As I mentioned yesterday I am going to go back to my roots… social media for the remainder of 2012. While I am a full time photographer now, my past life saw me working in the digital realm for some large multi national and national companies. Social Media has always played a huge role in my professional life, and I now see how it can help photographers promote themselves in whatever geo-location or to any demographic they want to target.
So let’s start this series of blog posts with “What Social Networks Are Out
There?”
Social networking
was never designed to be a professional advertising solution, but even in the
early days of MySpace photographers could be found building contacts for viral marketing. Since then this trend has only grown, and social networking
has turned into an extremely valuable resource if used correctly.
When it comes to the sheer number of social networks that a photographer has
access to, the number can be some what intimidating. Do you know which networks
you should be focusing on? So let’s do a break down of each of the major networks
out there, look at their positive and negative attributes and decide which “Network”
is good at offering the many different types of photographers.
FACEBOOKUser Base: 950+ Million Users
The Positives:
Facebook is the largest social network in the world in terms of users
More than likely your friends, family and co-workers are already on
the network and it is a destination to stay in touch.Facebook is working hard to improve its mobile applications and will no doubt be launching some new apps in the coming years
“Subscriptions” solved the limitation problem with only being able to have 5,000 Facebook friends.
The Negatives:
The vast majority of users are there to stay connected with their friends,
family and co-workers. They are not to purchase products or engage with people
they don’t know.
This “Me Time, stay in touch with friends”, small group mentality makes it
difficult to build a following if you are a photographer trying to network. If
you think I am wrong, try to start a Photography Fan Page and find out for
yourself just how long it takes to build a following for the average
photographer Facebook still has a problem with Image compression (meaning their system compress your image in ways that may make your photograph look worse than it actually is). Recent updates to the image quality in photo galleries has improved, but no where near the quality of Google+
Facebook has a public perception issue when it comes to privacy… Have you seen the posts by people claiming ownership of their images? BTW… they are not worth the time it took to write them.
We have a “love/hate” relationship with the social network.
Facebook’s IPO has dropped over half of its value since it went public because of a lack of investor confidence… declining stock price means less monetary returns… and investors want a return, or they sell, or the company has to cut back somewhere.
Overall Interest in Facebook has dropped and users are remaining on the network simple because that is where their friends and family are.
Summary
If you are a photographer that shoots portrait, event or local sports
photography than you will have a higher chance of finding clients on Facebook
than most of the other networks. If you shoot travel, adventure sports or
nature photography, you have better outlets on other networks to try to make
print sales or noticed. If you run workshops, your clientele are generally not going
to come from Facebook… most of your network will be friends, family and other
photographers. As for finding photographic inspiration, education or a photo
community to connect with, Facebook falls short. Flickr, Google+ and 500px will
offer you a more robust community if you are looking for those things.
TWITTERUser Base: 517 million twitter accounts, although only about half are actually active users
The Positives:
Simplistic form of communication, every “tweet” is limited to only 140
characters...the same as a text message.
Instant communication gives you access to directly connect with other
individuals and companies in the blink of an eyeNews has been found to be “breaking” on twitter before anywhere else because of the instantaneous ability to get your message to millions
There are no NOISE filters, which means everything you post is visible, but competing with all other content on Twitter
The use of Hashtags (#keyword) allows for easy search results to find the tweets you want, and for users to find your tweets easier
The Negatives:
You are limited to 140 characters per “Tweet”
Twitter is polarized within its user base. Most either absolutely love it
or have no clue what to do with it. There is very minimal middle ground here.Looking at a twitter feed can be intimidating because content is flying at you very fast
Only half of the users with accounts are active
Of the 3 most popular social networks, it has the least amount of users (Facebook, Google+ and Twitter)
Summary:
Twitter is a phenomenal tool to instantly connect with individuals and
companies around the world. While its fast pace and constant flow of content
will be a put off the many, the fact the news is beginning to break on twitter
before anywhere else online is a great example of the value of the network for
spreading content and information.
Will you sell prints or find new wedding clients? NOPE…although it is not
impossible. I look at Twitter as the worlds quickest communication tool to
communicate with others directly, speak to a business about a problem or easily
share the content I am publishing on my website… “This just in”, “Read my new
blog post on social media”, etc… It’s a calling card, awareness tool for most
photographers.
GOOGLE+User Base: 336 million active users
The Positives:
Google+ is the social layer for ALL things Google, it is
not just a social network
Great User Interface. Your images will look beautifulSolid privacy controls
A thriving Photography Community has established itself on the network
Google+ Hangouts (Free video conferencing with up to 10 people from anywhere in the world)
Google employees are very receptive to feedback to improve the user experience.
The mobile experience is absolutely fluid
All public content is indexed for Google search, a huge bonus to be found through user searches of the largest search engien in the world.
Being active on Google+ increases your chance of improving your standing in search results (I will explain more in a later post on indesation of content for higher search result exposure)
Google+ users have the highest amount of customer satisfaction among social networks
Google just purchased NIK SOFTWARE. What this means for Google+ and Android, we don’t know just yet…. But stay tuned, this could get interesting.
The Negatives:
Google+ still has a negative public image. The words “ghost town” are used
when describing the network by tech journalists. – I think this is because of
lack of knowledge and ignorance of the product myself.
Your friends, family and co-workers will most likely not be on G+, but lots
of photographers are.Google is still very young when it comes to understanding digital social dynamics. Google has yet to release the API which allows users to post to Google+ from other applications… but hang in there, it will be coming.
Google+ is NOT Facebook, which means that new users sometimes have a hard time getting their feet wet because they try to treat it like its Facebook… take your time and learn it.
Summary:
Google+ is a great network if you are looking for inspiration, education, a
photo community or if you are a photo educator. In its current form, you will
find it more challenging to book clients if you are a portrait, wedding, event
or local sports photographer. Its structure and feature set are geared towards
promoting engagement and giving plenty of opportunities to connect with other
photographers and photography centred companies, especially with the Google+
Hangout feature. However its biggest draw for photographers will be that Google
indexes all public posts to be searchable in their search engine, which equates
to over 64% of all search online. The bottom line, if you are active on
Google+, you have the potential to drastically affect your own search results…
and your profits.
500PX
User Base: No exact # of users, but a very conservative
estimate was over 90k unique visitors a month on average
The Positives:
500px, like Flickr, is an Interest network where the sole purpose is to
share beautiful photographs
It is a phenomenal place to find photographic inspiration on nay topicImages look beautiful on the network
500px relies on crowd sourcing for ranking images, which effects how visible an image is. The higher the rating, the better chance the image will be seen by others
You can now sell prints through 500px (via “Awesome” or “Plus” Membership only)
You can use 500px as your Portfolio/Website (via “Awesome” Membership only)
The Negatives:
The rating system can be “gamed”, allowing you to rate a photo negatively.
Get enough negative votes and your image will drop its rating fast
The user base for 500px is fairly small in comparison to the other social
networksIn selling your prints on 500px, you can not set your own prices.
The quality of images visible on 500px on average is far greater than flickr. This can cause new photographers to feel intimidated
500px is very popular in
Summary:
500px is a great network to share your best images and look for inspiration
from some other artists. Would I use the network to sell prints? NO...especially
since I can not set the price. But for a photographer that is just starting
out, paying for an “Awesome” account and using 500px to host a somewhat custom
website/portfolio is certainly not a bad idea to get started. At the end of the
day, having another location to host your images on the Internet like 500px
doesn’t hurt you one bit.
FLICKRUser Base: 80 million unique visitor’s world wide
The Positives:
Flickr is an “Interest Network”, which means that its focus is purely on
sharing images
Almost 5 million photos are uploaded to flickr every day Your images
receive very little image compression once uploaded to Flickr, which means they
look closer to the same image viewed on your computer than other social
networksYou can licence images to Getty straight from Flickr
I know many photographers that make plenty of print sales from being active on Flickr
The Negatives:
Yahoo as a company is struggling to stay relevant in the modern day
internet era
The interaction on Flickr is not very exciting or personalThe look of Flickr itself is VERY outdated
Most Professionals are not as excited about Flickr as they once were. The comments are repetitive, the feedback isn’t honest (for the most part) and the advice you need to learn is just not going to happen on flickr.
Summary:
If you are looking to licence images or try to make print sales, Flickr
might be a good choice for you. However because of its outdated look and fairly
stagnant forms of interaction, the network itself has lost its luster for many
photographers, myself included.
LINKEDIN
User Base: 175 million users
The Positives:
The only major social network for Professionals
You can apply to find a new job from LinkedinYour profile can consist of your resume, events, photos, products, etc
You can easily write and receive the online equivalent of “letters of recommendation” from other professionals you are connected with on the network.
There is a newsfeed section where you can post relevant information, stories etc that are seen by everyone that is a connection.
Stats can tell you how many people have viewed your profile as well as how many times your profile has appeared in search results within Linked in
The Negatives:
Many people think that those on Linkedin are only there to look for jobs
The different types of interaction possible on Linkedin are less than
Google+ or FacebookThere are not to many photographers on Linkedin
Summary:
Linked in is the social network for you to maintain and grow professional
relationships with other individuals around the globe. As a photographer and
entrepreneur, I have found it useful to reach out and connect with PR &
Marketing firms, tourism boards and photography related companies to find ways
to collaborate on projects.
INSTAGRAM
User Base: 80+ million users
The Positives:
Fastest growing mobile photography network today
Simple to use, all images maintain the square look and you only have a
small handful of filters to apple to an uploaded imageIt is FUN! It is nice to have a social network for photographers that isn’t professional and serious all the time
You can post your Instagram photos directly to Facebook, Tumblr, Twitter, Flickr and Foursquare as your upload them to Instagram
The Negatives:
The square limitations to images being uploaded to Instagram can stifle
some creativity
Certain Instagram filters are very popular, leading many images on the
network to have the same look and feel.Instagram is PURELY a mobile photo sharing network currently. Instagram.com is nothing more than a landing page directing you to the IOS and Android store to download the app. There are a few 3rd party websites that allow you to browse Instagram photos on a website, but no official support
You can NOT share an instagram photo directly to Google+, although this is not Instagram’s fault…it is Google’s… which may go back to my previous comment about staying tuned to what Google has in store for new products
Summary:
Instagram offers a great fun mobile photo sharing experience. It is fairly
simplistic in nature, but many feel that is what makes Instagram so great. Most
of its 80 million users are highly active on the network, allowing for a
positive social experience for most. Professionally, I use Instagram to share
images of my life, travels and family as well as behind the scenes photos of my
adventures around the globe. It is a great dumping place for many of my cell
phone images that I don’t care to share on my main Social Networks and for that
reason I am a huge fan of Instagram.
PINTERESTUser Base: 23 million as of July (Comscore)
The Positives:
One of the fastest growing social networks today
1.7 billion page views a monthSimple to use. Create boards to organise your content.
The whole idea is for content to spread easily.
You can “pin” content from nearly any website
The demographics on the network are heavily in favour of women
Perfect for wedding, portrait photographers, photographers wanting to teach workshops
The Negatives:
Has a relatively small user base
Some photographers fear its abuse of supposed copyright infringement… but
check the laws on where you live… its different in most countries.
It is not the best network for interactionLacks diversity in over all demographics of users
Summary:
Pinterest is the relatively new on the social media block. Because it is
new, certain market segments are obsessed with it. While some photographers are
worried about supposed copyright infringement, in the vast majority of cases
this is a façade and you really need to do your own research. Most users do not
upload content directly to Pinterest, instead they “Pin” content they find on
other websites to their Pinterest boards. The thumbnail and connected hyperlink
than live on that “pin” on your boards, allowing other users to follow it back
to the original website.
This has potential to help drive traffic back to your own photography
website if you leverage your time on Pinterest effectively. While I do not see
Pinterest offering much in the way of increasing print sales but I am finding
new contract work and education clients in aspiring photographers.
You have to be pretty active on Pinterest in order to drive enough traffic
back to your website in order to see any true gains in the form of selling products
and services. Because the demographics are so heavily swayed towards women, I
know many wedding and portrait photographers that are making a killing using
Pinterest as a way to meet new clients and connect with Wedding planners in
order to secure future jobs. I also know a few photographers that find new
clients through posting their images from around the world.
I am looking into Snapseed now... so no doubt I will be updating this blog in the coming months. Snapseed is a competitive product to Instagram. Snapseed, a Nik Software business (Now Google), was born out of one simple idea: What if we could take the digital innovations pioneered for photography professionals and bring them to everyone – all the millions of people around the world snapping photos with their phones and digital cameras?
Conclusion:
While I discussed the pros and cons of the top social media websites, the generation
of business and networking, I did not address ancillary benefits of posting on
a social network… and here is the silent “golden ticket” for growing your
business online through social networks.
“The more you post on the sites that you are working, and if you are
linking to your content, the more the chances you are of having your content
for sale online seen.”
I receive more business because of the inbound links I post, than anything
else. While I may not always be hard selling, I am always offering links to my
products for sale… aka soft selling. You do not have to click-thru to my
products for sale, but people do, and a small percentage buy, and the more
traffic you refer, the more chances you have of acquiring a client.
So, whatever site you use, place links to relevant content, and ALWAYS have
a link to something you are selling, even if its not “in their face”, give them
the option to click through to your products or service.
I will go into
this more on my post on how to use the social mediums in the coming days… there
is a right way to post, and a wrong way to post…
Until then, go
out and buy yourself a good Christmas gift, wrap it, and put it under the tree
with a tag that says, “From Santa”
If you want to learn more about social media for photographers, you can attend my next seminar in 2013... to prebook your spot please visit this link... http://www.photographers-lounge.com/workshops/social-media-for-photographers/
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