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If you grow your career only photography then you definitely need to know about photography marketing ideas.
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The Classic Photography Marketing Ideas Md. Ashik Pervez Professional Photographer
First Thing You have to know The first thing that you need to do before you get started with photography marketing is to identify your niche. You may already know that you are a food photographer, not a family portrait photographer. But getting even more specific will help you go after your target market. Food is a very wide niche. It includes restaurants, farmers, advertising agencies and packaging for products. It may seem counter-intuitive. But choosing a couple of areas to focus on is likely to speed up the growth of your client list. Marketing your skillset does have unique challenges, but they can all be overcome with a little bit of work. It doesn’t really matter if you specialize in one type of photography, or if you do it all, these tips should help you no matter where you’re at in your career.
Design a stunning sample album to show your potential clients An online portfolio is good for reaching out to as many people as possible, but when you have a face-to-face meeting, a beautiful sample album might be your best tool to win the clients. Seeing images in print make it easier for the potential clients to visualize how the photos will look. Bring a sample album everywhere you go, from consultation meetings with clients, to trade fairs, or any other place where you can potentially make deals.
Create beautiful, personalized packaging, and show it off While packaging is not the main reason why people would choose a photographer, it helps to add a ‘plus’ to your photography business. There’s also another advantage: it’s good for publicity on social media. People on Instagram especially appreciate good visuals, and a lovely packaging will get people curious to at least check your profile.
Participate in trade shows and fairs This is one of the classic photography marketing ideas, but it’s a classic for a reason: because it works. Especially if you’re a wedding photographer, participating in wedding fairs and has been shown to bring a lot of new clients. Make sure you come prepared. Bring sample albums and photos to show your clients, create a slideshow if you want to show more on your laptop, and have a stack of business cards ready to hand out. Many photographers offer discounts exclusively for deals made in the fair to add urgency, and this strategy often works in securing many deals during the course of the fair. Create a referral program Word-of-mouth marketing is still alive, and sometimes a little reward can go a long way. Encourage your clients to share your work with their friends and family. You can offer a discount, gift card, or a bonus (like free prints, for example) for clients who come to you through referrals, and for their friends who have recommended you.
Have consistent branding Consistent branding helps people to recognize your brand and work. Make sure your images, typeface, wording, and overall branding is consistent for your website/blog, social media channels, business cards, brochures, and other profiles.
Put a QR code on all your marketing material You need more than the tiny space on a business card or even brochure to show your best work. Obviously, your portfolio wouldn’t fit in this, so what you can do is make it easy for people to see your portfolio, online: give them a QR code they can scan. Direct them to your portfolio page where they can see your stunning imagery. Increase your rates This might sound counterintuitive, but raising your rates can actually bring more clients. When you undercharge, people doubt your skills and expertise. Increasing your rates (sensibly) gives assurance to people that you’re good at what you’re doing, and you know your worth. For special events in their lives, people don’t mind paying for quality.
Send anniversary or birthday notes to your clients A little gesture goes a long way, and it can help maintain good relationships with clients. On their first wedding anniversary (if you’re a wedding photographer) or the first birthday of their kid (if you’re a maternity/newborn photographer), send them a thoughtful card (with your logo on it). Include a few business cards as well that they can give to their friends. Document a local event Your first clients are most likely to come from your area, so this is where you start establishing connections. While you’re documenting the event, make time for conversations with the attendees, and have your business cards ready to hand out. Finally, once the images are nicely edited, send them to the organiser and share them on your social media. This is a good way to introduce your business to people in the area.
Shoot for a local charity Local charities often welcome anyone who wants to help, and this is your opportunity to give support, while also building networks with your local community. Shoot for free and engage in conversation with the organizers and the participants. When you send the photos to the organizers, include your social media handles so they can tag you when they post it online.
Send photos to relevant vendors to help their marketing If there’s an opportunity to take photos of other vendors’ works during a job, do it to help with their marketing. The venue providers, caterers, and even florists need high-quality photos for their promotion. When they post them on social media, their followers and clients might be interested in your photos and check you out. Take a few photos that you know will be good for the vendors’ websites or marketing programs, and email these images to them once you’re done with the post-processing. Don’t forget to include details of your social media handles and website so they can tag you.
Partner with other businesses Do cross-marketing with other vendors in the same field. Once you’ve built a relationship with a vendor, ask them politely to put you on the list of ‘preferred vendors’. Venues are most likely to have this list, but don’t discount other possibilities. It’s also worth pursuing planners, florists, caterers. Just remember to build a genuine relationship first, and you can use tip #11 to open the way for collaborations. Create a sample album for your favorite venue They would really appreciate your help in showing their venue with all its glory, and they can even use the sample album as a promotion material when they’re dealing with potential clients. Make sure you include your logo, website, and social media handles in the album, so they know where to go if they want to see more.
Partner with other photographers for referrals It’s always useful to have connections in your field, and that includes fellow photographers. You can choose 2-3 photographers in your area with a similar price level, experience, and style, and become referral partners. When you get an inquiry for a date you’re already booked, refer your referral partners (tip: it’s also really helpful if you can write short, great reviews when referring your partner).
Send your clients holiday cards Holidays are the opportunity to get in touch with your existing clients, apart from special occasions like birthdays or anniversaries. Send them cards to wish them a happy holiday, and include discount vouchers they can use for them or their friends and family.
Use special occasions to offer discounts or unique sessions Use special occasions to advertise unique offers or discounts. A few ideas: discounts for maternity photo sessions around Mother’s Day, out-of-the-box Halloween photoshoots, family photoshoots for Christmas cards. Showcase your creative projects Doing photography as a business doesn’t mean you can’t do something completely different from your usual niche. People like to see fun and creative projects, and if you have a creative photography project you’ve been doing for fun, there’s no harm in showcasing it to garner the public’s attention. It makes you stand out from the other photographers, and unique projects have a higher chance to go viral, which can bring fame to your name (and business).
Create photography workshops This is not a direct marketing to your prospects, but by doing photography workshops, you establish yourself as having expertise in the field. Not only that, this will give you a chance to widen your network, and also get some exposure for your photography business.
Final Verdict So that’s photography marketing ideas for you to try! The most important thing is to be observant, persistent, and patient. There will be some ideas that work better than others, and some of these take time before you see any results.
