from pretty presets
social media school photography & social media
go hand in hand! become a
better blogger how to find your next customer
through social media
hashtags
demystified
what’s inside
1
all about
5
how to better target
10
effective email
customers
social media
marketing
plus: 4. your social media calendar 9. become a better blogger 12. all about Facebook 19. how to impress on instagram
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increasing your
client base
social media school
bonus!
get sharper photos in camera
writing: Lisa from Social Media Satisfied bonus: Gayle Vehar • www.momandcamera.com cover image: Lily Miller • Blahblah Bebe Photography
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photography and social media
go hand in hand Today is a great time to be a photographer because of all the social media networks that can be used to promote a photographer’s work. Sites like Facebook, Instagram and Twitter can all be used to help your business grow which means more income for your photography business. For those who have not yet started using social media, it is important that you understand what it is and why you need to be onboard before you can start making any money. But more importantly, you need to know how to maximize your efforts on these sites in order to have any success. A Brief Description of Social Media Social media are internet and mobile based websites that are used to communicate with others and to create interactive dialogues between communities, businesses and individuals. There are those who think that social media is just for teenagers to share selfies and status updates to their friends, but social media can be a great marketing tool for professional photographers, too. It is a great way to connect with potential clients from around the world with just a smart phone or a computer. The challenge comes in deciding what you can do with all the new connections that you make. Keep in mind that you don’t always have to use Facebook or Twitter to make money, but you can also use it as a source for inspiration, education or even as a digital platform to connect with other photographers and to promote your personal projects.
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The Importance of Social Media The reason why social media is so important is because of the amount of people who are currently using it around the world. When you consider that nearly a third of the world’s population is an active Internet user then you can be begin to understand why you need to have a presence on it. In actual numbers, this is over two and a quarter billion people who are online, which is astronomical when you consider it.
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photography & social media go hand-in-hand
In the year 2000, there were five hundred percent less internet users than there are today and with this type of growth over just a thirteen year period it is not likely that the rate of growth will be slowing any time soon. The Stages of the Internet If you really want to understand why social media is so important you have to look at the evolution of the internet as a whole. When it was first introduced to the public, the internet was all about the .com and its explosion around the world. Companies were scrambling to get their domain names locked in; people were buying up .com names for big business and famous people and then selling them to these companies for huge profits. After the .com explosion, the second generation focused on dynamic content rather than flash and pizzazz. Today is considered the third generation of the internet and it is a visually based generation with YouTube videos and other types of social media content taking the forefront. Social Media Sites You Should Consider There are just so many social media sites on the internet today that it can be confusing to understand just which ones are important enough to create an account. As a professional photographer who is looking to improve their income, you need to have a presence on at least some of these tops sites. The social media sites to consider are as follows:
Facebook is one of the largest social media sites on the internet and has the most users, both businesses and individuals, than any other sites. This is where you’ll find the majority of your friends, family members, clients and potential clients posting and sharing
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information. You can create a business page for your photography that can be used to gain new clients from your list of friends and fans. You will have to put in some effort to get fans on your page but the rewards are totally worth the effort you put in.
Google+
If you want to have any type of presence on Google then you have to have a Google+ account. There is a great user interface and a community set up for photography which means any photos you post will look stunning. There is also free video conferencing and great privacy controls. Anything that you post publicly is indexed to be searched by Google so make sure you post plenty of photos of your work.
Twitter is second only to Facebook and while it is not media based, it can be used in conjunction with other social media sites to share photographs. Tweets are limited to only 140 words but it is instantaneous communication. Typically, Twitter is the first line of news for every niche and genre so while promoting photos may not be as easy as on other social media sites, you’ll get the latest updates on all photography based news from the entire world.
When you consider all of the top social media sites, Instagram is the top site for sharing media. It is a smart phone based app that allows you to upload your photos directly to the site via the app. In fact, this is the fastest growing photography based social media network on the internet and while you can also post videos, the majority of the posts are pictures. Not to mention the fact that the app is fun to use and many photographers enjoy the filters and other tools for their own personal collection.
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photography & social media go hand-in-hand
How to Develop a Social Media Strategy Once you have signed up for your social media accounts, you need to think about your social media strategies if you want to start increasing your income. First, choose what you want to do with your social media time. Do you want to network with other photographers or do you want to use social media to promote your website and to gain more customers? You can also use it as a platform to show your work to potential clients as Facebook and Instagram offer great ways to promote your photographs. Facebook in particular allows you to create photo albums that you can use to post your photographs and there is no limit to that amount of albums that you can have. Once you have decided how you want to use social media, then you can concentrate on the promotion side of it.
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The most important thing to know about your social media strategy is: don’t spam! How to Spend Your Social Media Time Depending on the scope of your business, you may do your own social media updates or you can hire someone to do them. If you have employees that are familiar with social media promotion, ask them to help. You need to post consistently on all of your social media sites to stay in the minds of your followers, fans and friends. You can offer specials to those clients who find you via social media and there are thousands of contests you can offer to keep everyone interested in your photography. Every photographer needs to have a social media presence if they want to increase their profits and to drive more clients to their website. Social media is also important for SEO purposes and can really help you compete in today’s market as a professional photographer.
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how to plan your annual social media calendar If you want to meet your social media goals, it pays to have a social media editorial calendar.
With an editorial calendar, you will know what you’re posting and when. You’ll be able to create themes or patterns that your followers and fans will also recognize. This familiarity helps increase your brand awareness and may strengthen your following. So here are some steps to planning your social media calendar for the year: Create Categories No matter what kind of industry you work in, you can begin by creating categories of content you can cover. There should be several different categories you can create from even the most detailed niche. Spend some time brainstorming and creating smaller categories within your larger niche categories. This will help you when creating and organizing your content. Identify Events Look at upcoming events this year in your niche or that your business/brand will be participating in or visiting. You can use these events to help generate interest through your social media channels before and during the event. Use it to update attendees and customers/clients after the event, too. Create Original Content You will, of course, need to create great original content. There is a place for curated content as well, but it’s important you get comfortable with creating original content for your social channels, or hiring a professional who can help.
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Build Your Social Media Calendar Next, create your social media calendar, using a traditional calendar, digital calendar or a spreadsheet. You will put in topics and leave spaces for dates and titles, and also spaces to post when your content has published. You can follow a specific theme but you still have freedom to edit or alter it at the beginning of each week or month. Include holidays and special events. Commit to Your Calendar Now that you have your calendar, commit to it. It won’t work for you unless you are willing to commit to it and carry it out daily and weekly. Review It Each Month As you probably already know, you may need to make tweaks and changes from time to time and this is why it is important to review your calendar every month. With these tips, you can create and implement a social media calendar that you can stick with month after month. You will see increased engagement and interaction on your social platforms and you should find the entire process makes it less stressful to manage your social media.
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how to find your next customer through social media As a photographer, or any small business or freelancer, you have to be regularly looking for ways to find your next customer. Marketing is as much a part of the job as your actual job.
We know that social media is important to marketing but far too many people just don’t know how to do it correctly. Even worse, you might not even know where to begin. And you’re not alone if you find yourself in this position. The good news is social media can help you gain new customers and it’s not as hard as you might think.
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You can learn just a few simple things to help you along the way and then you’ll be ready to find your next customer through social media. Classic Advertising vs Social Media The first and most important thing to understand is that social media marketing does not work the same as classic advertising and marketing. If you take this
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how to find your next customer through social media
classic approach to marketing on social media, you’re going to come across as spammy. Another thing about social media is that it can be really easy to connect you with existing customers but it might seem more challenging to attract new customers with this method. So here are some ideas to help.
Using a Mailing List If you don’t already have a mailing list set up to contact your current customers, you’re going to want to set this up. You can also integrate your mailing list with many social networks, such as Facebook. You can have social visitors sign up for your mailing list and then you increase your network of prospects.
Using “Find Friends” Tools via Social Media
You can use the find friends tool available in most social media networks to help you find people you may already know who are using this services. You can use your business email list to connect with people who are already on your list and on that network. This will help you start to build a following even if you are new to the site.
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Search Hashtags and Conversations Using search features and hashtags, you can track conversations that are related to your brand or your niche and then jump in and participate in those conversations. Social media is all about being social so jumping in there and finding the right people to be social with will make a big difference.
Track Your Social Mentions
are being talked about online, good or bad, and you want to try to respond to these. Not only will it help improve communications with those who are already familiar with your brand, but it can also help bring in new customers when people see that you are on social media and being active. It’s all about being there, being authentic and connecting with your audience. It’s not about spammy tactics or “tricks” to get seen in more social feeds. It will take time and a dedicated effort to start seeing a good ROI from your social media efforts but once you do, you will see the customers grow.
Along with the idea of being social and searching conversations, you also want to track all of your brand’s social mentions. You want to know when you
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how to increase your client base through social media Photographers are always looking for a way to increase their client base as most are independent contractors who do not work for large companies. With this type of independence also comes a greater need to keep working as there isn’t a paycheck without clients. So how can a hard working photographer increase their client base without putting out a great deal of cash? No matter if you are just starting out or have been an established photographer for many years, you always need to have more clients on your books. You can use your social media sites in order to increase your client base. Social media is one of the best free marketing strategy that any business can use and it will work wonders for photographers too. The first thing you need to know is which site do you have the most current clients on and then work on that site the majority of the time. The reason for this is that your current client base will help you to promote your work. One of the top sites for photographers is Facebook and here why: You can share your posts on both your fanpage and on your personal page for your friends and fans to share with their network. Inviting your friends and family members to like and share your fanpage is easy and the more likes you get on your fanpage the more people will see your posts.
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how to increase your client base through social media
Asking your client’s to tag themselves in the photos you posts allows their friends to see your work and will gain you more business. You can install Facebook comments on your blog and webpage which increases your exposure. It is easy to respond to comments on your photos and this type of interaction always brings you more clients. Offer Referral Specials One of the best ways to increase your client base is to offer a discount to your current customers who refer you to their friends. For those who are just starting out, you want to be more aggressive by offering larger discounts to both the client who refers their friends to you and the friends who book you to shoot their event. In this way,
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you will build up a loyal following and it won’t detract from your business plan. Just make sure that you’re not giving the house away; you still need to make money! The big bucks will come once you have a solid foundation of clients. Donate Your Services One of the best ways to get new clients is to donate your services to charity. Find a local charitable organization and then donate a photography session as a part of their raffle or other fund raiser. While you won’t make any money, the exposure you gain will be well worth the time. Make sure that you promote the charity on your social media sites so your friends and clients can get in on the deal. Everybody loves to have a professional photography session and you can do some good for your local community while gaining new clients at the same time.
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how to become
a better blogger We’re not all born to be excellent bloggers. For some of us, becoming a better blogger takes work. If you’re willing to invest the time and effort, there’s a good chance you can be a very successful blogger. The problem many people have is not that they are not willing to do it, but rather that they don’t know what to do. So let’s take a look at some options you have to become a better blogger. Create a Content Plan First, you need to know what it is you are trying to do. A content plan will help you focus on what is important to you and your blog, what you want to share and the best way to do this. Know your goals for the blog and your target market. Learn all you can about the niche and what your readers want to read about. You should be constantly exploring new content ideas and working them into your posting plan.
Use New Ideas to Capture the Reader’s Attention While planning, strategy and SEO are helpful, when it comes right down to it you need to know how to write about interesting topics. That’s what blogging is really all about, right? How can you present an old topic in a new light? Do you have opinions about a new piece of industry news? Can you share information about your business behind the scenes or how you work? These are all unique and original ways to share content on your site. The more you practice coming up with these new ideas, the easier it will be.
Learn Why SEO Matters
Blog Something Worth Reading and Sharing
Learn what you can about SEO and why it is important. This doesn’t mean you have to turn into an SEO guru overnight, but you do need to learn more about how SEO works and how you can apply it to your blog. Quality search engine optimization is about more than just writing for keywords. In fact, search engines don’t care much for posts that are obviously keywordtargeted these days. You want to work your SEO naturally into other parts of your posts, such as your META tags and your image alt tags.
Focus on your content and take time to make it excellent. Be concise, post quote-worthy content and take time to encourage comments and follow up when people leave them. You need to put some passion and care into the blog posts you write. As you do, more of your personality will come out over time and this is what causes readers to be attracted to you and your posts. This is how you become a better blogger and how you get more subscribers.
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how to develop an effective email marketing plan Could your photography business use a boost to gain you more clients? One of the best ways to do this is by starting an effective email marketing plan.
This is done by sending targeted emails to current and potential clients in order to gain visibility for your studio. There are some tips and tricks that you must use when marketing via email if you want to have any success. Following are some great tips for starting and conducting an effective email marketing plan:
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Subject Line The subject line must be enticing and must encourage the recipient to open the email. Sadly, most emails send by businesses are left unopened or sent to spam because the subject line is not written properly.
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how to develop an effective email marketing plan
Keep the subject line short and direct so that your point gets across in just a couple of words.
Beneficial Emails
Offer your recipients a benefit and then explain why they need to take part of your services or special offer. People love to get a deal and when you send out emails, this may be the only reason they choose to read it. Email Subscriptions You also need to offer email subscriptions within the email and also on your website. You want to make it as easy as possible for people to subscribe to your emails so just include a form where they can put in their email address to be included on the list. Offer an Incentive An incentive is more than a sale or special, it offers potential customers something free for simply clicking on a link or referring another customer. They are more inclined to take part because there is little work or money that is expected from them. Always Send Fresh Emails You never want to send the same old rehashed email every time you are marketing. This includes using the same template for the emails. Mix it up a bit and keep them interesting so your subscribers will want to open them and read them. The same can be said about the content of the email. Make sure you make the content easy to read and stick to simple fonts that stand out rather than detract from the content. How Often to Send Emails Now that you know what types of emails and how to create them, you need to know how often you should send out your emails. This can be tricky because if
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you send too many emails in a week, you will end up in a spam folder because your subscribers will think you’re spamming them. If you send out too few, your recipients may forget about you. Most professional email marketers stick to sending out two and no more than three emails in a week. One during the week and one on the weekend tends to work best as it hits everyone at a time when they are free to read and peruse your emails. Email marketing is vital to any business and if you want to get more clients for your photography studio, then you need to get onboard today!
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how to market on facebook Facebook and photography go hand-in-hand. People love Facebook and they love great photos. So if you have great photography to display, Facebook can be an excellent tool in your business marketing strategy. However, it all begins with planning and executing it correctly. Who has time to spend all day on Facebook when you have photos to take or a business to run? Facebook marketing doesn’t have to be complex. You can do it with as much or as little time per day that you have to share and you can work it into the rest of your marketing campaign. So let’s take look at how photographers can use Facebook for business marketing. Creating your Fanpage The first step is to create your fanpage. If you already have one set up but you’re not doing very much with it, this could also be a time to revamp it. You want to give it a name that is recognizable and will be easily associated with you and what you do. Many photographers use their own name or the name of their company as the name of their Facebook page. This is a practical but sensible approach. Be sure to fill out all of your biography info and include a note about what your page is all about. Tell the visitor what kind of photography you specialize in and what they can expect to get from your page. Remember that all of the bio info can be edited later so if your business changes or your objectives change, you can still use the same page. This will
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help you fill out all the info without worrying about not being flexible enough to allow for changes. You also want to choose a stunning cover photo. This is one of the most important things you can do for any fanpage but especially as a photographer. You want people to land on your page and immediately see a great example of the type of work you can do right at the top. It’s in their face and they are sure to take notice to make it a great example of your work. You can also put your branding on the cover photo and Facebook dropped the 20% text rule that used to limit how much space on the cover photo could contain text. You can even put a call to action in your cover photo so go for it and make it great! Some other features of your fanpage to consider to make the most of the page are: • • • •
Custom apps (more about these later) Pinned, highlighted and milestone posts Private messaging Facebook advertising/ promoted posts
If you are unsure what these things mean, you can seek the help of a professional in Facebook marketing to get your page on track.
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facebook for marketing
How to Build an Audience
Advertising without Spam
“If you build it, they will come” is not always true in social media marketing. In fact, it’s seldom true. Once your page is set up, it’s time to explore how to build an audience. There are some techniques that can help you get started on the right track with this. Here are some ideas to help you build an audience on your Facebook fanpage:
There is nothing worse in social media marketing than the dreaded spam. The reason it is so prevalent is that many people don’t even realize what they’re doing is spammy. So let’s take a look at what is and is not spam- and how you can market yourself as a photographer without spamming your community. First, you don’t have to spam your services or packages / pricing. If you’re running a special or offering a coupon, definitely show this off but your page and about section (and possibly tabs) will tell people you are available for hire. You don’t need to scream “hire me” with every post you make. Don’t post too often. As a photographer, you can probably get away with more frequent postings than some other niches but you don’t need to post 100+ new photos daily. Facebook has an album option that you can use to upload multiple photos at one time and unless there is a special event going on, you don’t need to make more than an average of 5 posts
• • • • • •
Let existing fans and clients know about your page Hold a contest (more about this later) Post engaging posts and captions to your photos Showcase your best work- and consider photos just for fun Be the most frequent commenter on our own page- answer and engage with people Offer utility- give tips and advice your readers can use
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facebook for marketing
per day. If you’re flooding their feed, they’re going to unlike the page. Use Facebook paid advertising smartly and efficiently. You can enlist a professional to help you with this if are not sure how it works and if you want to make the most of your budget. Some people think they can’t afford Facebook advertising but since you control your budget, you can spend as much or as little as you have to spend. You can boost a post for as little as $5 and you can set daily budgets on like ads, for example. Sharing Examples on Facebook Using Facebook to share examples of your work is a given. But how can you do it and be most effective? Here are some tips and ideas to help you: 1. Create photo albums of the type of photography you do. For example, you can show graduation photos in an album or nature photography in another. If you specialize in portraits, you can organize albums by types of portrait shots taken.
You can do a photo caption contest, a giveaway, a free offer or coupon or any unique contest idea you can get creative and come up with as a way of building buzz to your page. You can also use offline tools to accomplish this goal. For example, you can add your Facebook page to your business cards or have special “Facebook cards” printed up to pass out when you meet people, or to your existing clients. You can wear t-shirts or get a car magnet/decal that advertises your fanpage all as ways of getting in more fans to the page. The more great content you share and the more engaged you keep your audience, the more it will spread. Now that you have these tips about using Facebook for marketing as a photographer, you can begin your own campaign and build a community of people who love your photography and who love “talking shop” with you.
2. Include notes and captions with each photo you upload so people know more about what it is, why or how you took it, what type of equipment you used or other interesting details. 3. Network with other photographers. Share their work from time to time as well. 4. Know your rights when sharing your photos to Facebook. Running Contests / Building Buzz So now that you’re all set up, you know how to market on Facebook and you have started sharing samples of your work, what can you do to build more buzz about you and your work? A contest is a great place to start and the new relaxes Facebook contest rules make it easier than ever before.
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making the most of facebook We’ve already talked about why a Facebook presences is an important element in your marketing toolkit. Now that you’re on Facebook, here’s how to to make the most of it! The Best Time to Share Content on Facebook Facebook marketing comes down to one main issue: When should you share your content for the most exposure? This is a huge question and probably the one that is asked the most often by Facebook business page owners. There is really only one answer: You should post your content when your audience is on the site. Now this may seem like a very difficult thing to do, after all, how do you know when they are online without asking them? One of the best ways to see when your Facebook fans are online is by using the Facebook insights tab called When Your Fans are Online. How to See When Your Fans are Online If you want to see when your fans are online, you need to use the following steps: Log into Facebook and navigate to your business page. Once you are on your business page, make sure you are “logged in as and your business name.” Click on “See Insights.”
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Once you are on the Insights page, you will see graphs and your most recent posts and the days they were viewed. This includes Page Likes, Post Reach and Engagement. Scroll down to Your 5 Most Recent Posts. You need to keep scrolling down to the link that says, “See All Posts. “ Once the new page loads up, you’ll see another graph that has the time across the bottom, the day of the week at the top and the number of views on the left side. This graph is shown in your time zone, not your fans’, so you need to keep that in mind. Once you are on this page, you can see the peak times that your fans are online and you can use this time to post all of your content to get the most exposure. When you hover your mouse over the
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making the most of facebook
graph, you’ll see a line that gives you the exact number of people who saw your post and the exact time they viewed it. Why This is Important You want to post to your account at the most ideal times for your fans to see it. While it’s true they will see them later when they log on, the percentage of how many people Facebook shows this to is much lower. Your posts will just fall to the bottom of your fans’ timeline without them ever seeing it. This means that you’re just wasting your time and not offering your fans any content that has value to them. How to Post Properly Now that you know when the best time to post is, you don’t want to simply make three or four posts at one time. This will spam your fans and you may still miss out on some who are not online at the peak hours. So look at your stats again and pick three of the top peak times to post your content and you should have a great saturation of content to fans ratio. In fact, you also want to use this tactic for each day of the week. You may find that your fans are not online at the same times on weekends as they are on weekdays when they are at work. When it comes to posting on Facebook, it is not always about the content you post but about when to post it. If you know when your fans are online, you’ll reach more of them at once by posting during those times. Facebook Templates to Help You Create Excellent Engaging Content Do you ever worry that people are not interacting with your Facebook posts? Do you feel like you invest time and effort into creating posts but no one really reads them? This is a common problem that many
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businesses and individuals who manage fanpages face. The first thing to be aware of is that Facebook’s Edgerank algorithm will determine to a degree how many people see your posts. This can be frustrating for many page owners since 100% of your fans are not seeing 100% of your posts. Custom Business Fan Page Tabs It is important to have customized Facebook fan page tabs on your page so that you can keep your content more organized. Any apps that you use on your fan page will have a tab and these can be customized in the same way that your page is. There are just as many websites that offer customized tabs as there are that offer templates. You can create custom photos for your tabs and creative texts to make certain tabs stand out from the others. This also allows your fans to have the ability to choose which content they want to check out on your page simply by the use of these tabs. Apps and Extras Every day it seems as though there are more and more apps that you can use within the Facebook platform. While most business pages won’t play games, there are utilities that can be used in conjunction with your page to help you show off your creativity and help keep your content organized. These also allow you to see which types of content you post receive the most engagement from your fans. This is beneficial because they allow you to only post that type of content that are getting views and engagement and which are not. Once you learn what is best to post, you won’t waste as much time making a post that is irrelevant to your fans. There are many benefits for using templates for your Facebook fan page but the biggest reason is that it engages your fans more than the plain and boring standard setup that is the default on the site.
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making the most of facebook
Facebook Apps to Enhance your Page Are you looking to do more with your Facebook page and get more interaction and engagement? If you’re looking to really build up your fanpage, then you might want to learn a little more about the apps that are available and how they work. Apps allow you to add more flair and function to your fanpages on Facebook and they are easier than ever before to use. Apps, short for applications, allow you to add certain features and functionality to your Facebook pages without having to know any code. Here are some of the top Facebook apps: • • • • • • • •
Heyo Shortstack North Social Pagemodo Static HTML- Thunderpenny Woobox TabSite TabFoundry
There are others but these are the most popular due to their features, ease of use and pricing. Each Facebook page also comes standard with four apps: photos, events, videos and likes. You should make use of these four apps as you can by adding photos and videos and creating events for your business if it’s relevant. But when you want more than that, you need to look at some of the abovementioned 3rd party apps to be able to add new tabs to your Facebook page. On these new tabs you can do things such as host a contest and provide details, place a newsletter or email list signup, you will also want to create a custom tab cover photo which will help to get your tab noticed. Keep in mind that your tab cover photo must be exactly 111 pixels wide by 74 pixels tall. You want the tab to say something about your company and can be a copy of your logo or branding if you so choose.
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Here are some additional things you need to know about Facebook tabs/apps • •
•
•
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Not all tabs will appear on mobile devices such as smart phones and tablets. Tabs that do appear are there because they are mobile ready and have a completely different URL that directs viewers who are on smart phones and tablets to where they can view the items on the specific tab. Fan-gated welcome tabs no longer exist. You can, however, hide the content of a particular tab until a person has liked the page. Like-gating can still be utilized for contests or other special offers so only those who have liked your page can see this content on the tab. Use apps to help you to bring your other social media in line with your Facebook account such as merging your Pinterest boards with Facebook
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•
or by running a contest. Many apps allow you to customize your settings to allow you to create content just like you would on a website through the use of templates or just custom designing your own tab from the start.
Ten Cool Must Have Apps for Facebook Business Pages Many businesses are still unsure how to make their Facebook pages more impressive to potential customers and clients. For photographers, this can be even more difficult to do. However, if you take advantage of the following 10 free apps, then you will get more exposure on the top social media site. 1. A Facebook Forum This cool app allows your fans to chat within your page. You can chat with them to get their opinions and ideas in an easier format than status updates. This is also perfect for conducting instant market research and more engaging with your fans. 2. Scribd for Portfolio Sites For photographers, this app is not a luxury but a must. It allows you to create slideshow presentations of your photography sittings and comes with other great portfolio items that you and your fans will love. 3. Google Maps If you want your clients to easily find your studio, then you must have the Google Maps app on your page. Not only is this great for your clients, but it also helps with Google geotagging. 4. Involver RSS for Pages Do you want to include your blog on your fan page and are tired of constantly cutting and pasting your blog’s URL into status updates? Then you must have Involver RSS for Pages. The benefit of this cool app is that your fans can see your blog posts right from Facebook via a custom tab.
but you may not be getting the exposure you want. With this app, when you pin a photo to Pinterest, it can also be seen on Facebook. 6. Contact Tab This tab puts all of your vital information into one convenient place for your fans. This includes all your social media sites, maps and website and blog addresses along with your physical address and phone number. 7. YouTube App Every business, including photography, needs to have a YouTube presence. You can take videos of photo shoots and post them on the site for more brand recognition. With the YouTube app, your videos will show up much larger than they would if you simple shared them on your page via YouTube without the app. 8. Twitter App Rather than linking your Facebook and Twitter accounts, install the Twitter app to your page so your fans can read your tweets in one forum rather than on your timeline. 9. FAQ App No matter the type of business, this is a definite must have app. For photographers, you can use it to answer common photography questions such as what color of clothing should be worn for a sitting, how long a sitting typically runs or others based on your style of photography. 10. Page Customization Apps There are a wide variety of page customization apps that you can find to make your page stand out from the others. Look through them and choose the one that fits your personality the best and have fun creating a new dramatic page.
5. Pinterest App Another must have is the Pinterest App. You take all the time to pin photos on Pinterest
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how to impress on instagram If you are a professional photographer and you’re not on Instagram yet, you’re missing out on a great opportunity for brand awareness and also for reaching a different demographic. While some professional photographers consider Instagram and mobile phones the bane of their existence, it’s a fact these technologies are here to stay. If pro photographers can learn to make the most of what Instagram has to offer, it will become just another fun tool in your arsenal. So let’s take a look at Instagram for photographers. Why You Need It So why do you need Instagram anyway? Well, technically you don’t need it but there are many reasons you can benefit from it. So let’s explore some of them: • • • • • •
It’s a social network for people who love photography. It’s fun. It’s another platform to share your work. It challenges your creativity with mobile phone photos. You can keep an eye on photo trends. You can connect with others in your niche.
How to Get Started on Instagram Getting started on Instagram is easier than ever before. It used to be only an iPhone app but now it’s
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how to impress on instagram
available for Android smartphones as well. All you need to do is go to your mobile app store and search for “Instagram.” Download it to your phone, create an account and upload your basic profile information. Choose a username that is related to your business or your own name (if that is what you use for your photography). You can also include a link to your website or Facebook in your bio. Your bio should be brief but to the point and it should make it clear who you are and what your photography is about. Unlike Facebook and some other social networks, Instagram is fast and photo-centered. So while there is room for leaving comments and posting about yourself, it will be at least 90% image related. Use a great photo for your avatar image and keep in mind that it will be small and viewed on portable devices/ phones so choose an image that is readable under these conditions. How to Make an Impression on Instagram So now you’re on Instagram but what can you do to get noticed? How can you make an impression with the users and ensure you get noticed? The first step is to take and share great photos! It sounds obvious but the truth is, that’s why people use Instagram. Play around with different filters and camera angles and come up with some fun and interesting shots. Photos of cute animals, babies and food are popular on Instagram. And don’t forget how much people love their #sky. Shots of the sky at all hours, locations and weather conditions are also popular. Take some time to learn about hashtags and how they are used on Instagram to get even more exposure to the images you share. You can also get away with using more hashtags on Instagram than on other social networks. Tips for Getting Followers Instagram is more fun when you get people to follow your profile. This is because when they follow you, they can see and interact with the images that you
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share. So if you want to get more followers: • • • • •
Post interesting pics that stand out Use hashtags Experiment with filters Follow others Comment and like photos by others
Tips for Posting Great Shots The best way to get more followers is to take and share great shots, so here are some tips for getting those stunning images that IGers love. • • • • • • • •
Choose great subjects Share relatable images Play with the Instagram filters Post collages and other combined images Tell a story with your photos Go “behind the scenes” Capture recognizable landmarks or locations Post a photo series
Tips for Using Instagram Filters Keep in mind that one thing that makes Instagram unique is the easy-to-use filters. What seems like a novelty to the professional photographer is what makes IG so popular with the everyday user. So if you want to get the most from your experience with the app, learn to use the different filters and get creative with them. Some IG users search the app for photos taken with specific filters that they like, so remember to tag your photos according to the filters you use. Remember that Instagram is your friend and that while anyone can snap a photo on their smartphone and upload it to IG, that doesn’t mean they’re qualified to replace you as a professional. Apps like Instagram are not killing the business of professional photographers. In fact, quite the opposite may be true since they are increasing the interest and popularity of photography today.
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bonus: sharper photos in camera
how to get sharper photos in camera 1. focus in the right place Make sure that you have your focus set to the most important part of the photo. For people subjects, choose the eyes as the spot to focus. If your subject is not a person choose the area of your frame that tells the story of your photo. 2. focus point: choose where you focus Which brings us to our next tip—choose your focus point instead of allowing the camera to choose it. Set the camera to single point focusing. If your camera allows it, move the focus point around as necessary to ensure the focus is just where you want it. 3. good light all the time The camera needs good light in order to grab a good focus. The more light you have the better. Use any light that makes you happy—just make sure that the eyes are well lit on your people subjects (catchlights are a good way to judge this) and that there is enough light available for the AF to grab a good focus. 4. keep the shutter speed fast Keeping a fast shutter speed will help keep your photos sharp. When photographing kids, try to keep the shutter speed above 1/200 whenever possible. For other shots, keep your shutter speed at least the same as your focal length (i.e. focal length 100mm = 1/100 shutter speed. 5. depth of field It takes practice to shoot at open apertures like f/1.8. When first shooting at these apertures, some think their photos are out of focus. The reality is generally that something in the photo is in focus— but it isn’t what you intended. Practice and being specific about
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where you are focusing will help get your focus right. 6. say no to focus and recompose Whenever you are shooting at an aperture f/2.0 or wider and close to your subject DON’T lock in your focus and recompose the shot. With such a wide aperture there isn’t any room for error. You’ll get better results by moving your focus point over the closest eye. 7. iso as low as possible ISO doesn’t really affect sharpness, but images shot at high ISOs often don’t look as sharp because of the noise/grain that high ISOs show. Keep your ISO as low as possible without sacrificing a good exposure. 8. lenses can make a difference A nicer lens will generally give you sharper photos. Kit lenses (i.e. an 18-55 f/3.5-5.6) are made with inexpensive glass. Exceptions are the Canon 50mm 1.8 and the Nikon 50mm 1.8. Both are sharp lenses with an inexpensive price tag.
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