Social Media
A Photography/Business Should Be 50/50
That Evil Doom Scrolling Mind Suck
But is it the best way to build a business today?
Whether it is brick and mortar or online?
Well, that is what we are going to find out. Starting a Photography business and using social media to market and sell that service.
Not a shopping mall. Bring family and pets.
But, Candid Portraits, Music Events and Street photography.
Above, I’m talking about a particular Youtube channel. All he seems to do is complain that Instagram isn’t for Photographers anymore. Going so far as to recommend another writing-based social platform, not photo/video-based. Which to me makes no sense.
Whatever platforms you use, use each one for its strengths. Twitter, LinkedIn, and Threads are writing-based. TikTok and Instagram are video-based, with the latter also being photo-based.
Growing up on ANY PLATFORM takes work. Why should the app development team hand you the keys to the kingdom if you’re not engaging or creating engagement?
Imagine what it was like a few decades ago. People pre-2005 could not imagine being able to reach millions of people all over the world with the click of a button.
Even for local distribution, marketing budgets were expensive, not to mention a global ad campaign. If you were a small business looking to expand, you needed capital.
Now, it only costs you your time. Time to post on Linkedin, Twitter, Instagram and even TikTok. 30 Minutes a day engaging on the platform, and in a month or so, you could have thousands of potential customers outside your local area.
Also, don’t be afraid to reach out in people’s DM’s. Engage with them like a human being, don’t start throwing your product down their throats. No one likes that. Start like you do when you meet someone for the first time. Do you shake hands and then try to sell them a product? No. You introduce yourself, tell them about yourself, and ask them questions. Then;
Ask them if they know anyone who might need your product/service.
You’re not asking them personally but allowing them to ask you for your service. Seems underhanded, but it works, and they might tell their friends so you could end up with more business.
Sure, producing the content to share will still cost you time and money, but even that has a cheap alternative. You could make it all yourself with your phone, with high-quality photos and 4K video at your fingertips. This also allows you to utilise current events and make ads FAST. Or you could outsource and still spend less than an ad campaign from 20 years ago.
Social media impacts businesses in a way that the world 20 years ago couldn’t believe and allows you to build an audience.
It helps you reach your targeted audience, stay engaged, and instantly respond to their queries and feedback. It is a great way to evaluate your competition by monitoring their social media pages.
There are plenty of resources online on how to build and grow on social media.
Pick one, let’s say Twitter (X, now, I guess); I use Twitter because I’ve recently started to build my personal brand, and I’ve come into contact with about 12 others who want to help me make that audience and have a free PDF with a step by step guides on how to do it. Actually, I have six.
They all say the same thing. Be yourself, post 1-2 threads weekly, and tweet 20-30 times daily. Engage with others and comments. Thank them personally in the DM’s. Don’t be a dick. Give away something for free to build trust (Make sure your free stuff is better than other people’s paid stuff) to build authority. Then hit them with your product.
Start with a discount, say 50% off. Then 40% off. 20%, then 10%, then sell at retail. Now this is where it gets good (for you). Start selling at +10%. Then +20%. The higher the price, the higher the perceived value of your product.
All you really need to do is Engage. Be Consistent. And except that it’s going to take time. You can still go out and drop flyers, and of course, these small A5, home-printed leaflets will have your ‘work’ phone number, an email address, and social media links.
Also, now that you will be dropping THOUSANDS of flyers a day. For weeks. Know that 90% of them will be trashed, but 10% will call or check you on social media.
You can also drop flyers on social media.
In ‘Traffic Secrets’, Russel Brunson discusses a concept he calls the ‘Dream 100’.
These are people within your niches that you would consider mentors. The kind of people that already have your audience. You going to find them and follow them. Then you’ll check out their content and, yes, you guessed it, Engage. If you like a post, you going to do something else;
Comment why you like it.
Reshare it. A quote is reasonable but not necessary.
Both.
Your name is going to start coming up in their feed. People are going to interact with you, follow you. If they do, send them a personal DM. Not a copy & pasted one. A personal one. Thanking them for interacting or following you.
You can DM your dream 100 but don’t sell them anything. Just something like, ‘Thanks for your great work’, ‘I loved your last post because [details]. People are going to start checking you out, looking at your profile;
So make sure that your profile image and bios are set up right.
“This is what (X&Y) we’re about and what we post, and this is what I’m building (Z) .”
Who are you, what value do you offer? And should I really have to say it, be professional. Use your phone while on jobs. Take before and after photos if that’s something that works. If you’re a landscaper, say.
As a photographer, your work will do the talking. That is where to can show prospective clients your experience and value.
And this will also be how you build on your authority. Keep building and changing your portfolios. You want your most recent photos.
Make sure you are always courteous, even if you’re getting “haters” and “Trolls” Delete the comments, block the users and move on. Arguing online with faceless accounts is not suitable for business. So don’t take it personally. Delete it; move on.
Today, Social Media is the advertising you could ask for.
Learn to write copy.
Learn sales and marketing.
Learn about funnels and lead magnets.
That stuff we’ll get you to another level.
Also, some light reading;
Russel Brunson’s Secrets trilogy;
Dotcom Secrets; https://amzn.to/3YtKZJG
Expert Secrets; https://amzn.to/45pekXN
Traffic Secrets; https://amzn.to/3QypSnG
And also give, Tim Farris a try
The 4 Hour Work Week; https://amzn.to/3qokeK0
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I’m a Professional Photographer who dabbles in Writing and Documentary Film Making.
I’ve recently quit my job of three and a half years as a Bartender/Manager. Photography began as a hobby and quickly became a passion.
I’m a Professional Photographer, Filmmaker, Writer/Author and this website is where I’m going to document all of it. The good, the bad and the ugly.