Managing Your Online Presence

By Mitch Dennett | December 26, 2018

Building a business in today’s world means there is an expectation that your business can be found online. Remember phone books? People would look in phone books for plumbers, contractors and even photographers. The internet is one big phone book. At least that’s how a lot of people use it. Personally, when I am looking for any business the first thing I do is a quick search online. The first stop is the business’s website, and then a quick look at the business’s social media and reviews and then I finally make contact, either a quick phone call or email. I am not alone in this either. 88% of US consumers research online first so having a successful online presence is vital.

Managing your website

Having a website is an absolute must for any business. But is even more so for a photography business. Having someplace where a potential client can look at your work, find out more about you and see what kind of work you do is very important. So, the first step in managing your website is actually having one. There a plenty of options to get a website up and running. From DIY options which tend to be cheaper but can be time consuming, to a fully custom designed website. If you are looking a get a website take a quick look at https://mylodevelopment.com/fortynine.

However, even if you already have a website running you can’t just leave it be. There are many examples of businesses letting their websites get out of date. Make sure you are constantly updating it with new content, new photos, adding new testimonials and every so often giving it a design refresh.

Managing your social media

Hiring a photographer can be a very personal thing for some clients. They want everything to go perfect for a big day or they want the pictures to turn out just how they want them to. For some it can be a pretty big investment too. Clients will do a lot of research to find a photographer. They will read reviews and ask family and friends for recommendations. A lot of this is happening on social media. Clients will look on Facebook to read reviews. You need to have a social media presence and be strategic about it. Asking or even bribing (with a freebie) clients to post a review about their experience can help build trust for future clients. Sharing sneak previews and even tagging your clients in them (with permission of course) can do your marketing for you. It allows their friends to see what photographer they use and trust.

Managing your email

Not having a professional and branded email address is almost the number 1 mistake I see when helping photographers build their business. Thankfully it’s an easy mistake to fix. Signing up for a Gmail or a Hotmail account is free and easy, which means everyone does it. So, trying to get a unique email is getting harder and harder. They also end in @gmail.com or @hotmail.com. Every time you send an email to a client using one of those you are marketing for Gmail and Hotmail. You need to get a branded email for yourself. My email is mitch@mylodevelopment.com. Every time a I send an email I am marketing for myself. According to Verisign, 65% of consumers believe that a company branded email is more credible than a generic email. With a company branded email you can also set up aliases for your email giving your company a more credible look. You can add support@yourcompany.com or billing@yourcompany.com. You get this all for about the cost of two Latte’s a month. If you would like some help setting up a branded email feel free to contact us. https://mylodevelopment.com/#contact

If you would like more information on any of these topics please don’t hesitate to send us an email at info@mylodevelopment.com.

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