Photography business and marketing

Marketing in photography business and strategies for it.

There are plenty of great photographers out there and they have no work. The reason is that no one knows who they are. You not only need to be good, but you need people to know you are good (through effective marketing).Marketing in photography business will help you with the same.

Every business is different, and what works for another photographer may not work for you. It depends on your niche, target market, personality, location, and available time and money resources. For example, many photographers have great success with search engine optimization (SEO), while others don’t.

I am gonna share ideas of promoting photography business based on my personal experience that works:

Find Out The Key Decision Maker in Group: If you book a group of friends for portrait shoot then I would suggest you find out the key decision-maker of the group. It means the captain of the group or the person who leads the group. Make a good relationship with the key decision-maker, offer him/her more photos than the actual price. Connect with him/her in your WhatsApp or WhatsApp group. Do regularly share about upcoming seasons, give clients pointers on preparing for their sessions, announce events, and feature a different type of portrait session each issue, highlighting one client’s experience.

Word Of Mouth That Works: I created my own referral marketing strategy. Whenever a group of friends comes for a portrait photo session. I make sure to build a relationship with 1 or 2 of them. By building a good relationship, I offer them to connect with me in my WhatsApp client or network group. And, I personally offer them discounts or more quantity in photographs for the sake of some referrals. This technique worked out great for me. Thanks to my communication skills, I can easily make a relationship with models and get clients from their referrals. In order to boost up the repurchase, I prefer word of mouth.

Point to note: The more quality you generate in photographs, the more people will do word of mouth for you naturally and organically through social media.

Tagging: If my client posts his/her photography on Facebook, Instagram and other social media networks then I always request them to tag my page on social media or write a text (Credits…). 80% of my clients accept my tagging request and tag my photography page which ultimately transfers their friend’s traffic to my page. With the help of a simple booking/scheduling system on Facebook and messenger chat-bot, I am easily able to convert those visitors into my clients. It’s natural and the most trust-able way to promote your business through your clients.

Super Categorised SEO: Break down the services you offer, and market those to specific clients. For example, if you want to offer family portraits as a holiday gift idea then you need to make sure that the marketing hits when people are starting to think about the coming holidays, like September and October. For example, You can focus on terms like “Miami children’s photographer,” “London sports photographer,” or any other similar terms that you think prospective clients might use to find you.

Point To Note: The competition in photography is super high and big competitors will not let you swim in the blue ocean. So, better to select a micro-niche in your photography and be super specialised in that niche. Don’t try to cover every type of photography. Just be specific! As you can see in the above example, keywords are very specific only for sports and children and by putting the location, it becomes a micro niche keyword.

Micro Videos: The best way to market yourself is through micro-videos. The videos have a length of 2–5 mins max. You probably know that today’s user attention span is less than 8 seconds. So, you need to prepare your content accordingly and engage with people on social media through micro-videos. For example, you only shoot for babies and have expertise in baby photography. Record a video while shooting for your client and show the after results in the video. Post that video in social media, post in Facebook groups as well related to baby and parenting. For more, try running ads on Facebook and target recently married couples and parents. Like the micro-video method, just start experimenting new things in the market, show your work, portfolio, results through video. In that way, you would be able to beat the competition and grow your photography business.

Upselling Through Vendors: Do you remember the scene when you bought your camera from the store? Did the salesman try to sell your memory card, lens hood, lens, flashes, extra batteries? Did you notice? In simple words, it’s called the upselling sales method. Now, the question is how you can use the upselling method to scale up your business.

Let’s take the example of a wedding photography business. You probably know that a wedding requires a lot of vendors. For example, decorators, hotels, salon, anchors, makeup artists and many more.

What you gotta do is create a relationship with the vendors and deal for upselling and referral. Give 20% commission to the vendor who referred your business and the lead got converted. It’s kinda creating an ecosystem.

Or you can also deal on the basis of cross-selling. If the vendor and you get regular work and orders together. It will create a relationship which has immense value in the future. So, make your vision broad and start thinking for long term benefits.

Let’s also take an example of a general photography business which deals in frames, T-shirts, cup printing. The upselling products could be a framed wall print, extra album pages, a parent album, a DVD slideshow, engagement album, baby’s first year album and so forth.

Regular Emails: Collecting emails/numbers from customers is a top priority. For example, one of my friends runs a photography blog. She emails past clients about mini sessions, upcoming promotions, holiday card orders, and so forth. She also likes to send her wedding couples a happy anniversary email, as a way to stay in touch with clients at the time they are starting to grow their families.

So, creating an email strategy is a must for your business. Now, the big challenge is to transfer the strategy to automation. It requires good practice of funnels, user journey. Try tools like Hubspot to create your automated workflow for your existing clients.

Know-How to market on social media effectively: Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, YouTube, and Instagram are all being used effectively by photographers to market their businesses and interact with customers and potential customers.

Why would you want to drive traffic from your website to your Facebook page Because people will not likely look at your website every day, but they probably check Facebook several times each day? By having a strong presence on Facebook, you are able to reach clients more frequently by going where they hang out.

Most of the photographers post their portfolio in their Instagram or Facebook page which is very common in the present market. So, you would not be able to swim in the blue ocean on social media. But, wait.. how to create a blue ocean strategy and market yourself effectively through social media. It requires viral marketing practices, new experiments with an audience, running webinars and many more. Here are some tips to follow on social media:

• Interact with people.
• Create excitement for your clients
• followers.
• Share stories and images.
• Be yourself. Again! Be yourself and be unique.

Well, I have unlimited strategies to promote your photography business, but for now, I think it is enough. Try to cover 1–2 strategies and implement them in your business to see vast results. I will share other strategies like:

• Game of Online Directories For Photographers
• Upselling Vendor Directories
• Freebie Strategy To Get The First Client
• How To Market Images On Pinterest Effectively
• Ultimate Tagging Strategy in Social media groups and comments.
• Automated Email Newsletter
• Website For Photographers
• CRM For Photographers: Relationships With Clients Made Simple!
• Community Management For Photographers
• Marketing Of Photographers on Flickr
• Media Coverage that Really Works For Photographers
• Advanced SEO Hacks For photographers
• Creating a Profitable Ecosystem For Photographers
• Cross-Selling Hacks For Photographers
• Content Experiments on Social media
• Stock Photographs Market Truth

Again this market is dynamic and fast-changing. What works for one photographer may not work for another. So, It requires practice of new trends, experiments, practical frameworks and much more.

I would suggest you be an Action taker, Deep learner and experimenter.

But, how?

By commenting below, asking questions and engaging in discussions. In that way, you will get a better understanding and learning.

Enhancing photography business via social media

I would suggest focusing on visually oriented social media outlets:

• Instagram
• Pinterest
• Snapchat
• Tumblr
• Google+

Here are some quick tips(shortcuts) which always worked for our clients:

After that analyse what your competitors are doing and if they are successful at it. If so, try to adapt social media marketing strategies they are using to your social media accounts – see if this is working for you and your audience.

Build following: invite your previous customers to follow you on relevant social media accounts and even tag them in your photos (before you do that, ask them – remember, privacy comes first). That way you can expand your reach. Join relevant groups and communities, but not as a salesperson – try to be as helpful as you can.

What makes your photography business unique? Try to present this in every post on your SM accounts.

These are just quick tips and I would suggest finding a relevant social media marketing agency which will surely bring your photography business to a new level.

Photography marketing ideas

It may take some time, but here are 10 free photography marketing ideas that work like crazy.

1.Google Business Pages

When you search on Google and include a location in your keyword, such as “Madison Wedding Photographer,” Google is now putting their Google Business listings BEFORE the organic listings in their rankings. These listings are free, so go and get one now! You can find them here.

It’s important to fully fill out your profile and start getting reviews if you want to show up in the local listings. Make sure to upload some photos as well, as they sometimes show up there in the search results. It’s a great way to improve your chances of being found on Google when people are searching for a photographer.

2.Automate your Social Media posts

Social media sites, such as Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, Snapchat, and others can be super useful ways to promote your business.

That being said, you have to be super careful not to waste a bunch of time on these platforms as they can be really distracting. I mean, I can go on Facebook to put a post on my business page, and an hour later I’m viewing cat videos and forgot to post altogether.

The struggle is real, friends.

So, in order to keep from wasting too much time, use a free service like IFTTT to automate your posts. This allows you to post in one place and then have it automatically post that same content on other platforms. This is how to get the best response with the least amount of time wasted.

3.Blog as often as you can

Having fresh content on your site is one of the best ways to let Google know that your site is active (which gives you better rankings) and shows your customers that you are busy. When I visit a site that hasn’t been updated in a few months, I often wonder if they are still in business. If you don’t have many shoots, spread out your posts (do a few images one at a time instead of all in one big post) or show some personal work.

It’s also extremely valuable to blog about things that your clients want to know. For example, wedding photographers may want to put out a series on their blog with tips for brides for having better wedding photography (such as hiring a professional lighting company or not getting ready in a church kitchen) whereas portrait photographers may post about what to wear to a session. Providing information to your clients helps them to value you and see you as an authority about the subject.

4.Start building an email list right away

The more I learn about email marketing, the more I realise that I should have started an email list right away from the very beginning. I’m not talking about buying some random list that people are trying to sell you. I’m talking about people who are interested in your work and opt-in to receive emails from you.

The beauty of the email list is that these clients already like your work enough to give you their email address. They want to hear about your business and about the products you are offering. They may even love your work enough that they want to receive an email every time you update your blog with new photos. These people are priceless.

Tell your email list and give them the opportunity to sign up a day before you open it to the public. Have a new product you are offering? Tell your list about it and entice them to buy it.

In fact, one of the photographers who is in my Marketog course said that with her list of less than 150 people, she’s able to book a full day of mini-sessions simply by sending out a single email. It’s so incredibly powerful for getting more clients.

You can use MailChimp for free if you just send out a basic newsletter from time to time, which is the absolute minimum you should be doing.

However, I highly recommend using ConvertKit. They do have a small monthly fee to use their service, but the automation they provide will easily pay for the cost, and it’ll cost you less than your monthly Starbucks budget which is well worth it. As an FYI, if you purchase using that link, it pays me a small commission at no extra cost to you, so it’s a great way to say “thanks” for the tips I share with you. So thanks in advance for using it!

5.Offer referral bonuses

Word of mouth advertising is one of the most powerful things you can have for propelling your business forward. One way to help encourage that is to reward people for telling their friends about your business and how awesome you are. I like to offer either a free print or a certain amount of print credit to my clients for each friend they refer to us that books a session or wedding. This isn’t free to deliver, but I am putting it in my “free” list because you can pay for it out of the profits from their friend who may not have booked with you otherwise. It’s free to get started and promoted.

6.Network with other professionals

Get involved with other professionals in your local area. It’s amazing how loyal business owners can be towards each other when you really hit it off. Make sure you’re promoting their businesses to your clients, and they’ll be sure to reciprocate.

If you shoot weddings, it’s especially powerful to network with other wedding professionals since you share clients but don’t have to compete for them.

7.Run a contest or a promotion

I debated putting this one on here at all because some photographers give away their work for free for too long, but a contest or giveaway here and there can really help boost visibility to your business.

My friend Riyansh gave away free wedding photography to one couple each year for the first 3 years of our business as a way to give back to people, and while it has been an incredibly rewarding thing to do on a personal level, it isn’t something that brings in a lot of extra business. Yes, you get some, but generally it’s more about spreading the word about giving back. This is because we’re not offering it to our target market. Our target market can afford higher-end photography, whereas people who enter a contest for something free often do so because they can’t afford the luxury item. It was shocking to me how many people still met with us and booked us while the contest was still open, but our target market would rather book us than wait for the results of a contest but possibly lose their date.

To do this to get more clients, you have to make sure that you’re reaching your target market.

8.Have clients recruit their friends

Offering a free gift or a small discount to people who find two or three friends to all schedule photo sessions on the same day can be a huge motivator for people to find others to hire you as well. Again, we’re harnessing the power of word of mouth advertising, but it’s so powerful that it can’t be ignored.

9.Get featured on photo blogs

There’s a ton of wedding and portrait blogs out there that feature photography, and there are some portrait blogs that feature portrait photographers as well. Get featured if you can, then promote it where your clients can see it. There’s nothing wrong with reminding them how awesome you are. It’s simply good business.

10.Give back to the community

This not only gets your name out there, but it helps you build relationships with other professionals who may want your services or refer you to people they know. There are very few organisations who would turn down free photography coverage for their event. Consider donating a session to a cause that is important to you.

Growing photography business using digital marketing

If you are a photographer or are a part of a photography business, you need to own an online presence. If not, this is a cue for you to start from scratch and build your empire in the digital landscape. While starting with digital marketing for your business you can use certain techniques that will help you through the process.

The 1st step here is to create an online account. Once you have an online account created you can start working on your content for the page. Your online profile can work as a ready portfolio that will keep getting updated as and by you build on your page.

You can use this online portfolio and pitch it to different companies and brands, both online and offline, and start with full-time or freelance projects. This will give your photography high exposure and increase your reach towards a diverse audience.

After creating engaging content on social media you can also create a LinkedIn Account for more professional outlooks to grow in this field. It will help you connect to potential customers as well as brands who are looking out for the kind of content you create.

LinkedIn is a space for you to gain recognition for your business by sharing tips and tricks on photography, the different techniques available, etc.

Lastly, find a balance between every social media platform you post. It could be Facebook, Instagram, or LinkedIn; you need to space your profile out to the target audience you are aiming at. This will ensure a higher and stable success rate in the future.

Here are a few things you should remember when building a digital marketing strategy for your any photography business:

1.Build a high quality online portfolio.

Evidently, any photography-based business should feature an online portfolio that brings out the best in each photo. Don’t be content with a social media profile. Have your own website that showcases your work.

Remember that when using social media pages, there will always be a chance that your images will diminish in quality. These websites try to optimise their pages to load as fast as possible – cutting down image size is something they do for that to happen.

Your own online portfolio would allow you to showcase your photos in high quality. You can consult with your developer to ensure that each photo loads as fast as possible without sacrificing photo quality.

2.Be active on social media.

Just because I told you to build an online portfolio does not mean that you should forget about social media. It still is the best way to connect directly with your audiences.

Take advantage of image-centric channels like Instagram, Pinterest and Flickr. Make sure you link them right back to your own portfolio though, as this would also improve your pages’ performance.

3.Choose layouts that have more images than words.

A lot of people worry about SEO and the need to meet certain word count requirements. This is why despite having a photography website, their pages still seem to be filled with words more than images.

SEO does not just revolve around keywords. It’s about delivering what the audience is looking for. In your case, make sure the first thing they see on each page would be high quality  photos that would make them decide on getting your services right away.

If you can’t stop thinking about keywords, you can add captions to each image or provide page descriptions that contain these relevant words or phrases. You can take advantage of alt-tags as well. Just make sure your words do not overpower your images no matter what.

4.Display only your best work.

You may be worried that you do not have enough in your portfolio to make your collection impressive. The truth is, quality will always take high priority. Having 10 amazing, jaw-dropping photos on your homepage will always be better than having 50 “just okay” ones.

5.Have a blog.

Having a blog never fails to help when it comes to digital marketing. Not only will this be the perfect place to put those keywords you were worrying about, it will also show that you have extensive knowledge in the subject.

You can share photography tips and tricks, or tell funny experiences you’ve had while taking photos of pets. Make sure your blog is always updated and relevant so that Google easily picks it up when people in your area are looking for the kind of services you offer.

Hope this helps!