If you are a wedding photographer trying to decide whether to focus on SEO or Instagram, I completely understand why this feels confusing.
Because I have been in that exact place.
And I don’t mean theoretically.
I mean actually doing it.
I used to post on Instagram every single day thinking that consistency would eventually turn into enquiries.
Not occasionally posting.
Not half-hearted content.
Every single day.
I was doing:
- Photos from shoots
- Educational posts
- Reels
- Behind-the-scenes content
- Tips for couples and photographers
I followed everything I was told to do.
And yet… nothing really changed in terms of enquiries.
At one point, I even asked a well-known designer in the industry what I was doing wrong.
And their answer stayed with me:
“Honestly, I don’t know. You’re doing everything right.”
That was the moment I stopped assuming the problem was effort.
And started questioning the strategy instead.
Because I realised something important:
Just because something is “best practice” doesn’t mean it is best for you.
And that is where SEO started to enter the picture for me in a very different way.
Table of Contents
1. How I Actually Think About SEO vs Instagram
2. My Real Experience With Instagram Marketing
3. Why SEO Started Making More Sense to Me
4. The Real Difference I See Between Them
5. Which One Actually Leads to Clients
6. Why Personality Changes Everything
7. The Shift That Changed My Marketing Entirely
8. What I Do Now Instead
9. The Quiz That Came From All of This
10. Final Thoughts
1. How I Actually Think About SEO vs Instagram
I don’t really think of SEO and Instagram as competitors anymore.
I think of them more like two completely different environments.
Instagram is where people discover you.
SEO is where people find you with intent.
And depending on your personality, one will feel more natural than the other.
For me personally, I realised I naturally prefer systems that are more structured and long-term.
That’s just how my brain works.
I’m an ISFJ, so I tend to lean toward:
- Helpful content
- Trust-building
- Long-term consistency
Which is why blogging and SEO started to feel more aligned with me over time.
2. A Real Look at My Instagram Journey (The Feeds That Tell the Truth)
I want to show you something that feels important in this conversation, because I think sometimes we only talk about marketing in theory.
But in reality, your marketing journey is visible in your actual content history.
So let me show you something a little more real.
These are two versions of my Instagram feed from a few years ago, around 2020.
At that time, I was still in the phase of trying to “figure out” what worked.
I was posting daily, experimenting constantly, and trying to keep up with what I thought I was “supposed” to do.
Feed 1: Focused on Work + Portfolio Content
This version of my feed was more structured around my actual photography work.
It was clean, portfolio-driven, and focused on showcasing what I was creating.
And in some ways, this made sense, because it felt aligned with being a designer.
But engagement was inconsistent.
Some posts would get around 300 views…
And others would suddenly spike to 10k.
There was no real pattern I could rely on.
It felt unpredictable.
And as a business owner, that unpredictability slowly starts to affect how you feel about marketing itself.
Feed 2: Trend-Based Content + “What You’re Supposed to Post” Era
This phase looked very different.
I started experimenting more with trending content.
Things like:
- Relatable business memes
- “Successful business vs relaxing” style posts
- Educational hooks designed for reach
- More algorithm-driven content formats
And yes, some of these posts performed better in terms of reach.
But something felt off.
Because even when the numbers went up…
The enquiries didn’t necessarily follow.
It became very clear that reach and results were not the same thing.
And I think this is where a lot of photographers get stuck without realising it.
We start chasing visibility instead of alignment.
What I Realised From Both Versions
Looking back at both of these feeds now, I can see something much more clearly than I could at the time.
Neither version was “wrong”.
But neither was fully sustainable either.
Because I was still trying to figure out a strategy that wasn’t actually aligned with how I naturally like to work.
And that is really important.
Because your marketing should not feel like you are constantly adapting yourself to the platform.
It should feel like the platform supports the way you already work.
My Feed Now (And Why It Looks Completely Different)
My feed now looks very different.
I don’t post daily anymore.
I don’t chase trends.
And I’m no longer trying to “perform” on Instagram in the same way.
Instead, I post when I want to.
When I have something to share.
When it feels aligned with my work or my clients.
And yes, my views are sometimes lower than they used to be.
But something important has changed:
Instagram is no longer my main marketing platform.
Because it doesn’t match how I naturally work.
As an ISFJ, I’ve realised I work better with systems that are:
- Helpful
- Structured
- Long-term
- Value-driven
Which is exactly why SEO and blogging became a much better fit for me.
Not because Instagram is bad.
But because it is not the centre of my strategy anymore.
It is simply one part of a wider system.
The Real Shift Here
The shift was not “I stopped using Instagram”.
The shift was:
I stopped forcing Instagram to be something it was never meant to be for me.
And once I stopped doing that, everything became a lot clearer.
Because I could finally build a marketing system around how I actually work, not how I thought I should work.
3. Why SEO Started Making More Sense to Me
I didn’t wake up one day and suddenly decide SEO was better.
It was more gradual than that.
I took the Moz SEO course because I wanted to understand what was actually happening behind search results.
That curiosity eventually led me deeper into SEO, which I talk about more in my Wedding Photography SEO Guide.
Because once I started understanding how search actually works, I stopped relying on Instagram as my main source of visibility.
And the more I learned, the more it clicked.
Because SEO isn’t about chasing attention.
It’s about being present when someone is already searching for what you offer.
That shift matters.
Especially for wedding photographers.
Because people searching:
- “wedding photographer Los Angeles, California,
- “documentary wedding photographer Miami, Florida”
- “luxury wedding photographer South Carolina, North Charleston”
are not casually browsing.
They are already in decision mode.
4. The Real Difference I See Between Them
When I simplify it in my own head, it comes down to this:
Instagram creates awareness.
SEO captures intent.
Instagram is people discovering you.
SEO is people actively looking for you.
And that difference completely changes how I think about marketing strategy.
Because one is about visibility.
And the other is about timing.
5. Which One Actually Leads to Clients
If I’m being completely honest, SEO is what I would rely on for enquiries.
Not because Instagram doesn’t work.
But because SEO traffic usually comes with intent already built in.
However, I don’t ignore Instagram either.
Because people still check you out there.
They want to see:
- Your personality
- Your consistency
- Your style
So in reality, they work together.
Just not in the way most people assume.
6. Why Personality Changes Everything
This is also where things started to shift for me personally.
I realised that marketing is not just about strategy — it is also about personality and how you naturally communicate.
I explore this in more depth in my Marketing for Wedding Photographers guide, where I break down why not every strategy fits every photographer.
This is probably the most important part for me personally.
Because I don’t think marketing is one-size-fits-all.
And I learned that the hard way.
Some photographers love showing up daily on social media.
Some don’t.
Some love writing.
Some prefer visuals only.
And I realised I naturally lean toward:
- Helpful content
- Education
- Systems that build over time
Which is why SEO and blogging started to feel more natural than constant social posting.
7. The Shift That Changed My Marketing Entirely
The biggest shift for me wasn’t choosing SEO over Instagram.
It was realising I didn’t have to force a strategy that didn’t fit me.
Once I stopped trying to “win” Instagram and started focusing on building long-term visibility through SEO, things became calmer.
Not instantly successful.
But more sustainable.
And that matters more to me now than quick wins.
8. What I Do Now Instead
Now my approach looks very different.
I still use Instagram.
But I don’t rely on it.
My focus is more on:
- SEO-driven blog content
- Website strategy
- Creating helpful resources
- Building long-term visibility
And Instagram is more of a supporting layer rather than the main engine.
9. The Quiz That Came From All of This
This entire realisation is actually why I created my marketing personality quiz.
Because I kept seeing photographers trying to force strategies that didn’t match how they naturally work.
So I built something to help them understand:
- What kind of marketing feels natural
- What drains them
- What they should focus on long-term
You can take it here:
Marketing Personality Quiz for Photographers
10. Final Thoughts
For me, SEO vs Instagram was never really a debate.
It became more about alignment.
What feels sustainable?
What actually fits how I work?
What allows me to show up consistently without burnout?
And once I started answering those questions honestly, the strategy became much clearer.
Not perfect.
But finally aligned.