LinkedIn isn’t just a platform for job seekers; it is a powerful marketing and networking channel for entrepreneurs, such as photographers. If you’ve served other businesses with your photography, LinkedIn is a great online place to find and connect with the right people in your niche. As they say, it’s not what you know, but who you know.
do you know that link older than Facebook and 20 years old this year? It has more than 900 million members, and according to the company’s statistics, three new members sign up every second. Even actors like it Ryan Renolds are on it! Sure, it has fewer members than Facebook or Instagram, but they could be the right membership for your business.
In case you’re completely new to it or rarely log in, here’s a breakdown of what LinkedIn has to offer in 2023:
- A free profile with a banner and a profile picture
- A place to showcase your experience, skills and education
- List the professional services you provide and link to your website
- Post images, videos and text, create polls, organize events and write newsletters
- Option to have a “creator” profile
- Paid subscription courses
Powerful network
Here are a few networking strategies:
- Add relevant people like creative director, producer or photography manager to your network.
- Comment, like and repost on and off your network.
- Join and post in groups and be seen outside of your usual circles.
- Talk to your connections in private messages.
- Get to know people and become a familiar face in their feed.
- Join groups to reach people outside your network.
Did you know that Linkedin has influencers just like TikTok or Instagram? Every time you connect with a new person, they automatically become your follower. Unlike Instagram, LinkedIn isn’t oversaturated with creators, and in my opinion, it’s pretty easy to get new followers.
Every time you like or comment on someone’s post, it also shows the original post in your followers’ feeds. This also works in reverse, and when others like your posts, you can reach the followers of your followers and create a wider network. In my own experience as a photographer, posts with images are the most popular, but I have also experimented with text-only posts. With text posts, my goal is to reveal more about my personality and what makes me the photographer I am today, while also hoping the audience will get to know me a little better.
Anyone can change their profile to a “creator profile”. This setting allows you to access additional tools and features such as showing hashtags about the topics you talk about, how many of your followers are shown, and LinkedIn will suggest you new people. For creators with 150 followers and/or connections, other tools such as audio events, live on LinkedIn, and publishing your own newsletter will be available.
The purpose of your posts is to get the right people to stop and view your profile, and of course, direct them to your photography website. Regular updating of your photography is a must, and creating written content can help you connect with your audience on a deeper level. If you blog on your website, LinkedIn is the perfect place to drive traffic and draw attention to your content on the homepage.
Career opportunities
Photographers need jobs and LinkedIn is of course great for finding full-time opportunities as well as freelance work. My advice is to follow employers who have posted photography jobs in the past. The same goes for any relevant LinkedIn members who may need a photographer. These jobs often need to be filled immediately, so checking your feed regularly will give you a better chance.
You can show on your profile that you provide services. Currently, you can choose from categories like “commercial photography”, “food photography” and “event photography”. You can also let potential customers know about your prices and where you operate. Completing this section of your profile can help you get discovered because the search function on the site allows members to search for specific services.
Direct Marketing
Depending on your membership type, there are three ways to message people directly on the platform. The first way is to send them a connection request with a message introducing yourself. The second way is to request a connection, and once your request is accepted, message them. The third way is to pay for a premium service, which comes with a number of InMail messages that you can send to anyone. I tend to avoid recommending my services to someone as soon as I connect with them, as it rarely works. The better way is to build a relationship and then sell in a much softer way.
I use this platform to help with my email marketing. The search function allows me to find the right person and their full name. Sometimes, if you don’t get a response from someone, it could mean they’ve changed jobs. LinkedIn is an easy way to check if this is the case. Even people who barely check their feed or messages will still log in to stay up to date with any job promotions or changes to their employer.
Study and courses
There are several different ways to learn on this platform. The premium subscription allows you to access their courses. I’ve used the paid plan in the past and found the courses to be good value, especially if you also use it to contact people outside of your network and for extensive search functionality than.
How to learn for free is from famous creators. Part of the marketing strategy of many creators is giving out free advice, and I find this a great way to learn. You won’t believe how many creators are making money training others how to use LinkedIn!
What is catch?
By far the biggest problem with the platform is the lack of active users: those who regularly check their feed. However, it is growing in popularity and now is a great time to get a foothold and start dominating on LinkedIn. In case you want to check my profile, it can be found This.
