Social Media Challenge
So I have spent the last few weeks immersing myself in
Social Media. Geez, maybe I am just to old for this stuff…but I am having a
challenging time figuring it all out. Here is what my experience is telling me at
this point.
Participation And Time Investment
The first thing that I THINK I have learned is that the key
to social media is primarily one of participation. Unfortunately, participation takes time! It
takes time every day, and I believe that it requires a consistent time
investment over a long period. Hmmm…kind of sounds like everything else in
life, doesn’t it!
Picking Your Battles
Secondly, you have to pick your battles! There are so many
social media options now that it doesn’t seem realistic to try and do them all…so
you need to pick the ones that will work best for your particular business…and
for your sensibilities…and good luck with that!
Google Plus
I am probably wrong about this, but it appears that Google
Plus is mostly photographers looking at photography. While there are
indications that being active on Google Plus will increase your SEO, who really
knows outside the hallowed halls of Google? I am, however, putting daily time in to Google Plus because,
well, its Google.
Instagram
Instagram, in which I am yet to begin really posting to,
appears to be an important option…a lot of people have told me I HAVE to be on
it. But I can’t seem to get
started on it, and I have a hard time believing that I can get a lot of
traction with my kind of work. Thomas Hawk believes it is a huge advantage to
get in on the ground floor with social media sites…but the ground floor with
Instagram is LOOONG gone. Oh yeah, and it is so mobile device centric that to post the kind of image I do requires a work around...and I hate work arounds!
Pinterest
Pinterest actually seems interesting to me. In the last two
weeks I have seen my social media generated traffic to my website increase from
1.2% to 2.8% and that increase is pretty much due to Pinterest. I recall seeing
some statistics indicating that people who hang out at Pinterest actually spend
money. I can see that. You go to Pinterest to find ideas for home remodeling,
wardrobe purchases and so forth…and maybe even to find photography for wall
décor? If art directors and designers are looking for ideas and inspiration…I
can see benefit in that. Of course, one must also take into account the demographic...and since Pinterest is heavily weighted towards women...perhaps it is a great place to promote my greeting card images! Anyway, at this point most of my efforts are going in
to Pinterest…and I am even enjoying it a little bit (heaven forbid).
Twitter
With Twitter I am tweeting my blog posts…and the Blend blog
when I like its material…but nothing else. I guess with Twitter I am doing the
equivalent of keeping a toe in the water. Whether I will dive in any deeper
remains to be seen. I seem to be close to my limit with Google Plus and Pinterest.
Facebook
Oh yeah, Facebook. Uh, you know, they are really diligent at
reminding me to post on my fan pages…something I virtually never do. Oh well. I
do look at my (what do you call it, my personal page?) every couple of days or
so, though I also have two fan pages...the whole relationship of which I have a hard time understanding! I did check in with a photographer I know who posts a lot and has a humongous
number of likes, fans and stuff…and he reports being unaware of any benefit to
his business from all that (though I hear wedding and portrait photographers can do well with facebook). Then there is the fact that facebook only shows about 5% of your followers your posts unless you are greasing their palms... I do plan on "sharing" more images on my facebook pages via links from my site and Blend Images...so that will represent a small increase in efforts.
Tumbler
I did post for a while to Tumbler…but it didn’t provide me with the overnight success I needed to sustain the effort. Plus I have heard that Tumblr is not indexed by Google...and driving traffic to my website is the primary goal of all of my social media efforts.
500px
I looked at 500px but had the bad experience of seeing someone else claiming my work for his own, which kinda soured me on that. That has been pretty much my efforts over the past few weeks.
I did post for a while to Tumbler…but it didn’t provide me with the overnight success I needed to sustain the effort. Plus I have heard that Tumblr is not indexed by Google...and driving traffic to my website is the primary goal of all of my social media efforts.
500px
I looked at 500px but had the bad experience of seeing someone else claiming my work for his own, which kinda soured me on that. That has been pretty much my efforts over the past few weeks.
Social Media, Success And Real Life
We have all heard of the social media success stories…and
they are out there just like the success stories from promo pieces, cool
websites, email blasts and source books.
I think such successes are relatively rare in “real life”. I think that
because success for most of us will only come with a prolonged effort, it is
important to put your time into whatever avenues of visibility are most
palatable for you. It would be a shame for me to bust my butt for six months
really working social media and then quit (invariably just before success came).
Making Images And The Easy Way Out
Another question that comes up for me frequently is whether
I wouldn’t be better off just doing my thing making images and getting them
into the market. But then I keep thinking that is the easy way out and also
that it is dangerous to stick you head in the sand in the face of change. So onward I will press and experiment
till I find my own “sweet spot” in social media.
What Are Your Thoughts?
And finally, I would love to hear from all of you what your
thoughts and experiences are with social media in regards to your photography
businesses. There is no doubt in my mind that a lot of people reading this blog
will know a heck of a lot more about how to incorporate social media into a
photography business and we can all learn a bit more if everyone shares their
insights.
