1. Visibility
Social media gives you online visibility that
you need to have in this global marketplace. You have access to potential
customers from your local town right through to the other side of the globe.
Prior to the internet and social media it was pretty much a monopoly, large
corporations would spends huge amounts on advertising and smaller companies
wouldn’t be able to compete. Now smaller companies, just like you, have the
opportunity to showcase your photography products and services globally... And
the best part is it’s virtually free!
2. Loyal community
Many people think Social Media is all about
popularity… aka, the higher the number of fans on Facebook or the more
followers you have on twitter the greater the rewards. While we all like being
popular, to get really effective results you want to build a loyal community of
followers who like having a conversation with you. Let’s take two businesses
and compare them. Business A has 50 loyal fans that support their photography
business. These fans share Business A’s content, responds to their messages
& tells their friends. Business B has 500 fans with no loyal fans. Business
B is going to have to work a lot harder to get their message socialized. Where
as if you own business A you’ll grow a lot faster just with the help of your
loyal fans. So don’t get caught up in the hype. Social Media plays by the same
rules as anything else… “quality and not quantity” rules the roost.
3. Opportunities
A key point in your success is how you
communicate with people. The idea is to participate in conversation and build
relationships. If you have a look at Sony on Twitter, Sony doesn’t just post
tweets about themselves they ask questions in a fun way. They also actively ask
the community to participate by submitting photos and they use twitter as a
customer service platform. By actively participating in conversations you want
to build relationships so that people remember you . This then has a knock on
effect and opportunities begin to present themselves which leads to enquiries,
partnerships, sales or even freelance work.
I am just as guilty as many others that I see…
I sometimes forget Social Media is about being social. In sales you are always
told to be selling and closing… Not the case with Social Media… its about
gaining trust first. People will only buy your products and services if they
trust you and have gotten to know you.
4. Feedback
If you’re a photographer who’s new to the game,
social media can be a great way to get feedback on your photos. For example on
Facebook, Flickr and 500px you could ask people to comment on your images to
let you know what’s right and what’s wrong with your images.
Take it one step further and you’ve got access
to many experienced photographers or you can even speak to high profile
industry experts who aren’t easily accessible through other channels.
5. You Can’t Afford Not Too
Every type of business can now be found using Social Media, in today’s digital
age you need to be a part of the social media community. Unfortunately if you
choose not to embrace Social Media fully you’re simply handing your potential
customers to your competitor. You need to put yourself out there to reap the
benefits of social media… but if you do it… be committed. Doing this part time
will not serve your business well…
There are many more benefits to using “Social Media”… and as the days go
on I will try to address them all… these were just the “Top Five” reasons to
jump on board.
If you want ot learn more about maximizing social media, please register for my Social Media Seminar in 2013 here, http://www.photographers-lounge.com/workshops/social-media-for-photographers/
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