10 Ways to Market Your Photography Business
Facebook Business Page
Your first mistake would be limiting your business to only one social media site. You need to branch out and use other social media such as; Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat, Nextdoor, Glass, Clubhouse, Before.I go into what each app is let's talk about facebook. Ever since I created my facebook business page last year it has helped me market my business, and increase my clientele dramatically. Facebook has allowed me to promote my business, create scheduled posts throughout the week/month, all of my clients leave reviews (word of mouth is everything), and connect my instagram posts to my facebook business account. I also promote my work in other facebook groups in my area. There are tons of photographer/model groups in my area that have helped a lot when I want to work on a project but need people. There are many people willing to do TFP work. It's a great way to add to your portfolio and network with people around your area.
Create a Website
Having a website is the most professional way to build your brand, and have full control over what potential clients see. I was previously using Squarespace this year but I made the choice to switch to Wix.com. I personally made the choice to switch to Wix because the layouts they provided worked better for my brand. Ever since I switched Wix I have gotten more bookings, and inquiries about future sessions/bookings. A great feature about this website is every time someone visits I receive a notification telling me where they're from and how long they've been on my website for. Wix also offers a live chat, so every time a potential client visits you can message them live. Lastly, Facebook allows you to connect your facebook business page chat onto you website. They offer a step by step tutorial here https://www.facebook.com/business/help/1524587524402327 . Pleasure make sure you include a gallery of work, About me and a contact me section on your website. These are key to success, and more bookings.
Download The App 'Nextdoor'
Nextdoor is an app and social media platform to connect and share information with your neighbors in your town and the surrounding towns. This platform allows you to share information within the same geographical area with other neighbors. This app has been great marketing tool for my photography business. Do you enjoy capturing landscape and street photography images? Are you having trouble selling your prints, and making print sales off of your art? Download this app today! Ever since I started posting my landscapes of local scenery in my hometown I have gotten most of my print sales from the Nextdoor app. Not only is it a great way to get print sales but you can network, and gain potential clientele.
Twitter is the Instagram
Instagrams algorithms have made marketing your photography business even harder than it was before. Once I started posting my photography on twitter I have gotten more engagement from people all around the world and I've met a lot of amazing photographers as well. Networking plays a huge part in the business aspect of everything. Without networking you'll only get so far with your business. Everyone has to start from the bottom and work there way up.
Invest in Business Cards
Even though social media plays a big role in our society today, so do business cards. There have been many times throughout the year where people have seen me taking photos around town and asked for a business card but I didn't have one. I purchase all of my business cards using vistaprint.com because their quality is amazing, huge number of layouts and they save all of your designs to make your next order in the future easier. Make sure you go to local businesses in your area and ask to leave a few business cards.
Giveaways
I post giveaways on my instagram every three to four months with four simple rules
Like and save this post
Tag three friends
Share it to your story and tag me
Follow me
This creates more engagement on your feed, and another way for more people to discover your business. It takes a lot of time and patience to get engagement. Back in 2018 I would post giveaways on my instagram and no one would enter. Now it's 2021 and I went from getting no engagement to having over fifty people interested.
Client Reviews
After every session I offer each client to write a review about my services and what they loved about the session and images they received. If you have a client searching for a photographer and they come across your page with no reviews they're more likely to book with another photographer. Like I said before, word of mouth is everything.
Mini Session
What's a mini session? A mini session is a very short photo session that's offered for a cheaper price. Mini sessions typically range from 15 to 20 minutes of shooting time and a small number of edited photos. Create a flyer for mini sessions with different time slots and continue to update the time slots on social media until you run out. This is a great way to get people to book fast because of limited spots that are available. You'll be able to use these images in your portfolio and online gallery to book for your full services.
Tiktok
During your sessions try to incorporate behind the scenes video footage. to upload later on instagram. Creating and uploading reels will help build your engagement, following, and target more people in your area. Get creative with your behind the scenes footage (movement, angles, transitions) to get the audience excited for you to drop the images on social media.
'Pay for Pictures' Promotion
I recently created a promotion where my clients book a free 30 minute session with me and all they have to do is go through their private gallery and pay for their favorites.
Here is what I was offering:
$15 per individual images
$12 for 10+ images
$240 for the entire gallery
This allows customers to have three options to choose from. If they have a hard time picking a few you have provided them an option to buy the entire gallery for a great price.
Thank you for taking the time to read I hope this helps! Always remember what might work for me might not work for you in your area but it doesn't hurt to try it out. Leave a comment with what works for you.