Marketing tips
Being a solo business can be hard work, especially when it comes to winning more clients. Check out our tips to make your photography business shine.
Where to start? Well, like with many businesses, it’s all about word of mouth. So you need to have happy brides and grooms on your side. Which means doing a great job in the first place and then asking them to share your details far and wide. Delighted clients will talk to friends, family and colleagues, bringing more business your way.
Next up, you need to tell others about your business. Please excuse my language, but the reality is you need to network your butt off! The more you can build connections and relationships so that people get to know you as a person and you as a photographer, the more likely you are to generate interest. Talk to other wedding vendors, like the venue management, DJs, caterers and florists. Leave your business card and follow up as much as you can.
Use social media. It’s a given in our world today that people will be looking online for wedding photographers. So, post photos and tag your clients at the very least, and if you’re feeling brave, try Facebook ads, which can target where your content turns up. Alternatively, set up a Facebook business account and share it on your personal account. Of all the social media platforms, Instagram is all about sharing photographs, so experiment with hashtags and share your best photos that show off your style.
Get yourself a website. Whether you make yourself, or use a web designer, it’s the number one online brochure to showcase your work. Alongside the website, it’s crucial to refresh your content on there regularly. Posting regular blogs can be a great way to do this. You could share your knowledge or casually explain to readers about your services.
Once you’ve got a beautiful website showcasing your work, you’ll need to show up on search engines. The way to get good at this is to educate yourself on site engine optimisation (SEO). There are a whole heap of steps you can take. Join Facebook groups like Fuel Your Photos or Easy SEO for Wedding Photographers, to learn about trends and changes to Google’s algorithms.
There are plenty of direct marketing tools to consider, too. Paid advertising, magazine advertorials and Google Ads are some of your options to consider. Think about where most of your clients come from? Google Analytics will be able to help you with this.
“It may seem a little overwhelming, but by taking small steps each week to market your business, you’ll be enjoying the results with great clients and fantastic weddings to photograph.”
