Using Facebook’s Photo Tagging as a Promotional Tool for Your Photography Business

Update: Facebook has updated their promotional guidelines since this article was written. This technique is no longer suggested but it does represent out of the box thinking and is worth the read.

In today’s competitive world, it’s becoming harder and harder to get the attention of our prospective clients. Advertising is everywhere, and the consumer has become immune to traditional marketing methods. To get that needed attention we have to think outside the box and try new things. Many companies have found success using social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook, gaining exposure for their brands through relationship building. On the other hand, many companies have failed by trying to “sell” through social networks, missing the whole point of being “social”.

A great example of thinking outside the box was in a recent social media campaign from IKEA. Their ad agency, Forsman & Bodenfors, created the concept of tying photos from IKEA’s showroom catalog to a store manager’s Facebook profile, drawing fans in through a giveaway promotion.

The giveaway was simple, go to the manager’s profile, click on the Photos tab and find the showroom photos. Be the first to tag your name to an item in the photo and it’s yours!

IKEA was able to get a ton of brand exposure with very little effort due to Facebook’s photo tagging system. When someone was tagged in a photo, it automatically appeared in the news feed of their network, which drew more people to the giveaway. This promotion was very successful, so much so that users who missed out demanded more pictures for their chance to win.

The result, IKEA had a very active social media campaign that built brand awareness and only cost a few thousand dollars worth of furniture.

Below is a YouTube video that gives an overview of the campaign.

How could you use these same techniques to promote your photography business and build brand awareness? Are you a fine art photographer? Take one of your images and do a limited edition giveaway. Sign and number each print and mail them out. Your only out-of-pocket expense is the cost of the print, shipping and a little time to sign them.

Maybe you’re a wedding or portrait photographer. Try doing a photo session giveaway. With the purchase of a print package you would giveaway a free engagement or portrait photo session. The only cost to you is your time for the session.

The options are limitless, but the idea is to give away something of high perceived value for free, no strings attached. Remember we are working in a “social” environment; you want to engage and build relationships with the user, not try and sell to them.

If you try using the Facebook photo tagging technique, leave a comment here and let us know how it went so we can all learn from each other.

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Trevor Current

Founder of Current Photographer, co-host of The Digital Photography Cafe Show, Designer, Photographer, and overall tech geek.

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