FACEBOOK MARKETING FOR WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHERS MEGAN BREUKELMAN PHOTOGRAPHY
FREE FACEBOOK MARKETING STRATEGIES Now, let’s be honest – Facebook marketing these days can be a real challenge for photographers. Social media marketing has evolved into a straight up pay-to-play situation. That being said, that doesn’t mean if you don’t invest in direct advertising that there’s not opportunities to create impact in your wedding photography business. There are still ways to promote a wedding photography business on Facebook! Let’s get started with some of my favorite FREE strategies to market your photography business on Facebook.
CREATE A FACEBOOK GROUP Create a Facebook Group for your couples that are getting married. Often times, people like to connect with others who are in the same boat. Give them a chance to connect with each other, offer exclusive things to the group, and create a sense of community. Fostering community as a wedding photographer can lead to a great client experience, and the potential for more leads. A Facebook group is a great spot not only for your current brides, but any former brides who might be looking to give advice or sell their wedding decor. Have your wedding couples connect in a Facebook group that aims to help out other couples who are planning their big day. Your brides will know that they all have at least one thing in common! You can also use this platform to promote some of your bride-centric blog content. Share tips on wedding planning and how brides can have a picture-perfect wedding by creating a Facebook Group. Why is this great for your business besides fostering community? It creates advocacy amongst your clientele. Giving them a one-of-a-kind client experience by adding a Facebook Group onto their experience with you gives your brides something unique to refer to when they discuss the perks of just how awesome your wedding photography business is. But beyond groups, let’s take a look at your photography page.
CREATE OFFERS THAT YOUR CLIENTS CAN'T REFUSE Ask your engagement shoot or wedding couple to get an image from their time with you to 100 likes. In exchange, you can give them free prints, or whatever collateral you deal with as a photographer. Frame it as “if you can get this to 100 likes, you’ll get a free SOMETHING!” and get them excited about the challenge. If they’re up for it, they’ll likely share your post amongst their network–– family, friends and acquaintances whose feeds it might pop up in. After they’ve had all of their friends and family like the image, you can use the ‘invite to like’ feature. When you click to see who has liked the post, it will give you the option to invite them to like your page. This is a great way to get new potential clients to like and follow your page. Once they start seeing your work pop up in their feed, you’re in their heads when you need a photographer. Then, once you’ve got your audience built up with your couples’ networks...
Offer a discount on a session, of a certain percent or amount, to one person who shares your post. Post a photo you’re really, REALLY proud of –– even a detail shot or something neutral that doesn’t necessarily have to be a couple. Then, give them a deadline to share the post by. From there, you can select one person who shared the post to give a discount to. You can offer a discounted family session or a free mini session, something like that, to entice people to give it a shot. This will get people sharing your work when they may not have otherwise. When they share the post, it’s going to introduce their audiences to your work, and allow you to connect with potential new clients.
USE FACEBOOK LIVE TO CONNECT Connecting with your couples using Facebook Live, regardless of how scary it might feel at first, is a great way to market yourself. Prepare a little ahead of time and get ready to show your face on camera. This is a great tactic to let people get to know YOU a little better. Set up your phone and maybe a little selfie light, start your Facebook live and go through some frequently asked questions. Let any couples who are there to learn ask some questions in the chat box. Even if no one shows up when you’re initially doing the live, they can come back later and interact with the rewatch. Doing the Live gives people a more “raw” and authentic look at your brand, which is what it’s all about in 2020. People love to connect personally with brands. Giving them a bit of who you are personally through a Facebook live shows them a more candid insight into who the person they’re hiring is. Every photographer has beautiful wording, stunning images and a well curated portfolio to base a buyer’s decision off of. Stand out with real content that reflects who you are as a brand.
QUICK TIP: DESPITE POPULAR BELIEF, FACEBOOK IS NOT DEAD. THERE IS STILL A HUGE AUDIENCE THAT IS REACHABLE ON FACEBOOK. IT'S WORTH PUTTING IN A BIT OF TIME EACH WEEK. Facebook still has a userbase of 2.45 billion monthly active users, with ages 25-34 being the most prevalent age demographic on the platform. That's tons of people within the average age range for engagement!
ASK FOR FACEBOOK REVIEWS
USE A REEL AS YOUR COVER PHOTO
After your weddings, you should be asking your couples for reviews. Don’t leave Facebook reviews out of the mix. Some photographers find their important reviews to be ones through The Knot, WeddingWire or Google reviews. But don’t sleep on Facebook reviews! Ask for reviews so you can share with these for brides and grooms who are finding you through Facebook. Consumers are more likely to purchase after they’ve read reviews. Given that wedding photography is a consumer trade, you don’t want to skip out on Facebook reviews for wedding photographers. Plus, you can make it easy for your couples and let them know they can copy and paste their reviews across platforms. Don’t ask them to write you four separate reviews for your different spaces. One review is an awesome start to get them post across your channels.
Grab your couples attention as soon as they land on your page. Use a video reel as your cover photo and give your clients a unique perspective into your craft. Show them a bit of what they could experience themselves. Having video content as an immersive marketing tool shows your audience more than just a flat image. It gives them a behind-the-scenes look at you and your craft. It may even show them more value in your work. Many people find it hard to grasp why photography costs what it does–– use a short video reel to show them what it is they’re getting when they hire you. Whether you need to hire a videographer for the day, work with leftover clips from second shooters, or whatever your creative video idea might be, it’s great to include a video highlight reel as your cover on Facebook to immerse your potential clients in a full on experience when they land on your page.
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