Facebook is a phenomenon. It has changed the way we communicate, the way we promote and the way we market. According to Chris Treadaway, author of Facebook Marketing: An Hour a Day, Facebook has over 400 million worldwide users.

“Taken down to the local level, though, this means that Facebook might just already have more reach in the community than any other media outlet,” Treadaway said. “Facebook is trying to become the first place people visit when logging into their computers every morning. The site that leads this battle carries the most online leverage.”

On April 21st, Facebook announced a web-wide “like” button that shares a user’s activity with a single click. It’s easy to see Facebook gaining even more ground with the new sharing and recommendation functionality.

What does this mean for the photography industry? It means if you are not using Facebook for marketing, you’re missing a huge potential client base.

Where do we get business? Networking, pure and simple. Word of mouth in the photography industry is everything. Bridal photographers know that one bride can lead to twenty more. The unmarried members of the bridal party are potential clients, but so are all of the other guests! They will all refer you; they will “network” you, and you’ll stay busy! Whatever your specialty, the majority of business is derived from networking. Think of Facebook as one big bridal party, one big sporting event or one big graduation ceremony. Everyone is talking. You want them to be talking about your photographs!

Facebook has to be the easiest marketing tool ever invented. It’s simple to create a fan page for your business. Upload a brief paragraph about your studio, then add beautiful photos, client testimonials and a link to your website. You’ll want to update Facebook more frequently than your blog. Don’t worry; updates take a lot less time than blogs! You can update daily or a couple of times a day. The great thing about using Facebook  as a marketing tool is  that you will receive an email every time someone comments on your page. Facebook basically reminds you to log in and comment back!
Facebook offers a readymade audience, and they are your local targeted demographic. Clients are already looking for you there, and they need to find you there.

If you haven’t started a fan page for your studio yet, do it today. The impact and reach of Facebook is impossible to ignore.

Photographers are creative beings. They turn the ordinary into the extraordinary with just the right light, just the right angle and of course just the right talent. The problem is photographers have to market themselves and often that visual “right” brain just freezes at the thought of creating and implementing a studio-marketing plan.

Marketing has taken on a new life with the advent of websites, social networks, blogs and the ability to post video. It’s become more creative, so it’s actually easier than ever for you right brainers!

“Our website is our  #1 marketing tool,” Michelle Stevens said. Stevens and her husband Justin own Artistique Photographie based in Tualatin, just outside Portland, Oregon.  Stevens was named Wedding Photographer of the Year in 2009.

Their website layout is elegant, yet warm and inviting. The home page is divided into three sections; Weddings, Blog and Portraits. The blog is front and center.

“We’ve been blogging for about three years,” Stevens said. “The greatest thing about blogging is how searchable the content is.” The studio has booked weddings simply by adding the name of a venue into the title of their blog. “The important thing is to put both the ceremony and reception venue, as well as the city and state in your blog title,” she said.

Social networking has been an instrumental part of Artistique Photographie’s marketing plan. “Facebook is a huge part of our marketing strategy,” Stevens said. “ I don’t think there’s any studio that should not be using Facebook as a part of the way they reach clients.”

Stevens always pulls one or two photos from a session and posts them to a client’s Facebook page. This creates “teaser” photos on their wall and of course those photos are posted wearing the studio logo. This creates a buzz, getting the client, their family and friends excited about seeing the rest of the photos.

“Last week I received an email inquiry from a bride who saw our images on her friend’s Facebook page,“ Stevens said.

That is the entire point of social networking. Your work speaks for itself and the social networking machine is doing all the heavy lifting. You have no direct mail printing costs, no postage, and no expensive print media advertising.

Stevens’ primary focus when marketing her studio comes down to four avenues: the website, the blog, a Facebook presence and online bridal sites.

The studio has a few more marketing strategies that work exceptionally well to demonstrate their talents. They’ve created a gallery that showcases wedding details, something that is often overlooked. Most photographers show details but few make it a point to bring attention to the fact.

“Brides spend a ton of time on the details and they want them captured,” Stevens said. “One big thing about marketing is that even though you know that you do something and think it’s a given, it isn’t necessarily so. You really need to show all the aspects of how you capture a wedding to make sure you’re covering what is important to each bride.”

The last important piece of Artistique Photographie’s marketing plan is one that engages the viewer and allows them a peek behind the scenes. Stevens had Ambient Sky Studios shoot a video about the photo shoot experience. “People buy experience as much as they buy physical products,“ she said. “We wanted to show what a shoot with us is like. We are very lucky to know some amazing videographers who create cinematic wedding movies so the quality of the video is great.  Networking with professionals in other fields like this is critical to being able to come up with different ways of marketing.” Stevens had a huge response from the video and reposts it periodically to keep it close to the top of their blog.

Heading into the New Year, it’s impossible for a studio, serious about marketing, to discount the value of a website and blog. The cost of creating and maintaining a website is negligible and blogs are free. Social networking is simply a form of communication

Whatever you do, start with a website first. It’s the most important piece of any marketing plan. Stevens has plans to rework their website for even greater search engine optimization. “ If you come up on the top of a Google search and you have an amazing website, you really shouldn’t have to do any more marketing!”

Photography is a highly competitive industry. Marketing has changed drastically over the past few years. We’ve shifted from the traditional marketing model of sending out printed promotional pieces, buying ads in magazines and advertising on radio or television. The old promotional avenues are cost prohibitive and really no one is paying attention to them anymore.

Think about it. Today everyone has DVR, so they don’t have to view commercials. The advent of iPods has turned people away from the radio. No one has time to read the newspaper anymore so ads there are not going to bring you customers.  Traditional avenues of reaching potential clients have dried up.

What has replaced those avenues is a whole new series of marketing channels.

Every professional now has a website. That is your calling card; the place people turn to make sure you are legitimate. A website is the most vital piece of your marketing puzzle.  What else do you need?

BLOG IT
Create a blog. A blog is essentially your voice. You can educate your clients, post new photos and include links to great information. More importantly, a blog creates an instant feeling of friendship. It draws people to you and your business. Creating content for your blog is another way to be found on the web. People will pass your posts on to their friends creating a deeper and wider visibility for your company. A recent webinar on HubSpot, a web based company specializing in inbound marketing software, revealed that companies who blog have 55% more visitors to their websites. You don’t have to post every day. Post once a week, even once a month, but develop that presence. Have a look at WordPress or Blogspot and get started!

FACEBOOK IT
Facebook is a phenomenon. Never before has anything captured such universal, global attention. If you don’t have an account, get one. It’s important and it’s easy. Go to: http://tinyurl.com/2u5yd6 for the complete lowdown.

TWITTER IT
Social media is the new buzz term. It includes Facebook, Linked In, and a host of other outlets. One of the most influential of these is Twitter. Think about Twitter as the Readers Digest version of Facebook, without the quizzes! Short, sweet and to the point. Type in the keywords for your industry. Look at “wedding photographers in Dallas” (or your particular area) or “sports photographers in Houston”. If you are not showing up on the first page, then you need to Twitter! There is already a conversation about your industry going on. Join that conversation.

LINK IT IN!
Linked In is probably the most seriously regarded of the social media. This is definitely a business resource. There are 48 million users. Executives from all the Fortune 500 companies are on Linked In. You can find and be introduced to the professionals you need to work with to accomplish your goals. It’s a terrific avenue to drive business back to your website. Take a look at this link, which includes a step-by-step video: http://learn.linkedin.com/what-is-linkedin/

Don’t let any of these new tools overwhelm you. The best news is that they are free. Decide how much time you can devote to social network marketing each week. It shouldn’t take up more than 10% of your time. Pour yourself a cup of coffee and get started!

We all hear doomsday talk about digital devices ruining the professional photography market, especially for teens, the customers of tomorrow.  With image displays on lap tops, cell phones, and i-pods, why would they ever want to buy prints?  Certainly not for sharing – the ubiquitous exposure of online sites is better, right? In a face-off between Pounds Press Books and Facebook – who do you think would win?

If you’re worried about the future demand for studio products, you’ll be interested in this story from one of our customers. (more…)