Category Archives: Social Media

Getting Wedding Photography Customers with a Limited Marketing Budget

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Getting customers for wedding photography when I have no money for advertising/promotion.

Answer:

This answer is in two parts. Doug provides overall business recommendations and Stephanie provides specific marketing ideas and tactics.

Doug’s answer:

Full disclosure: My first real job was as a commercial photographer when I was 16. I didn’t shoot weddings, although I helped out on a few and did a few for friends. We both still shoot, albeit as non-pros.

For the purposes of this discussion I will assume you’ve got all the gear you need or can rent it for the gig if you don’t. I will also assume that you’ve got all the required technical skills to produce top quality images suitable for this market.

Shooting is a creative medium and wedding photography is both ultimately exclusive and a complete commodity. The people selling high-end wedding photography have developed a brand and market position that enables a high price point and exclusivity. At the other end of the spectrum there are people getting married every single weekend who can’t afford a shooter and instead rely on friends and family.

In that paragraph is contained one possible path for you.

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The Evolution of Marketing – A Lot Like Photography

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I was explaining to a network contact how the evolution of marketing is a bit like the evolution of photography when it dawned on me that it might be of value to my readers. So, here goes.

There was a time when only someone who really understood the fundamentals of photography (lighting, F-stop, shutter speed, exposure, ISO, etc.) could create a great picture AND get it published. Then, along came cameras outfitted with “automatic” mode and soon digital cameras that enabled one to see, immediately, whether or not the shot they had just taken was any good. No good? Make adjustments and take it again. This new offering was followed by a proliferation of online photo sites where most anyone can now publish any, and every, shot they take.

How is this like marketing? I’m glad you asked.

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Social Marketing: The Be All, End All?

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By now most everyone has heard of social marketing, right? And, you have most likely been told by more than one well-meaning individual that you MUST be participating, right? In fact, if you have read any consumer, business or industry press articles, or blogs, you KNOW that you MUST participate, right?

Well, I’m here to debunk the advice. Or, at the very least, to offer a more skeptical view of its value.

Now, before you dismiss me as out-of-the-loop on modern marketing, I should state that I agree that there’s value in social marketing. Participating in social marketing enables companies to communicate, in a two-way fashion, with its customers; to monitor customers’ behavior and expose needs and desires; it provides a means for monitoring and resolving customer service issues; and, it can be a valuable means by which companies can build their brand, among other benefits. But, it is not THE be-all, end-all it’s purported to be. And, it’s not free! Yes, you heard correctly, it’s NOT free!

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