How to Market your Photography Business — 6 Essential Tips

Marketing is an essential element of running any business. In the competitive world of photography, you won’t survive if you don’t make ongoing efforts to reach new customers and retain existing ones. One of the challenges is knowing the best way to spend time and money to achieve the right customer base for a photography business. There is no simple solution, and a photographer needs to be flexible and to be prepared to try different marketing methods.

The visual nature of a photography business means social media marketing can be highly effective. Customers are willing to share photographs and to start online conversations about them, and this is an easy way of reaching large audiences quickly. However, traditional marketing methods still work well, and it’s essential to use a mix of channels to reach your target customers.

The following marketing methods will help a modern photography business grow.

Decide on your target audience

The foundations of a marketing plan are to consider the target market you want to attract. The field of professional photography you want to work in will determine this to a large extent. For example, if you aim to build a wedding photography business, think about different customer segments within this. There are small family weddings and large celebrations with hundreds of guests. Destination weddings often only have a close family as guests. Some couples have a minimal budget, but others are willing to pay $10,000 for wedding photographs.

Consider how to reach your audience

Once you have a target audience in mind, consider ways to reach them. Will you need to use traditional advertising methods in specialist national magazines, or will local marketing produce results? Choose a suitable name for the business to build a brand and identity. As customers begin to recognize the brand, your business will grow. Invest in having a logo designed professionally and choose a font and colors for company literature and advertising. The brand must appeal to your target audience and reflect your style and identity.

Develop a website

In the digital age, one of the first things most people will do when they are interested in a particular company is to refer to a search engine. They’ll expect to find a website for a modern business, and they may feel put off if it’s not there. Some people will search for reviews and social media comments. Having a website for your photography means you can influence and control your online presence. It’s the ideal way to showcase your work and list reviews and comments from customers. A website should be in line with your brand and meet the expectations of your target audience.

Network with other professionals

Digital marketing is useful for photography businesses, but face-to-face networking also delivers results. Get involved with networking groups and look for opportunities to meet other professionals in your local area. Local companies could become your clients if you work in commercial photography. If you shoot weddings, networking with wedding planners, florists, and other related businesses is an excellent way of reaching new clients.

Build a social media presence

Just as they will expect to find a website, most potential customers will want to see a social media presence for your business. Posting across some social media platforms can be time-consuming and distracting, so choose one or two at the start. Facebook, Pinterest, and Instagram are ideal for photography businesses. It’s essential that you post fresh content on a regular basis to keep your customers engaged, so schedule some time each week for social media marketing activity.

Build an emailing list

Some marketing experts claim that email marketing is dead, but it can still be compelling in a photography business. Add an opt-in email option to your website, and capture the email addresses of all your customers. Use a service like MailChimp to send newsletters to your customer database updating them on recent shoots, new products, and other updates. Sending coupons and special offers by email is a powerful way of attracting leads and inquiries.

When you’re starting out as a professional photographer, picking up clients is one of the most significant challenges. Building marketing into your day to day activity means you can raise awareness of your business, develop a brand and attract a following of potential customers.