Marketing for photographers - how & why to get more visible
Today I’m talking about how we show up for our businesses - how visible we are - and how easy it is for the people we want to work with. You see, I’m sure I’m not giving you any new news when I say that the photography world is a busy place - there is so much choice out there for our clients (and that is a good thing!) but it does mean we need to be out there in our communities talking about our businesses. The more we do that, the more front of mind we are whenever the subject of needing a photographer comes up.
4 BIG reasons why being more visible will help:
As photographers we need to give our clients clear choices
We need to keep our clients at the heart of all that we do, and when it comes to choosing a photographer, it can be overwhelming. In order to make a choice, they need to know exactly how you differ from the rest, what you’re a specialist in, and how you can help them. So be really really clear about that in your marketing efforts, as this will help them consider you as an expert and build trust if they can clearly see which parts of your job you love the most.
Be authentic, everywhere
We are so lucky that we have so many channels to talk about what we do, from face to face events to our websites, social media and email marketing. It’s handy to think about how you can use different arenas in different ways, as not all people respond as well to written text on a website as they would to, a video on Instagram, for example. Providing a range of ways to hear your message and be yourself whether that’s in your style of writing, the posts you put up or the stories you put out will give your audience maximum choice, and no matter what their preference there’ll be something to suit.
People buy from people
As photographers we are all providing a service to our client (as well as the photos we take) so it’s important to let your audience know what you’re like and a little more about your personality, alongside showcasing your lovely photos. Generally speaking, people won’t make a decision to book you based solely on the quality of your work: they are looking for the right PERSON for the job. For example, if they’re getting married, they’ll want to find someone who’s going to fit in well with their friends and family on the day. For family photos, they might be looking for someone who is bubbly and fun and who’s used to getting natural smiles out of children, and so on. So TELL them what kind of person you are, share things you like, and foster those natural connections that come as a result, and you’ll be well on your way to being their preferred choice when they next need a photographer.
Be part of your community
And this can be wherever feels most natural for you. For some, that’s real life events in your local area, trade fairs, networking mornings and so on. For the more introverted, it might be online on Facebook Groups, on Instagram and via quality emails sent to your audience. However feels best, it’s important to engage with others and build relationships with people who will champion you to their network, and vice versa. If you’re a family photographer, think about how you can connect with other businesses in your local area so that families know you exist. If you’re a wedding photographer, are there any local venues you could speak to, or wedding fairs you can work with? The key thing here is to try to add value that will help build your relationships, and to never stop talking about what you do in a clear and concise way.
Ok, so you know WHY you need to get visible, let’s get on to the HOW
5 ways to up your visibility game
1: Networking events - and NO they don’t have to be awkward and uncomfortable!
I think that it is so often overlooked but I am a huge, huge fan of networking events. Lots of people find networking a bit of a cringey word, so I feel like networking needs a bit of a rebrand.
I’ve got terrible memories of corporate networking - everyone standing round in stuffy suits with a glass of wine having corporate small talk – and, for such a long time, I was scared to get involved in other networking events when I started my own business but, oh my goodness, since I have thrown myself in from the start of this year, I have absolutely loved every single one that I’ve been to.
No matter where you live, I can guarantee that there will be some amazing local networking events. If you’re in London, like me, then you are spoilt for choice because I just cannot keep up with the amount of amazing ones that are happening!
But even if you live somewhere super remote and you can’t find anything: set one up! I can guarantee that there will be people just like you who want to hang out and chat over coffee, over brunch, over dinner, over wine...no corporate suit required. Just really nice people having chats, sharing knowledge, finding out what each other does, recommending things that they’ve found useful to each other, making nice friends and generally just being able to share their experiences which, as you know, when you work for yourself is amazing and really makes you feel like you’ve got a virtual team going on.
2: Facebook groups
The second thing that I think is really useful and is a good place to show up more is Facebook groups. With the shift away from the personal page, I have found myself in some amazing Facebook groups that, again, are for other small businesses, other photographers or creatives. People who are on the same journey as me even though everyone’s doing things a little bit differently. It is so amazing to be able to help other people who are doing things that you have already done or to ask for help and advice about things that you want to be doing.
There is so much information on those Facebook groups and, also, it’s such a great place for you to throw yourself in, especially if you’re feeling a bit more introverted or you’re not ready to go to a face to face networking event then social media is an amazing substitute for that. So hit up some Facebook groups that have to do with local businesses like yours or other businesses in your area and get stuck in! Because you’re bound to have some information and knowledge that other people would absolutely love to have, so share, share, share away!
3: Instagram - DUH!
Social media is here to stay and, of course, every platform has its place but, for me, Instagram is an amazing place to get yourself out there, to tell people what you do, who you do it for and, also, just get your personality out there.
I use IGTV and, actually, I have to say it is no way as scary as I made it out to be in my own head so, if there is one thing that I can urge you to do today, it’s to make a plan to be more visible on Instagram. Whether that is via some great new photos for your grid, on lives, stories or good old IGTV (which I’m now quite a fan of!) go for your life. Just put something out there this week and you won’t look back, I promise.
4: Guest blogs
Guest blogs are awesome. So I blog away on my own blog and, for so long, that’s all I was doing. Then, one day, I realised at a networking event, actually, why not invite someone onto my blog or volunteer to write a blog post for somebody else who, maybe, has a similar business to mine? It is such a great idea, just to share that knowledge with a different client base or a different group of followers that you can tie into yours. It’s such a good way to start more conversations, share the knowledge that you have with other people and to build friendships and, then, meet other people. So guest blogs are a great, great way to be more visible.
5: podcasts!
Everyone seems to love podcasts – I, for one – am boshing through several a day because, again, I don’t like to be myself so when I’m sitting at my computer editing or working I love to have someone else talking to me. Podcasts are amazing – there’s pretty much any topic available that you might want. Whatever your expertise or experience is, there’s probably a podcast that would love to feature somebody like you. So don’t be scared to reach out to a podcaster that you love and don’t be scared that they won’t be interested in what you have to say, just take it from there. It doesn’t have to be more complicated than that.
One last point, which is actually really useful for all of them, when you’re getting yourself out there it’s best to exude as much confidence as you possibly can, because everyone is an expert in something. So you just need to nail down in what you feel most comfortable sharing. Ask yourself:
What is your area of expertise? Who are you trying to help? What are you doing? Who are you doing it for?
And really just try and nail down a couple of sentences that explain all of the above in a succinct or clear way because, whether you’re at a networking event or on a podcast or writing a blog post, those mission statements / bios / elevator pitches or just a brand statement lock down in an amazingly clear, kinda cool way, exactly what it is you do. So, when people ask you what you do, you don’t want to be vague. For such a long time, when people asked me what I did, I was going “I’m a photographer”. That is vague. Vague. Who am I taking pictures of? Why am I talking pictures of them? Who am I trying to help? And, now that I’ve got it locked down, I just feel so much more confident to put myself out there and I really think that if you’re the same then spending a bit of time on that bio / mission statement can really, really help your confidence levels.
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