with photographers and creative professionals to properly strategize, produce, curate, and market content so they can get noticed, drive revenue and stand out in a saturated market.

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How to Handle a Client Who Wants Their Photos Off Social Media

I was recently asked by a member of our Tea with Jainé Facebook Group how to respond to a potential couples request to keep their wedding images offline and off social media. This is such a great question that I wanted to answer because this question comes up rather frequently.

So, how to do you handle a clients request to keeping their wedding photos offline and off social media prior to hiring you to photograph their wedding? Well, I have a few helpful tips to help you navigate their request.

No. 1 - Ask Why? I find it’s best to be direct and ask them exactly why they want to keep their photos offline. Do they not want their names mentioned? Do they work in a field that requires them to be completely off social media (therapists for example)? Are they a super celebrity couple that intends on selling the images to a magazine? Are they worried about their privacy? Are children involved? Asking them exactly WHY they want their photos offline will help you come up with a solution that makes you both happy.

No. 2 - Explain Why You Need to Show Your Work Online and on Social Media. So this might come off a bit dumb but they probably saw your work on Instagram, Pinterest, Facebook, maybe an advertisement, or vendor listing, and of course mostly from your website, riggghhtttt? Well, you need to be able to showcase your photography work across all your social media outlets to book THE NEXT CLIENT. It’s how it works! If you aren’t able to show your work online, how are you going to show that 1 - you are a working photographer 2 - have shot in a specific venue 3 - have the style that your clients are looking for? You have to explain to your potential couple that in order for you to maintain your business and continue to be in business year after year, you need to be able to share and publish your work appropriately.

No. 3 - Compromise - Once you’ve found out their why, and explained why you need to share your work, now you can come up with a compromise that makes you both side happy. Here are a few scenarios that I have worked out in the past with some of my own clients.

1 - I can share their wedding on my website, blog, and social media but I cannot use their names only initials (I NEVER use last names, only first names only - just FYI) so that they aren’t searchable on google.

2 - I can only share images that have been pre-approved by my couple. I will send my favorite images for review via PDF and the client has up to 5 business days to get back to me with any objections or omissions. I then, can submit a substitution for any image they want to remove. If I do NOT hear back from the client within the 5 business days, I will assume that there are no objections and I can share as I like.

3 - If any images were to be using in advertisements or sold for stock photography, I am to get written permission from the clients. (I do this out of courtesy even thought I own the copyrights to my images because I want my couples to trust me and know that respect their privacy.)

No. 4 - Charge For It - If the couple is adamant about NOT having any images what so ever online and does not want to compromise, and still wants to use your services and you want to work them, you have to charge them to keep the photos offline. Why? For the potential loss of income because you cannot use the images online to showcase your work, get new clients, share with vendors or the venue to get referrals, etc…. This is definitely a drastic measure but some couples are willing to pay a big price to keeping their photos offline.

If they are unwilling to negotiate, unwilling to pay your privacy fee (my friend calls it her Black Label Option) then it might be time to part ways and wish everyone the best. Hey, you can’t be everybody’s cup of tea so don’t try to be (a little Kacey Musgrave’s lyric in there for ya!!) Do what is right for you and your business!

No. 5 - The Final Step - Once you have explained how the images may or may not be used (I personally do not share images from every event I photograph) and worked out any image usage issues, or added a fee to their wedding collection, next you have to add this in writing into your contract and have everyone sign to move forward. Transparency is BEST and keeping your client top of mind is very important to gaining and keeping their trust and hopefully, a lot of referrals.

So what about you? What are your thoughts on this topic? I would LOVE for you to leave a comment below and let me know if you were ever in this type of situation and how did you handle it! xo

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Best Instagram Apps for Editing Photos and Stories

After I shared my favorite tips how to use Instagram for your wedding photography business, I received a few direct messages asking me to recommend my favorite editing apps for Instagram. There are a gazillion apps out there so I thought it might be helpful to share my top apps that I frequently use to plan, edit, and share my photos on my Instagram grid and stories. 
 

Planning and Auto Posting Your Images:
I've mentioned this a few times but I use Planoly to plan my Instagram grid in advance. I like that I can visually see how my photos are going to look prior to posting them. I created a photo grid for myself that I like to follow which helps me speedup my planning workflow. Instagram has also given third-party applications, such as Planoly, access to auto-post your images, which is a true game changer. Other applications you can use to do the same thing is Iconosquare and Later.

Editing Your Photos:
When I want to add a photo I've taken using my iPhone, I will use a photo editor to brighten, straighten, crop, my images before I share it on my account. My favorite app is Filmborn by Mastin Labs. This can give your photos a "film-like" look but I really just use it to brighten my images and remove some of the dark shadows and contrast. Afterlight is also a great app for Instagram to brighten your images and adjust the highlights, shadows and contrast. Both apps have in-app purchases for more options.

Adding Text and Borders to Your Photos and Instagram Stories:
By far, my favorite app to do this is Word Swag. It's so user friendly and they have a lot of great font options, backgrounds and sizes to choose from. Additional options are Over and A Design Kit for more fun font options and additional stickers and cool colored backgrounds. You can never have too many options, right? If you want to make a cohesive story showcasing your wedding or photography, you should try the Unfold app. You can add white borders, text, multiple images to one slide and much more. It makes your story really stand out among the crowd!

How to make Slideshows for Instagram Stories:
It took me a while to find an app that I could easily make a 15 sec slideshow for my Instagram story that was  fairly easy to use. I finally found InShot and paid to remove the logo inside of the app which is well worth the $1.99 fee.

How to cut your videos for Instagram Stories:
If you don't want to keep creating 15 second videos for your Instagram Stories, you have the option to record one video and then have Cut Story or Storeo clip your full length video into 15 second intervals automatically. Once the app is done, you can just upload each clip to your Instagram feed.

Add Some Sparkle to Your Story:
If you know me, you know I love my glitter and I really love using the Kira Kira app to add a little bit of sparkle to my stories. It's great for adding a bit of bling to the ring or beaded wedding dress. It's super fun and I might be addicted to using it!

Automatic Hashtag Generator for Photographers:
My last recommendation comes with a warning, do not solely use this app to create hashtags for your photos. Focal Mark is an application that will automatically generate instagram hashtags that are the most popular to the content you are posting. This is specifically designed for photographers. You can tell it what your subject is, what location the photo in and what camera type you used. Next, Focal Mark will search Instagram and give you the best hashtags to use for your photo. However, you do have to pay to access all 30 hashtags which is the max you are allowed to post inside the app. My advice would be to use this app for part of your hashtags (let's say 15) but then use different hashtags that you found on your own for the remaining 15. This way, it's more authentic and you have less of a chance of being shadow banded by Instagram. (oh, it's a thing - look it up!)

I hope these Instagram app recommendations where helpful and help you create some great content for your own Instagram account. Do you have any apps that you love and would highly recommend? Please leave them in the comments below. We'd love to hear from you!

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3 Tips How to Use Instagram For Your Wedding Photography Business

Social Media has been a dominate topic of conversation ever since it started to impact small business owners. It's how our customers find us, interact with us, contact us and ultimately (and hopefully) hire us. I will admit that I didn't really understand the power of social media until a few years ago and have since put in a lot more effort using it to grow my wedding photography business. I thought I'd share my social media tips with the biggest platform I use, and know the most about, Instagram.  I am in no way an Instagram expert but I do feel strongly about these 3 tips for wedding photographers who are using Instagram.

No. 1 - Create A Business Account - If you already have an account on Instagram you should convert it to a business account immediately. Heres why:

1. Link Your Pages: Facebook owns Instagram (if didn't already know that) and you will be able to easily link your instagram account directly to your Facebook Business Page. You can share your feed in both places, respond to messages and reply to comments from inside Facebook.

2. Contact Buttons: Your profile will now display the Call, Email and Directions buttons directly above your feed. This is so helpful because viewers will be able to easily contact you with a click of a button, making it much easier and faster for potential clients to contact you.

3. Analytics: This is probably the BEST feature of being a business account. After you've converted your profile, Instagram will start to track your engagement on your posts and within a few days you will be able to see your statistics. This is the most useful and priceless information to creating new content, crafting your ad's and engaging with your audience.

4. Swipe Up - The rumor is that sooner or later ALL business accounts will receive the coveted Swipe Up feature from Instagram. As of today, you have to have 10k followers or more have this feature activated. I will 100% honest, I'm dying for this feature and hope Instagram would share it with everyone sooner rather than later.

No. 2 - Plan Your Feed & Have A Plan - Social Media can actually become very stressful. It's hard t come up with new content everyday so I recommend planning your feed & content a few weeks at a time and all in one day. For myself, I sit down at my computer and plan my feed two weeks at a time twice a month. How do I do this? I created a Instagram cheatsheet for myself. I made my own grid with nine squares and in each square I put in a topic I wanted to discuss. For my wedding photography business, my grid will consist of photos of Brides, Grooms, Bridesmaids, Engagement Photos, Motherhood, Maternity, Babies, Photo Tips, Tea with Jainé and Personal Posts. Knowing what I'm going to be talking about takes all the stress out of planning because now that I have a plan, I can map out my grid quickly in advance and not stress about what I'm going to post.

How do I plan my grid? I use Planoly to plan my Instagram account and use their Auto Post feature which is amazing. It's such a time saver! There are other applications to use such as Later and Iconosquare which are different software options. I encourage you to do a trial of each software and pick the one that best for you.

Quick Tip:  Every few months I will go back into my old wedding, engagement and style shoot galleries and pull content from my archives. There is absolutely no rule about what you can post and how old or new it is. If it's relevant to your business and you can write good copy, I say use what you've already have.

No.3 - Advertise - I hate to break it to you but the days of instant success and gazillion followers on Instagram are O V E R! So, instead of complaining about it, you can use Instagram to your advantage play the game. I'm NOT recommending paying likes or followers (honestly, it's so bad if you decide to do that and everyone can tell when your account isn't genuine) but investing some of your marketing budget in Instagram Ad's is going to give you a very good ROI. First off, you have to remember that Instagram is F R E E. You do not have to pay to join, use their application, interact with people and potential book couples from Instagram. Instagram is a very big way that my clients find me and I happy to advertise on Instagram. 

As I mentioned above, Instagram is owned by Facebook which means that Instagram has access to your clients Facebook status (engaged, single, married, ...it's complicated) and where they live (ie. their zip code). With this information, you can create incredibly targeted ad's aimed for your ideal client. You can create ad's that will just show up in a specific zip code, for engaged couples who are interested in weddings. Get it?! It's unreal the power of Instagram Ad's and the best part is that they are very inexpensive. But, if you think that advertising isn't for you, or you don't "do advertising", I'm here to ask you why? Why do you feel that way? Let's be honest, how many purchases have you made because you saw an Ad and thought "hey, I LOVE that and I need it immediately!". I have too many to count! Don't believe me? I would highly suggest you follow Gary Vaynerchuk and listen to his wise words of wisdom. Seriously, he's amazing! Ok, back to Instagram Ad's...

Advertising on the biggest platform that couples are spending the most time and paying amazing low advertising rates, is an incredible way for you to get your name out there directly to your potential couples. Also, you have to keep at it. You simply cannot create one ad and then give up. You have to see what works and what doesn't. You'll be able to see the analytics from each advertisement so moving forward you can make an even bigger impact or adjustments. For myself, if I see that one of my photos is really doing well with a lot of likes and comments, I will promote it because I know it's connecting with my followers. 

Most recently, I booked a fantastic couple who saw my Instagram Ad. They saw my ad, liked the photo and visited my profile, checked out my work, contacted me and ultimately hired me to capture their wedding day. I think I spent around $30 dollars on that ad to run for a few days and it was worth every penny because my couple is amazing and the exact client I am hoping to book. I can't recommend Instagram Ad's enough!

So what about you? What do you love about Instagram? Do you have any features or applications you'd like to share? Please leave us a comment below and I hope this article was helpful! 

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