Starting a Photography Business: Part 7 – Shall We Tweet?

I’m wanting to sit and write this article to tell you how wonderful Twitter is and how you should definitely think about using it for a business marketing tool but I’m getting distracted by er, Twitter! Well Tweetdeck to be exact.  And that is a wonderful thing about Twitter such is it’s phenomenon that people write different software for it and you can have so much fun with the different applications.

Just in case you haven’t yet signed up to Twitter let me give you a quick answer to is it worth it? Oh yes, indeed it is! I signed up when someone whose teleseminars I listen to said she sometimes gives away free gifts on Twitter.  I can’t say I was hooked immediately; this new world was complicated.  It took me two weeks to be certain I’d sent a @message, only when they replied was I sure.  And all this #FF business drove me insane for a couple of weeks too until I realised it’s something that happens every Friday when you recommend people who are good to follow.

But pretty soon it became addictive and I saw how it could be very useful to me when I set up my business.  So I began to follow people that I was interested in and then follow the people that follow them so I could get more of a niche following.  But it’s not all about marketing for me there have been some great advantages of being on Twitter, I have met some lovely people who over time have become friends, and it’s a fantastic place for being in contact with other people in your field of work.  There are numerous photographers on Twitter who are happy to answer questions and give advice on suppliers or just have a chat.  And I’m writing these articles now because I was on Twitter at the right time when Trevor was asking for contributors.

After a year with the bird, (I wonder if it sends an anniversary card?), I’m becoming more selective about only following people who actually have conversations so I can have a chat with someone and build up a rapport – though I do have the odd guilty pleasure in there too.  The accounts that only send links to webpages leave me cold & I also avoid like the plague the links to ‘click here and get 100’s of followers.’  I’m not certain but when you look at some peoples followers they have plenty of faceless companies and porn stars listed, I get the feeling they may have come from these type of links.

Building a following is easy, building the right following is harder and you need to be fairly consistent about your tweeting too, I’ve dropped off a bit whilst I’m building my site but I still take the time to say hello first thing and then sign off at a night time so my last message people view keeps my page personable.

Before we leave Twitter I feel I should just say if you are new to it just be aware that if you simply add a message to your profile or do a @ reply to someone, anyone can see what you write, so it’s probably not a good idea to let all your followers know that during the week it’s just you at home alone as your husband works away.

If you’re going to say something like that do it via direct message where only you and the person you are talking to sees.  That was a genuine post and between her business address, her bio & her general open chatter about where she lives anyone up to no good could I’m sure easily figure it out.

Facebook is a new one for me so I’m probably not best placed to say yes market on FB. In fact if anyone has any FB tips please do feel free to share them in the comments at the bottom of this article.

I have a page just for friends and a like page for the business but I find it so restrictive having come to it from the free world of Twitter, it reminds me of a big Alsatian guard dog standing at the gate bearing it’s teeth, you try and add a friend and a box pops up “Is this person someone you know?”  It’s definitely a different animal, you can write longer updates on FB whereas Twitter you only get 140 characters which can be challenging but fun if you just think of them as short sound bites. Yet with FB it’s easier to put up your photos with your profile if you wish to display them to your followers, it’s swings and roundabouts I guess.

It kind of reminds me of the tv & radio debate in the ‘olden days’ before interactive tv, radio was the best medium for an immediate response to a question, here Twitter is and there’s no need to apologise for doing a bit of marketing along the way, it’s for the most part, expected.

If you go and set up accounts with them both have some fun and see what it’s all about though choose a useful bio name for your business.  And remember if you are using these accounts for business whatever you post reflects on both you and your business but don’t let that stop you from being authentic.

Out of all the articles I’ve done this one has taken me ages to write, as to make sure I didn’t forget anything I’ve had Tweetdeck open & I have been nipping away every few minutes to have a chat.  Phew I’ve reached the end oh and I just realised so caught up was I forgot to save it when I started, thank goodness there wasn’t a power cut!

Notes

• Set up an account name that is good for your business, big ears is fun but will it suit your brand.

• Retweet messages that resonate with you but do a copy & paste then put the authors name at the front of the message e.g. RT: @iaminthemoment then copy & paste the message. This is crucial otherwise the creator of the original message doesn’t get a copy to know you’ve paid them a compliment.

• Be careful what personal information you give away where everyone can see and make sure you set your privacy settings when you sign up to Facebook

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Ruth Bayley

Living in the beautiful rural county of Yorkshire it was perhaps natural for Ruth to have an affinity with the countryside and its wildlife. Creativity is Ruth’s driving force finding an outlet in television & radio she worked for many years as producer for BBC & ITV.

However a love of photography and for being surrounded by nature called her to go back to her photography training and bring pleasure and joy to people through her connection with our planet.

Staying in the moment when taking her images allows her to experience the natural magnificence unfolding before her eyes. It is this moment of mediation, of gratitude, that she evocatively conveys through her images.

www.healingwithphotography.co.uk