No photographer gets into the business aiming to become a market expert. These days the success of photographers depends more on the ability to market the business well than on artistic skills. One of photography studios’ most significant challenges is increasing their online visibility in the market. Thus it is essential to plan and implement online marketing strategies for photographers that allow for meeting the desired goals.
Today photographers are fortunate enough to have access to an array of marketing tools and techniques. Thanks to the rise of visual content, it’s never been this easy to show off your photography skills and reach new audiences. Adopting simple and efficient methods can shine a light on your photography skills across various platforms. With a lot of creativity and a little knowledge, photographers are sure to earn the attention they deserve.
Have a Streamlined Website to Showcase Your Work
Having a website is among the most essential online marketing strategies for photographers. A professional website is the best tool to make potential clients comfortable with you and highlight the specific services you offer. The website should have sections showcasing your work, contact information, client reviews, detail on your services, and a section dedicated to you. You should also consider optimizing the website for SEO. Marketing strategies heavily rely on search engine optimization (SEO), which directly affects website traffic. Choose the right keywords, add links, and always the high-quality images.
Have a Secure Customer Database and Track All Projects
An organized database is a crucial task in marketing for photographers. Once you have identified your target customers you should start building a customer database. This way you will be able to keep track of all your prospects. With all the details of your current and past clients, a database allows you to build a pipeline of potential customers. There is a variety of CRM software that you can sign up for. A powerful Picktime, free cloud-based photographers scheduling software can be used to manage customer staff data with complete security.
Picktime can be accessed at multiple locations with 24/7 full email support. With automatic SMS & email reminders, Picktime can be a great online assistant for your business. Using Picktime for online marketing strategies you’ll get a customized booking page with a unique URL and book now widget for your website. With a quick glance at the dashboard, you can have a whole overview of all the scheduled, canceled, and rescheduled bookings with revenue and other account activities.
With its real-time calendar sync, you can let your customers know you’re available even after business hours. Simply sync your personal calendar (Apple/Google/Outlook) with Picktime. It can also handle recurring bookings and staff schedules with partial/full payment options. In addition to all these, Picktime users can also integrate with other business tools – PayPal, Square, Google Meet, Zoom, MS Teams, Skype, CRMs, Mailchimp, Weebly, Wix, Joomla, Drupal, Google Maps, Facebook Pixels, and many others. Sign up today for free and know more about the plans and industries they deal in.
Build an Email List
Once you have attracted visitors to your website your next call to action step should be to build an email list. Regardless of the size and type of the business, having an email list is still the most effective online marketing strategy. Social media platforms are crucial in order to grow your business because unlike your email listing you don’t own them. If they make any changes in their algorithm it could have a negative impact on your business.
Feature Photography Blogs to Increase Online Presence
The next valuable tool in online marketing strategies for photographers is starting blog posts. The main goal of content marketing is to attract the attention of potential clients by adding and sharing knowledgeable and valuable content. In order to create more engagement the focus and topic of the blog should be entirely related to the user and their needs. It’s always smarter to limit yourself to your particular channels and other people talk about your work while getting its benefit.
Collaborate with Other Creatives
In a creative field like photography having a strong network is the key to building your client base. Connect with people who aren’t your direct competitors. Find businesses relevant to your interest. Working for others is always appreciated. By assisting a fellow photographer you’ll also have a chance to learn new techniques. The simplest way of building a beneficial relationship is by sharing their content on your platform and asking them the same thing to do for you, so it’s a win-win for both.
Leverage Social Media Platforms
Social media platforms are one of the main online marketing strategies for photographers. They are extremely important for creating connections, adding value, building community, and standing out from the competition. Your clientele is already aware of the fact that hiring a photographer is not an inexpensive task, so they’ll be prepared with all research. To be able to stand out and ask your price you need to have a strong and authentic online presence. Medium, LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, or Pinterest use any platform you’re comfortable with and grow the traffic. You can also launch paid campaigns on Instagram and Facebook or share your best work on Pinterest to inspire your audience and hire you.
Collect and Share Client Feedback to Build Trust
Having testimonials on your website is a wonderful add-on to promotional material. This is among the most powerful online marketing strategies for photographers. This helps in connecting and building trust with your clients. Do not hesitate in asking clients who enjoyed working with you. Have a few short testimonials posted on your website. With this social proof, you can guide more leads to the sales funnel.
With well-planned online marketing strategies for photographers, you can show off your skills and creative talent across a great range of online platforms. Additionally, you may also want to consider regularly updating your website, blog, social media platforms, and quality of work. Do not consider marketing as a time-consuming and complicated task. Be conscious and put all your efforts into building and promoting your photography brand.