Facebook/Twitter

[PhilipHowe]

I was wondering if anyone had used FAcebook/Twitter to advertise their wares and whether they would share any tips they had, thanks.

[-KT]

I know a few photographers that make 'Pages' or 'Company' on Facebook as a separate thing to their own personal Facebook. It's a good way to feature your best work, add the link to websites / literature. For example, my friend James' page is www.facebook.com/owenphotography.co.uk. He then publicises this and gains 'Likes', of which he is currently at 322. This then allows him to add news, events, latest works etc to all them peoples facebooks, without them actually being friends with him on Facebook.

Twitter, never really got into it, best to have one if you have a company as then you can offer communication to both Twitter and Facebook users, not as popular for none company photographers though in my opinion.

Hope that helps, forgot what your question was now =P

[Carl]

Hi Philip,

If you want to use Facebook and Twitter for marketing then you will probably need to approach this slightly differently than if you wanted to use them as an individual and so here are the four steps that I would usually take with Twitter and Facebook...

1. As TK says, Create, Populate and Maintain a Facebook page, but also Integrate this into your website using a "Facebook Like Box" (http://developers.facebook.com/docs/ref ... /like-box/) This will link your website to your Facebook page and visa-versa, which enables word-of-mouse.

2. Also using Facebook you can place a "Like Button" on your website (http://developers.facebook.com/docs/ref ... gins/like/), and then anyone who 'Likes' your site will be telling all of their Facebook friends about your website, which is what you are really looking for. Of course, this wont draw new visitors to your website, and you have to get people to click on the Like button.

3. Create a Twitter account, and then as you put up new content onto your website, you can create tweets to draw in new visitors. Creating new content is the cornerstone here, blogs are good for that: so write a Blog entry, then tweet about it, and then ask people to Like it using Facebook - that way you are hitting Google, Twitter and Facebook all as part of your routine updates - it wont guarantee anything, but its a good start.

4. With Twitter you can place a ReTweet button on your website (http://twitter.com/about/resources/tweetbutton), and any Twitter user who clicks this will then be telling all of their Twitter Followers about your website, which is good, but you still have to get people on your website to click on the button.

Of course, setting this up is all well and good, and is even fairly easy to do; you may need to know a little about websites, but its not a big job and is only 2/3 hrs work to do, but, and this is the most important bit, it wont help sell your business/product/service unless what you say is interesting and engaging, and ultimately that is down to creative ideas for how to market yourself - you have to create stuff that people will want to see and tell their friends about - some companies offer free gifts or some kind of prize draw to those who 'like' them - so you might want to offer 10% off for anyone who 'Likes' you via Facebook, or to give out a free shoot once a month randomly to someone - anything really to encourage clicks.

Hope this may be of some help

Carl

[PhilipHowe]

Thank you both very much.
I have created a Facebook page and a twitter account.

I'm re-designing my website (when I find what to create it with), so will link this etc. I have a couple of ideas for marketing and promotions, so will do this after the wedding course I am on in a couple of weeks.

Thanks again.