Find your audience: Stay on the cutting edge!
Photographer and social media expert Rosh Sillars says that “the most important person to know about you today is Google.” Search engines still can’t see images, so they rely on what you yourself and others are saying about your business. The more people talk, tweet, like, repeat and link to your content, the greater the chance of Google listing you on the first page of a search. So you spend time, effort and money on a great website, engaging blog posts, a solid social media presence. Great. Imagine your dream client finds you online, loves your site and wants to book you. Google calls this the moment of relevance, when your top of mind of your potential client. Here’s the real question: “How long does it take you to respond to that initial online contact?” Is your phone number on your site? Is it easy to find? Do you answer the phone when you’re shooting? If your a big operation, you have sales people, reps, … doing this work for you – however if you’re a one person shop like I am, you don’t have the luxury of your own staff.
How long would you wait for a call back …
Ask yourself this question: Do you really think you are the only photographer, whom your dream client has contacted and is now waiting patiently for you to take your sweet time to get back to them? Think again. On the flip side, how do you think …[nextpage title=”read more”]
… they would react, if they contact you through your website and instantly have a customized email back in their in box with a phone call or second detailed email to follow up with in 15 minutes?
CASE IN POINT: Embrace social media and new technology. If a lead or new client contacts me via my website, they get that personalized email and I get notified via app and email, so I and can contact that potential lead immediately. How eager are you to engage with new members of your audience?
Do you write a blog, seek out opportunities to write on other experts websites? Do you ask for your content to be repeated by your audience, your vendors, your network? If all this sounds overwhelming and you don’t know where to start check out “Will photograph for food” a short primer on promoting your work.
Are you on the cutting edge, when looking to find your audience
Are you up to date on Social Media – or do you still have a profile on MySpace – today that’s like advertising in the printed Yellow Pages. If you’re looking for a great book on social media, check out Gary Vaynerchuck’s “Jab, jab, jab, right hook.” Social Media, SEO (Search engine optimization) or SEM (Search engine marketing) are not fire and forget endeavors. Like Rosh says, you need to stay active and engaged in your online world.
If you want to get a quick look at how your doing on social media check your klout score. Mine bounces hovers around 57, putting me in the top 10 % of social media users.
This post is the second in a series of five exploring how you can find your audience. Tomorrow we’ll talk about how being different will help you in finding your audience. This blog series started with a roadmap to help you find your audience. This series on is born from a post I wrote for the American Society of Media Photographer’s Strictly Business titled “Find your audience: It’s easy and really complicated“
