While most people had the Thanksgiving holidays in mind, social media platforms continued to add, change, or update their existing tools and features. Meta tinkered with its ad-free subscription model over the past few weeks and it turns out there are plenty of catches. For one, if a user has subscribed to the ad-free versions of Facebook and Instagram, they will not be able to run ads on the platform — something that social media managers will need to be mindful of. Staying on the topic of advertisements, one of the bigger stories on social media last month was YouTube declaring war against ad blockers. Viewers would first get pop-up warnings advising them to turn off the ad blocker before the platform eventually prevented them from watching any videos. Viewers would have no option but to turn off ad blockers or subscribe to YouTube’s ad-free subscription plan. One way or another, the social media giants are being more aggressive with their positions as far as revenue is concerned.
It was somewhat quiet on the social media front in November 2023, mostly considering the Thanksgiving break in the US. However, our recent strategy of posting daily on Instagram resulted in a 9.7% increase in reach compared to October, getting in front of 8,083 accounts. Total impressions for the month increased by 7% to 41,931. At the same time, account engagements were up by 8.9%. Our decision to focus more on IG reels in November may be partially responsible for this gain.
The top-performing post in November featured Denver-based Willie Petersen’s portraits of Deion Sanders for UCHealth. The carousel post reached 3,466 accounts.
On the video front, the IG reel garnering the most attention was New York-based Julie Benedetto’s BTS timelapse on a food photo shoot for Pita Chip. As of today, it has 4,266 plays.
Among other news, we added 283 new followers in November.
Pinterest is a visual discovery platform where users can collect ideas on various trending topics. We use it as a virtual mood board where we organize our members’ photos by specialty, and also collect examples of all the main types of marketing materials photographers use to promote themselves (including logos, bios, email promotions, print promotions, and PDF portfolios).
We periodically select new content from our photographers’ websites (and also consider the work they send directly to us) to keep the platform fresh for our audience. Though Pinterest is not always top of mind for photographers, we’ve found that our Pinterest page gets a significant amount of views.
Month over month, our Pinterest metrics keep getting better. We saw 333k in terms of impressions, a 41% uptick from October. Engagements increased by 75% to 11k, while our total audience reach expanded by 33% to 193k.
The top pin of the month belongs to Portland, Maine-based Will Russell featuring his Brand Narrative photography. It generated 68 impressions.
The month’s top parent board was Photographer Specialties, which acquired 64k in impressions, 1k engagements, and 1k pin clicks.
Though Facebook is mostly used to connect users with their friends and family (and their algorithm favors that content), we’ve found that it’s also effective at connecting photographers with clients. Our Facebook account mirrors our Instagram feed and we also share a selection of Photographer Spotlight articles from our Published Blog.
On Facebook, our reach increased by 21.2% compared to October, settling at 2,880.
The top-performing post featured Colorado-based Justin VanAlstyne’s outdoor shots for Niner Bikes. It received 151 impressions.
LinkedIn is the only major social media platform dedicated specifically to professional networking. This makes it a good place to share the stories of our photographers and their creative problem-solving skills. We post once or twice a week, sharing our Photographer Spotlight articles and photos from our Creative in Place email campaign, where we pick a very specific creative brief and show clients how our extensive network of photographers can deliver on that particular theme.
There were marginal gains in terms of views and visitors in November. Monthly views registered at 501 (14.4% increase) while we saw 244 unique visitors (13% increase).
The post with the most engagement featured UAE-based Nour El Refai’s assignment for Dior, photographing the Palace of Muhammad Ali in Cairo before an event hosting 400 distinguished guests. It generated 1,277 impressions and 112 clicks.
Twitter, or X, is a microblogging platform that enables users to post short messages (aka posts) formerly known as tweets. It is commonly used for sharing information, expressing opinions, and staying updated on current events.
We try to post on this platform about once a week by sharing photographer news, compact galleries, and articles featuring our member photographers.
Here as well, the tweet with the most engagement and reach featured Nour’s work for Dior, receiving 129 impressions.
We use our YouTube channel to host a wide range of content, including behind-the-scenes, photography compilations, motion reels, print portfolios, Member Open House presentations, and much more. Users can subscribe to our channels, comment on videos, and share with others.
We post once or twice per week and use two types of formats: vertical shorts and horizontal motion reels.
The key metrics on YouTube held steady, with 353 views (6% increase), 8 hours in total watchtime (54% increase), and 6 new subscribers.
Stay tuned for more content on our Social Media platforms. Keep tagging us, and of course, let us know if you have any tips and ideas for us!
Have questions about how we promote our photographers? Check out our Membership page. Want to know how you can get the most out of your Wonderful Machine membership? Check out our Jumpstart page or just reach out!