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Marketing Campaigns for Photographers – Email Triggers
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Firstly I’m hoping that you use database management software to organise all of your lovely clients. If not put it at the very top of your shopping list as it will make you more money than any lens, Photoshop action or whatever else has caught your eye at a trade show.
You might only have one client and think its not the right time to invest in software that you’ll not really be using that much for a while. In fact it’s the perfect time as you don’t have to waste hours inputting old data from a spreadsheet and you’ll have time to develop your system and processes.
If you can’t afford much then you can’t go far wrong than the free version of Studio Cloud to start you off. Although the email triggers are a paid upgrade ($30 per month) to the free service but it’s done as a monthly subscription which will certainly make things more affordable.
Marketing your business can be a tiresome affair so it’s a delightful relief when
- Things are automated
- You don’t have to look for new clients because you already have a database full of them.
One of the best things about photography is that it’s not a one off event. Weddings are arguably one offs but they’ll probably have kids and want pictures of them at some stage. The point is that just because you sold a £1000 wall art to someone last year doesn’t mean they’re not going to want another one this year.
Marketing Campaigns for Photographers – The Pinterest Competition
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There’s no denying that in regards to social media, 2012 is all about Pinterest. Everybody seems to be racking their brains to find a way to make it work for them as a marketing tool. There has also been a lot of talk about copyright and the Pinterest terms and conditions so before you sign up you might what to check this article published recently on Mashable -http://mashable.com/2012/03/21/pinterest-copyright-legal-issues/. It is also worth noting that Pinterest have since updated their T&C’s which will go into effect for all users on April 6, 2012
One simple idea that I’ve seen is a competition in which participants aim to create a board in order to win a prize.
The Competition
Create an inspirational Pinterest board (on your own account) that reflects the theme [insert theme]
The board must be named [Your competition title] and finished by [insert end date]
To enter your board share a link [via email/on your Facebook page/in the comments of a blog post]
We will choose the best board that reflects [insert theme] and the winner will receive [insert prize]
What you do
Follow all competition boards and creators.
Comment on pins you like that reflect your style (the theme for the competition should already reflect that anyway).
Share boards on other social media sites and your blog
Marketing Campaigns for Photographers – Create a Competition for Charity
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I’ve seen lots of different promotions from photographers who have run different competitions and many that do charity work but this marketing campaign is a little different.
The biggest difference is that you will be raising funds for charity but you’ll also be making some money for your own pocket too.
What you need
1. Friends
Not just any friends, but lots and lots of what my wife likes to call my “photo friends”. To be more specific, you need a network of photographers either locally or nationally that photograph the same sort of subject as you (babies, pets, seniors etc).
The next thing you have to do is convince them all that you have a wonderful idea for a marketing campaign and it’s not going to cost them too much time or money.
You will need to have all the photographers on board before you begin the promotion of the competition.
2. A Charity
It does help if you choose a charity which will help you with your marketing and promotion. Ideally your charity needs to reflect your area of expertise so if you are a pet photographer then work with animal shelter, if you’re a baby photographer then a children’s hospital might be your choice.
3. Judges
They don’t have to be celebrities but it’s certainly wouldn’t hurt if they were. Obviously they can’t be the photographers entering images but if you manage to sign up a couple of industry experts with judging experience all the better. Read More→
Marketing Campaigns for Photographers – Be a Fool
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“There’s an old saying in Tennessee — I know it’s in Texas, probably in Tennessee — that says, fool me once, shame on –shame on you. Fool me — you can’t get fooled again.”
There’s something about April Fools day which I love. It’s not recognised as a national holiday, Hallmark don’t sell ‘happy fools day cards’ (then again I could be wrong about that one) and there’s no real target market as adults and children both equally participate.
But it is jolly good fun and these days it’s not restricted to silliness in the playground or fake stories in the newspapers.
Google (or should I say Topeka) have led the way online in recent years but its not just the larger companies that have been noticed. The viral effect of social media means that any small business with the right prank can generate themselves quite a large amount of exposure very quickly.
So why shouldn’t a photography business be any different?
Well, be aware that there is such a thing as bad publicity and if you’re a family portrait photographer then tread very carefully.
3 golden rules for creating an effective Aprils Fools prank Read More→
Marketing Campaigns for Photographers – Seasonal Touches
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The one great things about the changing seasons is the fact that we can all jump on the promotional bandwagon and take advantage of the numerous holidays throughout the year.
In a way people almost expect a seasonal offer. A couple of days after valentines day I got a call from a potential client asking me what my mothers day offer was! They found my website had a quick look round and after they couldn’t find anything they gave me a call. Luckily I had an offer prepared, I just hadn’t launched it yet.
There are plenty of photographers out there that will be offering all manner of deals throughout the year so it’s your goal to try and do something different. If you can’t make it different then do it better!
Here’s a couple of ideas that you could use in the coming months. Really these are ideal for portrait studios aiming at a young family.
Mothers Day
Free box of chocolates for every mum that books a session on [insert dates]
Photo-shoot and beauty treatment bundled gift voucher
Team up with a local spa and put together a special mothers day offer.
The little chef surprise
Cupcake decoration photoshoot. Client walks away with a print and a cupcake for mum that the kids decorated during the photoshoot
Marketing Campaigns for Photographers – The Fabulous Five
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Your blog is undoubtedly the most powerful online marketing tool you have at your disposal but if you think that you can rely on SEO and cleverly written post titles to drive traffic your way then think again.
Your blog coupled with the right amount of social media sharing is an effective marketing combination. The question I am often asked is what social networks are best to promote your business and ultimately get more work.
There’s no real answer to that other than there isn’t just one. There isn’t really a typical client for every type of business but there are a few generalisations which can help you.
This marketing campaign is titled The Fabulous Five because it is about identifying at least 5 different social networks where you can drive traffic and potential clients to your site.
Why 5?
Well if you have the time to share on 10 different platforms then don’t let me stop you! Using 5 different social media platforms should be manageable enough and it also gives you a varied enough spread.
Marketing Campaigns for Photographers – Shoot Camera Phone Videos
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Firstly I have to put my hands up and admit one thing. I have been a Canon 5Dmk2 owner since its release and I still haven’t shot a frame of video with it. There are two reasons for this:
- I’m not a videographer and I wouldn’t pretend to be otherwise
- If I got interested in video then it would consume more hours in the day than already exist and I certainly don’t have time for that. Unfortunately my idea of creating an 8th day in the week is still under development.
This poses quite a problem as I love the idea of using video to promote my business. Webcams are fine enough, but really what I want to communicate can’t be done with me sitting in front of my computer.
What I want is the ability to create and edit short videos whilst on location and be able to upload and them easily.
Then I came to the realisation that I can achieve all this with my iPhone (or any other smart phone to be fair).
What sort of content should you create?
Let’s face it you’re not going to be filming a remake of Ben-Hur on your phone. The quality isn’t going to be amazing so think about what sort of content is passably at that quality.
Behind the scenes videos – We have talked about these in the past (Creating a Viral Video) but you could also shoot very quick 30 second clips that are a bit more of a taster than a full video. Most of your clips will be behind the scenes style videos.
Marketing Campaigns for Photographers – Photo of the Week
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We have mentioned 365 photo projects in the past but a 52 project might be more suited to your work-flow.
What to share
Really your photo of the week needs to be more considered than a Instagram or iPhone snap as it has to showcase your talents as a photographer in the best way possible. In order for your photo of the week to be an effective marketing tool then they need to be one of two things:
- Showcasing your style
- Showcasing a new style, subject or direction you want your photography to take.
Marketing Campaigns for Photographers – Instagram
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As a professional photographer you might scoff at the idea of using an app like Instagram to market your business. Or perhaps the fact that you’ll be using a camera phone to take and share images might chill you to the bone. But the fact of the matter is that Instagram is popular, very popular indeed so why wouldn’t you be embracing a popular photography community?
To be honest becoming a heavily followed and liked photographer in the Instagram community isn’t the target of this campaign but if that happens then it’s certainly a bonus.
The fact of the matter is that this campaign can be done on any number of photo sharing applications or networks, it’s just that Instagram ticks lots of the boxes that I need.
Using Instagram as a tool to promote your business.
There are several recommendations when it comes to the frequency of sharing on sites like Facebook, Tumblr or Twitter but there is an overwhelming agreement that daily sharing is essential to keep fans and followers engaged. The problem is that creating good daily content isn’t the easiest thing to do and it can be quite time consuming. Read More→
Marketing Campaigns for Photographers – Facebook Timeline Cover
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A couple of weeks ago I had the pleasure of hosting a social media Masterclass at The Societies annual photographic convention here in London. I shared a few social media marketing ideas, many of which I have published here. One idea that I’ll be using in the very near future (and that I shared in my talk) fits in nicely with Facebook’s announcement on Tuesday that Timeline will be rolled out to everyone in the next few weeks.
If you have been using timeline already you’ll no doubt have played around with different cover photos.
You’ll also might have come to the same realisation as I did that it’s not easy to find an image which fits neatly into the 850 x315 space.
Now imagine what Joe Public is trying to fit into that awkward space.
As photographers we have the wonderful advantage that not only can we shoot an image for that particular size but we can easily crop an image ready to fit.
However your share your clients images on Facebook try and include one that is cropped for the Timeline cover.
What next?
