Are you everywhere but feel nowhere with your marketing?
Do you dabble in a dozen different “marketing” activities often?
A big misperception is that marketing is a bunch of activities that you do in order to find clients. It goes something like this:
You’re getting little to no inquiries. What gives? You hopped into a photography group on FB and asked what others do. Twenty people chimed in and told you some of the things they do. Ok, you’re set! You’re going to run an FB ad because people say that’s the best way. Oh, and blogging. You haven’t started that yet because you suck at writing but need to take a stab. And someone said to post on Instagram 10 times daily - brought them a ton of business! Sounds daunting but it worked for them so you have to get on it.
Does this sound familiar? You feel you’re doing a lot because you’re busy - fussing over how your IG grid looks, taking stabs in the dark in the targeting section of FB ads. Agonizing over what to write on that goddamned blog. But you’re marketing! This is the stuff that’s supposed to get you clients. What it really gets you is frustration and wheel-spinning. But isn’t this what marketing is? And this is when you hop back into that same photography group and say “I’m doing EVERYTHING and STILL not finding clients!”
The problem isn’t the activities themselves, it’s the approach to the activities.
All of the elements I mentioned above are tactics, or actions in marketing, but what’s missing is why and how you’re doing them - your PLAN. Every action that you undertake needs to be targeted and designed for maximum impact for you. Every action is shaped by the strategies you have decided upon to try and find yourself clients based on your unique business, brand and circumstances. Actions without a plan are random and you don’t want random, you want consistent = consistently booked!
Let’s use a cooking analogy. If you want to make a delicious dinner tonight, what would be the first thing you would do? Look up a recipe, right? Why? Because a recipe is a harmony of ingredients that have been perfected to work and come together to make something yummy. If you weren’t an experienced cook and went to the Internet asking about what makes a delicious meal, one person may say they love chicken and another says they can’t live without navy beans and another says celery root works in a lot of dishes. If you randomly take these ingredients and throw them into a pot, do you think you’ll accomplish that delicious meal of yours? It’s hit or miss without a guiding recipe.
The recipe is your marketing plan - a harmony of actions that have been perfected to work and come together to get you booked.
All those “things” that others are doing - blogging, posting on IG regularly, doing ads, you may indeed decide to do some, or even all of them. But you also need to know when something isn’t working for you - meaning, it doesn’t belong in your recipe, or it belongs, but only a pinch instead of a fistful.
Examples:
My own experience: I’ve noticed that my brides are not heavy FB users. I will still run FB/ IG ad campaigns because they are on there some of the time, but I don’t spend a ton of money on ads. I do know that my brides tend to be good about referring and coming back for newborn and family photography, and thus I invest a lot more of my energy and money into client gifts and a great experience. This is my recipe and if something stops working, I re-assess and adjust as necessary.
A newborn fantasy photographer (a la Anne Geddes) might find she gets a ton of engagement on IG posts that feature her signature composite work and a lot less traction on everyday photos or BTS. Posting incredibly detailed composite imagery 10 times a day may simply be impossible from an editing point of view, but also volume lessens the impact of each. For her, an ideal strategy for IG may be to keep people waiting in anticipation for the next, over-the-top incredible image. Thus, her actions aren’t 10 posts a day, but one every few days. And she wants to keep her feed pure, so she leaves out any personal stuff. Her followers eagerly await the next image and then bam! A follower’s BFF is pregnant, and that follower shares the feed with her friend who books.
A family documentary photographer doesn’t usually shoot for amazing, stand-alone images like the newborn fantasy photographer. Her images tell a story. Her strategy is to post 3 sequential images from a ‘day in the life’ session. A story a day, told in 3 frames. Her feed inspires families to want their own triptych feature.
Creating your ideal recipe
Work on a brand message. This is a comprehensive message of who you are and what you stand for. It requires some soul-searching. Once you have a blueprint you add design elements that match - and that’s what you’ll put out to the world (website, guides etc). Don’t know where to start? Deconstruct some of your favourite brands - Apple, Nike, Coach, Starbucks etc. Beyond the actual physical product they sell, what makes them unique? For example, how does a Nike sneaker differ from Puma or Adidas or Fila? Maybe a few special sneaker construction features but mainly intangibles - lifestyle elements that people want to be associated with when they wear a particular brand of sneaker. Take this thinking and apply to you and your business - aspirational qualities, feelings, lifestyle elements. Maybe you are adventurous? That brand message will reflect differently than if you are romantic. Consider this targeted Vision Board exercise if you’re stuck - it’s a great and fun way to start your branding journey! You can even draw upon my examples from above - one photographer is fine-art - baby in a flowerpot, and the other shows mom on the bed breastfeeding the twins while the toddler lies at her feet throwing a tantrum. Who would be drawn to each of these? Who are you?
Do a SWOT. This helps you understand what you’re good at, where you need help or support, and what’s going on in the community that can represent opportunity or threat to you. More on doing a SWOT here.
Build a profile of a client who you want to work with. Think of your brand exercise to help. Do an imaginary walk-through of your client’s home. What’s on the walls? What’s in the fridge? What do they do for fun? What do they hate? Dog/cat people? Mac/ PC? High-maintenance/ low maintenance? How would you fit into their lives?
Find clues in each step to build a strategy. Each of a client’s choices attach to certain aspirational elements that you can tune into. You are a dog lover and so you’d ideally work with other dog lovers. There’s a characteristic to refine your FB ad audience, and while you’re at it, exclude anyone who owns a cat, cuz they ain’t your tribe - dogs all the way! And because you’re a dog lover and know that there are a few dog cafes in your area (this could have even come out of your SWOT), you start to see another strategy of connecting with families through partnering with the dog cafe owners.
When you’re able to create a plan and strategize first, and then decide on the actions to take, how to refine them and when to do them, everything you do becomes more effective. You can sit down daily or weekly and review the actions you have to do, and tackle them, instead of jumping about building Pinterest boards, trying to start a podcast and a VIP group on FB all the while trying to remember to write thank you notes to former clients to get some testimonials!
Below is a link to my marketing plan. I’ve done a ton of footwork on the framework so that you can focus on the brand, the message and the ideal client elements above. My plan is laid out by goal, strategy and actions and gives added instruction for how to create and modify strategies. You are ready to create your recipe, adjust to taste and come up with a slamming dish!
Are you struggling with marketing and need a plan, and find my content valuable? I have a ready-made marketing action plan available on my products page. It's actually my own plan that I'm making available to you! Find details here.
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