Skip to main content

Real value of social media to photographers #2

Build a social community that lasts

In my previous post I asked what the real value of social media is to photographers, highlighting the challenges we face to make money from our work. If you've not read the blog post yet then I recommend nipping over and catching up before reading on. The focus of this article is getting a business benefit out of social media. If you just use social media because you like sharing your work for fun then that's a whole different ball game.

Nowadays it's not a question of whether you should use social media. The question is HOW should you use it to help promote your photography. I'll keep this brief. All of the points below are based on experience and backed up by personal research.

Steps to getting real value from social media:
Set clear goals - what do you want to achieve. The clearer your focus is the higher the rewards for your effort. For example if you're trying to sell work to advertising agencies but then spend all your time building a network of other photographers (your competitors), well it that is obviously not going to deliver a return.

Identify your target audience - eg couples wanting to get married, publishers, corporations, agencies etc

Concentrate on the most appropriate social media channel - Facebook works well for big brands focused on consumers, Twitter allows you to engage quickly with a wide range of individuals, LinkedIn is great for reaching business decision makers, Google + is for techies, early adopters and has strong photographic community...the key is to go where your target audience congregates. You'll need to research this.

Get people to come to your own website where you control the content, the way it is seen and you own all the intellectual property rights. Beware of giving all your precious content away on social media like Facebook. Don't drive traffic to Facebook and other social media channels unless you can funnel it into your sales process.

Engage with the right people - ultimately it doesn't matter how many followers, votes and Likes you have; it's about reaching the right people, the people willing to PAY for your work. What's worth more, a thousand votes or one person willing to spend a £1,000 on your photography?

It all takes effort, focus and time. Ultimately people will want to find out more about you if they think your work is good and crucially if they think they will like working with you. Social media is well suited to opening doors on both fronts but it is not the silver bullet to solve all marketing requirements. It's another channel, exciting and full of opportunity, yes, but it needs to be balanced with other channels.

That's probably enough to chew on for now... I'll write more on the subject if you say you're interested.

Here are some of the place you can find me on the net:
Till soon,
Paul
I'm a Getty Images Artist


    Comments

    Post a Comment

    Popular posts from this blog

    Approach to taking a portrait

    Portrait of Amitabh Bachchan. Click on the image to see larger version. Every portrait is different but there are also elements which are the same, whether you’re shooting the famous or the locally famous. Fame is of course all relative. It depends on profession, accomplishments or media celebrity status. Whoever the ‘famous’ individual is there are millions of people in the world who will never have heard them. For example I photographed the legendary Indian Bollywood actor Amitabh Bachchan, who amongst his many accolades was awarded the Legion d'Honneur, the highest civilian award of France. But I’m positive that many people in North America will not have heard of him – although he has more fans than Tom Cruise, Jack Nicholson and Robert De Niro put together. I find that however well known a person is cracking through egos and insecurities is really important when it comes to getting authentic strong portraits. However I hasten to add that when it came to photographing Amitabh th
    1 comment
    Read more

    Capturing the truth: The power of documentary photography to shape public opinion

    Photographer, writer and artist, Paul Indigo (Photo by Magda Indigo ) Documentary photography is more important than ever because it plays a critical role in informing and shaping public opinion, particularly in today's fast-paced, information-saturated world. With the rise of social media and the 24-hour news cycle, we are bombarded with images and information daily. It can be difficult to separate fact from fiction. From a trusted source, documentary photography counterbalances the often sensationalised and biased coverage of social and political issues. Documentary photography can challenge dominant narratives and foster greater understanding and empathy by presenting a nuanced, humanistic perspective on complex issues. It can highlight underreported and marginalised issues, giving voice to those who are often ignored or silenced. In a world where many people feel disenfranchised and marginalised, documentary photography can help to create a sense of community and solidarity by
    Post a Comment
    Read more

    The portrait photographer's motivation

    Easy access to the Internet and digital photography has resulted in an ever growing number of photographers uploading their images for comments and ratings from peers. Online communities evolve and these mini-societies each have their pecking order, internal groups and communal preferences. Photographers learn from each other. On sites that have a rating system there is often pressure to conform to certain styles, techniques and even subject matter. Although I participate in numerous sites (it's great fun), I recognise the danger of becoming a herd animal and losing the edge of individual creativity. There will always be the creatives that lead the way and the imitators that can only try to follow in their footsteps. This lead me to think about classifying photographers according their inner motivation. So as a bit of fun here are a few different types: The innovator Driven to always find something new, different and creative. Wants to be leading edge. Motivated by creative satisfa
    6 comments
    Read more