Top Photography Marketing Ideas for 2022

These are the photography marketing ideas that every photographer should know in 2022—but sadly, many don’t, or they don’t know how to implement them. Check them out so you can stand out from the dang crowd!

The Photography Marketing Ideas for 2022 We Cover in this Blog:

Start with a solid marketing plan
Use Google Analytics to track traffic to your photography website and strategize
Implement search engine optimization (SEO) to increase web traffic
Blog and repurpose content to save time while reaching more people
Use Google Business Profile to generate leads locally
Submit photos to publications to increase your exposure and get your name out there
Create a public relations strategy to increase brand awareness
Generating leads with Pinterest
Being intentional with social media
Staying connecting with email marketing
Taking advantage of education, resources, and support for photographers

Maybe you’re just starting a photography business. Awww yeah!

Maybe you want to increase your photography bookings. Get it!

Maybe you want to attract more of your ideal photography clients. Who doesn’t?

Maybe you want to work less, while making more. Um, yes please!

Maybe you just want more consistency in your photography business. We hear this one all the time!

No matter which stage your business is in, these are the photography marketing tactics you need to know about to help you achieve your goals in 2022.

We’ve said this so many times we should probably have it saved as a permanent copy and paste (because we’re all about efficiency, and as a busy entrepreneur, we’re sure you can relate)—but running and growing a photography business isn’t freaking easy.

On top of all the—you know—photography stuff, you also have to take care of the BS (business stuff). And not just the basics of running a business, like doing taxes (blerg) and communicating with clients.

Nuh-uh. If you really want to stand out from the crowd and create a photography business that is sustainable and fulfilling, you also need to do the marketing stuff. Cue existential dread.

The truth is that you could take the most stunning photos this side of friggen Pluto, but without marketing, there’s no guarantee that anyone will ever see ‘em. Like Stuart H. Britt says:

Doing business without advertising is like winking at a girl in the dark. You know what you’re doing, but nobody else does.

The good news is that in 2022, you don’t have to go at the marketing stuff alone.

As a marketing agency for photographers, we’ve spent the last several years learning about, implementing, tweaking, and perfecting marketing strategies for photographers. We’ve worked with countless photographers and photography-related businesses around the world—from big names in the industry to folks just starting out—and we figured all this shit out so that you don’t have to!

And because helping and watching creative folks succeed is our fave thing to do, we’re gonna share it with you. F*ck yeah, let’s do this!

Marketing for Photographers: Tactics Every Photographer Should Know in 2022

As a solopreneur, your time and energy are valuable af. So instead of wasting them…

laying awake at night wondering what the hell you should try next,
banging your head against a wall with marketing trial and error, or
trying new things without doing it consistently or knowing whether or not it’s actually friggen’ working

…check out this list of photography marketing ideas for 2022 and nail down a strategy that will actually help you achieve your damn goals!

1. Let’s Start with the Basics: Marketing Strategy for Photographers

One of the biggest struggles many photographers face is that they don’t know where to start, or how to keep up with consistent marketing efforts.

Plain and simple, this issue is rooted in a lack of strategy. Creating a marketing plan for your photography business is so freaking important because it will help you stay accountable, track your results, and make informed decisions about your marketing rather than just going at it all willy nilly.

That being said, it doesn’t have to be super complicated—especially at first.

Questions to Ask Before Creating a Photography Marketing Plan

However, before you get started on a marketing strategy, it’s important to know certain things about your business:

who is your ideal client? Consider things like location, hobbies, interests, jobs, income, family, age, phase of life, etc.
why are they your ideal client?
how can you reach your ideal client?
what is your competitive advantage? Why should your ideal clients want to work with you instead of others?
what are the biggest pain points in your business?
what are your goals for the next 3, 6, and 12 months?
where would you like to see your business in 5 years?

Take some time answering these questions. Write them down. Right now, you’re probably thinking “Meh, I don’t really need to write them down” or maybe “Ohh, maybe I’ll do it later”. Yeah, that’s right—we can read your damn mind. And now you’re thinking that we’re kind of creepy. Well, deal with it! Anyway, the point we’re trying to make here is that properly doing this exercise will be beneficial, so get ‘er done.

Setting Photography Business Marketing Goals

When it comes to setting goals, make sure you’re using SMART goals (specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, timely). For example, instead of “increase my income,” say “increase my income to 5k per month by the end of 2022 by increasing my rates 10% and booking at least 10 shoots per month.”.

Once you have a strong grasp on the current state of your business and your goals, you can make a more informed decision about which marketing tactics you should start implementing first.

Implementing New Marketing Strategies

Our suggestion is to choose 1-3 of the photography marketing ideas in this list, and create a plan that allows you to execute them well. Then, when you’re ready, choose some more to work on, and so on!

Suggestions to Help You Execute Your Marketing Plan Successfully

Create a solid plan for the next 3 months

What are you going to implement in that time? How often? If relevant, where will you repurpose it? How much time do you need to set aside for it, and when?

Come up with a system to keep you accountable

Using some kind of calendar, scheduler, or task manager that sends you reminders is a great place to start. The Pepper team likes Trello and Timehero. Google Calendar and the ClickUp App are some other popular options.

Audit your efforts every 3 months

What has changed in your business over this time? What changes can you attribute to your marketing strategy? What’s working? What isn’t? What needs more time? What needs to change?

Remember that it’s okay to pivot

As you implement different tactics, you may notice new things about your business or come up with new ideas. Be flexible with your strategy and take advantage of opportunities as they arise.

2. Use Google Analytics to Track Traffic to Your Photography Website

Did you know that there’s a free tool you can use to track the traffic to your photography website? It’s called Google Analytics and if you aren’t using it yet, it’s time to start!

It can be a bit confusing at first, but trust us—with a little training and some time spent poking around the platform, you’ll be hooked!

Google Analytics shows you where your web traffic is coming from, whether it’s from organic search (thanks to SEO—more on this later), people searching your business name directly (a sign of strong brand awareness), an email, a social media platform, Pinterest, other websites—you get the idea!

It can also help you see what those visitors are doing once they get to your website. What pages are they visiting? How long are they spending on them? How many people are visiting your contact page? What brought them there?

You can even use Google Analytics to learn more about your website visitors, like their location, age, gender, interests, and what kind of stuff they’re shopping for online. Creepy? Maaaaybe a little. But intriguing and helpful af? Definitely!

To use Google Analytics, first you have to set up an account and attach it to your website. Then, let the data roll in! This info can help you determine which marketing tactics are working and opportunities for improvement.

You can learn everything you need to know in the Google Analytics Course for Beginners, which covers everything from why it’s important to setting it up to how to navigate it to where to find helpful data. Booyah.

3. Search Engine Optimization for Photographers (SEO)

S-E-What? If you’re not sure what the heck we’re talking about, you’re not alone.

To put it simply, search engine optimization (SEO) is what helps people find your photography website on search engines, like Google.

Using proper SEO on your website is so 👏🏻 freaking 👏🏻 IMPORTANT! 👏🏻 It’s also something that is missed by many photography businesses, which means there’s great opportunity for those who are willing to learn the ropes and do the dang thing.

SEO might sound intimidating af, but with some guidance and practice, anyone can start making positive changes in this area of their biz. That being said, it’s a bit too technical for us to cover it all in this blog, so here are some other super helpful resources for you:

4. Blogging for Photographers

As a photographer, you’ve probably heard that blogging is great for your biz. But do you know why?

Blogging is excellent for your website SEO, as long as you do it properly!
Blogging can help you be found by your ideal photography clients.
Blogs are an easy piece of content to repurpose in other places, making your life easier.
Blogging is a rad way to show off both your work and your expertise.

Photography Blogs + SEO

Back to what we discussed in the last point—blogging for photographers is great for your SEO. BTW: You’ll probably start noticing a trend that many of these tactics are linked. It’s allll connected, baby!

That is, as long as you do it properly! Many photographers have a blog and share to it regularly, but they aren’t taking the few extra SEO steps that make all the difference.

If you want there to be a chance that your blog shows up in Google when people search for relevant terms, you better be paying attention to your SEO. Using Pepper’s free SEO cheat sheet can help!

A few quick tips for photo blogging for SEO:

add alt text to your images.
choose one main keyphrase to include in the title, some headings, and organically throughout the copy.
when choosing your keyphrase, consider what your target audience might be searching for in search engines.
use headings to organize your content.
optimize the slug in your URL.
use internal and external links.

Get Found by Your Ideal Photography Clients with Blogs

The joys of inbound marketing! By choosing topics that you know your ideal audience is interested in and actively searching for, and working that SEO magic, your blogs will start bringing clients to YOU.

Blogs are Repurposable Content

That’s marketing jargon for “share more stuff in less time!”

Creating a great blog does take time and effort, but the good news is that once it’s done, you can repurpose that content in several other places. That means you get more eyes on your blog and share valuable content with your audience in more places, all without having to spend more time and energy coming up with new ideas.

Here are just a few ways to repurpose blog content:

add a blurb to your newsletter with a link to the full blog.
take interesting bits and pieces and use them in graphics, captions, Reels, TikToks and elsewhere on social media.
share a direct link to your blog on social media platforms like Facebook and LinkedIn.
peruse reddit and see if your blog helps answer any questions people are asking and share it with them.
in some cases, you can submit your blog to other publications to share.

Showcase Your Photography Work and Expertise

Once people land on your photography blog, what do you want them to see?

Use your blog to show off your best photography work, your expertise, and your personality (because that’s a big reason why some clients will choose to work with you!).

Use your blog to offer something of value to your target audience, build trust, and get them excited about the idea of working with you.

5. Using a Google Business Profile for Photographers

Google Business Profile is another free marketing tool for photographers and if you’re not already using it, now is the time to start, damnit!

Formerly known as Google My Business, Google Business Profile (GBP) is a local listing on—well—Google (duh 😅).

Y’know when you do a Google search for a new place to eat in your area, and a list pops up with various nearby restaurants and quick details about each one like their business hours, contact info, pictures, reviews, and location? Yep, that’s it! And if someone was Googling for photographers in your area, you’d want your biz to pop up, right?

Damn straight ya would! Google Business Profiles makes it easier for new leads to find you and, if you use it properly, gives them a great little peek into your business.

How to Use Google Business Profile as a Photographer

We cover Google Business Profile in full detail in our Marketing Program for Photographers, but here are some quick tips that’ll help you take full advantage of this free business tool:

fill out the info section as best you can, including the services section.
add new images to your Google Business Profile regularly, and don’t forget to geotag your photos first.
add post updates regularly and link to your blog, web pages, social media, etc.
organically work in keywords throughout your descriptions and posts.

You can also book a one-on-one training call about Google Business Profile with an expert on the Pepper team if you need some guidance!

6. Increasing Brand Awareness with Photo Submissions

I mean, who doesn’t want their work featured in publications?!

Photo submissions can help you gain exposure, build your reputation as a photographer, and ultimately grow your business and make more money.

Getting published as a photographer isn’t necessarily easy, but that doesn’t mean it’s not a great goal to work towards! The feeling when you succeed is a tough one to beat, and the hard work will be worth it.

A few tips to help you submit photos to publications successfully:

when finding magazines looking for photo submissions, make sure you are choosing publications and platforms that align with your genre and style.
each platform has its own set of submission criteria, so make sure you’re following them closely.
that being said, most publications ask for similar information, so make yourself a template to use as a guide to save yourself time.
make sure that collecting the information you need for photo submissions is part of your workflow, such as collecting couple and vendor information in wedding questionnaires.
keep track of your photography submissions in a spreadsheet to stay organized.

7. Speaking of Brand Awareness—How About PR for Photographers?

Having your work featured in photography publications is just one form of public relations that you can use to your advantage!

PR is one of the oldest tricks in the book, but it still belongs on this list of photography marketing ideas for 2022 because it’s still that important and impactful. And, of course, it has changed over the years and continues to do so.

Public relations for photographers is a big topic to dive into, and like everything else mentioned in this blog, we go into it in great detail in our Marketing Program for Photographers. But here are a few public relations ideas and tips to start mulling around in that big, beautiful brain of yours:

don’t be afraid of cold reach outs, because they’re going to be pretty unavoidable if you want to dive into the world of PR! But make your cold reach outs thoughtful and intentional.
ask to be a guest on a podcast that you love and that’s relevant to your industry.
register to be a speaker at a photography workshop or conference.
submit a blog to a publication.
reach out to brands, vendors, or influencers and plan a kickass collaboration.
do something newsworthy and submit a press release to news outlets or publications.
create a social media direct message strategy.

8. Pinterest for Photographers in 2022

This is a biggie! If you’re not using Pinterest as a photographer in 2022, what the actual heck are you doing?

Okay, we’re not actually judging you. Because we understand that with all the marketing platforms and tactics out there, tackling a new one can be tough. But trust us, this one is worth it!

Pinterest is unlike other social media platforms because, well—it isn’t one. It’s more like a search engine. Like a prettier, more fun, and less crowded version of Google.

Pinterest users are actively shopping, searching for inspiration, and planning the future. That’s 431 million people per month and, according to Pinterest Business, 80% of weekly Pinners have discovered a new brand or product on Pinterest.

Pinterest is an excellent lead generation tool for photographers and a great way to generate traffic back to your website.

We have a few resources to help you figure this whole Pinterest thing out:

Blog: Pinterest Updates in 2021
Pinterest for Photographers Setup Guide
Hire Us for All Things Pinterest Setup, Strategy, and More

Okay, by now you know that social media is a pretty freaking important tool for photographers. But it can also be frustrating af.

The changing algorithms. The clutter. The time and effort you put into it, never being quite sure what you’ll get out of it in return.

@meet.pepper At least the ratio leans more into genuine inquiries and less into potential dates for professor Paris #socialmediamarketing #marketingagency #femaleentrepreneur #entrepreneur #femalebusinessowner ♬ ANOTHER ONE THANK YOU – kidzonmefypbelike

Look—we’re not trying to talk shit here. We love social media and the Pepper team spends a ton of time and effort on our own social media efforts. And we think it’s a great marketing tool for photographers, too!

But we also know that it isn’t always easy, so here is some of our advice for using social media for marketing in 2022:

start creating video content. We know this might feel like an annoying, new thing to add to the list, but it’s getting to a point where it’s too important to ignore. If it feels aligned with you, dip your toes into Instagram Reels, hop on board the TikTok train, and don’t be afraid to show your face or behind-the-scenes content on Stories. To be honest, it’s kinda fun once you get used to it!
use trending sounds when creating Instagram Reels and TikToks.
share to Stories as often as you can, preferably daily.
consider getting more serious on LinkedIn to build those professional connections, especially if you’re a B2B photographer.
implement a DM strategy to connect with your audience.
consider starting a Facebook community for your clients or a topic that appeals to them, and joining Facebook communities that appeal to you! (Pssst…The Pepperverse Facebook Community is here for you!)
share content that is valuable to your audience.
despite all the info and tips pulling you in different directions, KEEP IT REAL! As a photographer, being yourself and showing your uniqueness is the best thing you can do on social media. You’ll never be able to make everyone happy, so instead, focus on appealing to your ideal audience. Your people. It’ll make it feel better for you, too.

10. Email Marketing for Photographers

Do you have a newsletter strategy yet? How about a mailing list?

Email marketing is one of the best things photographers can do for their business in 2022. It takes some work, of course, but once you build your mailing list and get into a routine, this shit is gold.

Email marketing gives you more control than many other forms of marketing. It’s a direct line of communication with people who have already shown an interest in what you have to offer (because don’t worry, we’re not suggesting that you spam—ew!). But no algorithm can take that email list away from you or stop you from getting through to them.

It has one of the best ROIs and it can be pretty fun, too! If you’re nerds like us, at least. 🤓

Here are some tips to help you kick ass at your email marketing:

use lead magnets to build your email list.
use catchy yet relevant subject lines to increase your open rate.
use your newsletters to drive traffic to your website, social media, etc.
incorporate giveaways and contests to reward your subscribers.
set up automated email marketing workflows to stay organized and save time.
when creating newsletters, make sure they provide value to your subscribers.

And some helpful email marketing resources where you can learn more:

11. Getting Help Marketing Your Photography Business

We’re ending this article with a little bit of cheeeeese (because who doesn’t love cheese? 🧀🤤).

We know that marketing your photography business can be overwhelming. Heck, this list alone might be making your head spin! Or maybe that’s just the beer you cracked to help you get through it. We wouldn’t judge.

Buzzed or not, the good news is that you don’t have to do it alone. Here are some ways we’re here to help so that you can feel in control of your marketing and the future of your photography business!

Follow Meet Pepper on Instagram

We dish out plenty of tips, tricks, advice, and (of course) memes on our Instagram page! Give us a follow and say hello. Let’s be friends. 😊

FOLLOW MEET PEPPER ON INSTAGRAM

Subscribe to the Meet Pepper Newsletter

Okay, we know what you’re thinking—this sounds a lot like point #9 on this list. But hey, newsletters work for a reason! And ours are full of marketing tips, photography inspiration, and industry updates so we’re pretty sure you’re gonna like it.

SUBSCRIBE TO THE PEPPER NEWSLETTER

We hope you found this list of photography marketing tips for 2022 helpful! Remember, the Pepper team is rooting for you. 🤘🏻

Top 11 Photography Marketing Ideas for 2022