Tips and Insights For Marketing A Photography Business
Marketing is an important part of running your photography business. Whether you do it yourself or you hire an agency it’s essential that you understand the ins and outs of marketing.
Let’s start with a few conventional marketing ideas to help get your creativity flowing.
1. Newspaper Advertising
Newspaper advertising is still viable and effective, especially when looking to attract local customers. When it comes to newspaper advertising, you will want to look at the following:
- The circulation rate (how many people does the paper reach.)
- The type of audience the paper caters to.
- The cost of advertising.
Usually, it’s more effective to have a consistent campaign than to place a one-time ad.
That’s not to say that advertising your sale or a discount it’s not out of the question from time to time.
If you’re planning on advertising in the newspaper, look at the link below, which offers tips, insights, and resources to help you get started.
For more, see Newspaper Advertising Tips.
2. Radio Advertising
Radio advertising is another viable method to increase your customer base. However, you must run a consistent campaign over a few weeks to gain awareness for your photography business.
Radio advertising differs from print advertising because if people don’t have the radio on when your ad is broadcasted, you’ll miss out on that crowd; therefore, the time your ad airs, is important.
You will want to speak with the radio advertising campaign manager, to go over the details and cost of running a radio advertising campaign.
If you’re interested in running radio ads, see the article below with tips and resources to help you get started.
For more, see Radio Advertising Tips.
3. TV Advertising
Advertising on your local TV station is another method you can use to advertise. You’ll need to focus on the same methods we talked about above in the radio advertising section, plus you’ll need a professionally created commercial, and you want to discuss that with the radio station advertising manager for the cost involved.
If you’re planning to use the TV station as a long-term method of advertising, then it’s worth investing in the production costs associated with creating the commercial. If you’re planning on a one-time campaign, then the cost may outweigh the benefits.
Speaking with your local TV station advertising manager will give you an idea of the advertising opportunities.
4. Billboard Advertising
Advertising on billboards is another option you can use to bring awareness to your photography business.
One key to effective billboard advertising is the location of the billboard. One in a busy section will have more success than one located in a secluded area. Also, consider the time of your campaign. A three-month campaign will get more exposure than one that lasts only a month.
For more information on billboard advertising, I suggest doing an online search for billboard advertising opportunities in your area and discussing your goals with the advertising manager to get an accurate estimate and understanding of running a billboard advertising campaign.
5. Joint Ventures
Creating a joint venture is another way to promote your business and build a customer base. A joint venture is a partner with a product or service or referrals.
For example, you contact a local wedding planner and make a deal to refer your clients to the wedding planner, and the wedding planner recommends your service to her customers. Or you could offer a referral fee of 30% of the revenue from every job the wedding planner sends you. Sure, you work at a discounted rate, but if you look at the extra volume and exposure you’re getting, it could be well worth it.
Creating a joint venture takes creativity to develop an idea that complements both businesses, then you need to find the right partner.
For more details on joint ventures, see, How To Create A Joint Venture.
6. Join Your Local Chamber of Commerce
Joining your local chamber of commerce can be beneficial. Many Chambers host events where you can get to know local business owners, and they get to know you. These events are meant to promote networking among business owners.
You could also offer your services during those events. For example, you could offer your services to take event photos. This way, you promote your work within the chamber of commerce.
Naturally, this would be a complimentary service, but you could benefit, for example, by getting the emails of each member to email them some of their personal photos and a link to your website where they can view the photos of the event they attended.
You could also email the group in a while and just let them know you if they ever need a photographer, they will receive a 25% discount because they are part of the same chamber of commerce.
For more, see, Joining the Chamber of Commerce.
7. Apply for BBB Accreditation.
When you are a member of the Better Business Bureau, you add a layer of confidence for new customers. But unfortunately, trust is one of the main barriers that keep new customers from doing business with you.
Being a better business bureau member doesn’t mean that customers will do business with you blindly. It just can help to make them more comfortable doing business with you.
You can contact your local BBB and apply to become a member.
8. Advertise on Your Company Vehicle
A company vehicle is beneficial because you can deduct the expense from taxes and use the vehicle for advertising your business.
Consider spending $2,500 on a professional wrap with a tasteful graphic. That would be your total investment, and now you advertise your business every time you drive.
Even parking in a busy parking lot when you shop acts as advertising. When you do not need your vehicle, you could leave it in a busy area, which acts as a billboard.
Online Advertising Methods
In the following sections, we will look at a few methods to help you build your online presence while advertising your business.
9. Developing Your Website
Websites are an essential part of your online presence. Posting new photos keeps your portfolio fresh. In addition, the photos you take are what people are looking for when it comes to hiring you. Therefore, posting your most attractive photos is essential to attracting new customers.
Online appointment booking can also be made through your website. Making it convenient for clients to book a consultation or event.
Another way to get traffic to your site is to create a blog that offers tips and insights related to photography and events.
The primary online property of your company should be your website. The reason is that other accounts, such as a Facebook page or other online properties, are not under your control, and any changes could disrupt your business. In addition, you have full control over your website when you have your own hosting and domain name.
10. Create a Google Ads Campaign
With Google Ads, you can increase sales and build your customer base by using a controlled advertising platform.
Many options are available through Google, including pay-per-click, pay-per-view, and action-based advertising.
After you’ve set it up, you can pause or restart your campaign by pressing a button. The campaign is automatically paused when the daily budget runs out and starts up again automatically the next day.
When you have a winning campaign, it runs on autopilot. This means you won’t need to change anything unless you see a drop in traffic or a competitor taking your place.
For more on creating a Google Ads Campaign, see How To Advertise on Google Using These Tips and Insights.
11. Facebook Advertising
Facebook advertising is based on pay-per-click or pay-per-view models. Your campaign can be paused and resumed according to your daily budget. Facebook would rather the paid traffic stay within their site rather than drive it away, which is why advertising your Facebook page is cheaper than advertising your website.
For more, see, How to Advertise on Facebook.
12. Set up a Google Business Profile
Google Business Profile is an important part of your online presence. It’s not hard to rank, either. Once you claim your spot and people type in your business name, your listing will show as the first listing on the page.
The listing offers your business hours, a photo of your location provided by Google street view, your business hours, a link to your website, and a blurp about your business.
For more, see our article on setting up a Google Business Profile.
13. Instagram
It’s critical to set up an account on Instagram so you can post new photos and gain new followers that will help you spread the word about your business.
If you become popular on Instagram, what would keep you from taking a job that is not in your area? For example, let’s say someone wanted you to cover an event in another part of the country. Of course, you could always fly there and take the job. Naturally, this would cost a lot more for that client, but it is possible.
14. Create a Marketing Plan
We have covered a lot of ideas you can use to market your photography business, which may be overwhelming at this point, especially if you are new to marketing. However, you can create a marketing plan to help you organize your marketing and focus on those ideas that will bring the most customers.
For more, see, How to Write a Marketing Plan.
Resources
In the sections below, you’ll find resources to help you expand your knowledge of marketing your photography business.
Most of the links lead to search results, and that’s by design, so you always have the latest and most popular information anytime you visit this page.
Photography Marketing Agencies
You have seen many ideas for marketing your photography business at this point in the article. However, looking at the work and time involved, you may not want to market your business on your own but instead, depend on a marketing agency, and that’s okay.
From the link below, you’ll find agencies specializing in marketing, a photography business, and agencies offering services for various businesses.
When you come across one that makes sense, research it to see what others have experienced with the agency. You’ll also want to define what you want and where you want the agency to focus its campaigns.
For example, you may want to focus on gaining customers for your local area, or you want to focus on the online market, etc. Or you could have the agency develop a plan, which may come with a cost.
Search Results for photography marketing agencies.
Books
If you’re an avid reader, you can learn more about marketing your photography business by choosing a few books that appeal to you.
One point I like about nonfiction books is that you don’t have to read the book from cover to cover to get the necessary information. Instead, you can browse the table of contents and go directly to the chapter containing the information you want.
View the most recent books related to marketing a photography business from Amazon.
Courses
There are courses you can take to market your photography business. Some may include using a conventional approach through an instructor and classroom, or you may prefer to use the self-study approach where you learn at your own pace.
My preference is self-study courses with videos and examples. Additionally, I prefer courses that provide lifetime access, which allows me to work at my own pace while having the option to review the material at any time. See the following link for the latest and most popular courses on marketing a photography business.
Search Results – Photography marketing courses.
News
You can use Google News to see what the media covers about marketing a photography business. You might be surprised at what you may find.
See Google’s news search results related to marketing a photography business.
YouTube Videos
YouTube offers a collection of videos to gain marketing tips and multiple perspectives for marketing your photography business.
Depending on your preference, you may enjoy learning from videos or prefer reading instead. My preference is learning from videos because I’m a visual learner. If you are, too, then check out the link below.