There is no “ONE THING” that will magically work long term when it comes to marketing. Photographers, like any other business owner, have to keep a variety of marketing efforts going. It’s important to have a good marketing mix.

Even if a photographer is in the #1 organic spot on Google for every single keyword phrase imaginable, Google is not the only place any good business should focus on. If Google has one of their many shift rankings around updates and the rankings drop from #1 to page 2, that will be the end of that in a hurry. That’s one great reason why PPC (pay per click) should also be included in the marketing mix as just one more online resource to potentially drive more business.

In addition to Google Organic Rankings and Pay Per Click Advertising, there is also Yahoo and Bing, along with numerous social media platforms like Facebook, Google Plus and Linkedin just to name a few as well as sites like YELP that all play a role in the online marketing mix which is not an all inclusive list. Then, there is offline marketing efforts.

One of the most affordable and sometimes FREE offline marketing efforts is BUSINESS networking. There are organizations like BNI and the Chamber that require membership fees and there are others like North Hills Networking and Business and Beers in the Raleigh area that are FREE. In addition to business networking, there are numerous other forms of offline marketing to think about.

A good marketing mix at minimum will require a time investment and often times a financial investment. Unless someone has an enormous referral base that is extremely stable, it is highly likely that a mix of things will have to be included in a photographers marketing strategy because there really is no single sustainable silver bullet answer to marketing.

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I decided to finally get my act together and make LinkedIn a part of my regular routine as well as a core part of my marketing efforts moving forward.  As a corporate photographer, I don’t know of another easier way to connect to the people that I want to be in front of at large companies.  Personally, I took it a step further and upgraded to a paid monthly plan. That may or may not last, but for now, I have it.

Here are a few tips based on my own experience as a NON-expert.  I do know people that are really savvy when it comes to LinkedIn.  Although I am just a photographer, I believe the information below will help:

1) Make sure your profile is complete and as robust as possible.

2) As part of #1 above, please, please, please use a professional image on your profile. You don’t have to hire me, but at minimum, make sure your image is solid.  It’s a critical piece of your profile.  And, DO NOT use your logo in place of your headshot.  Don’t you agree that the image to the left or even one not on a traditional background that is professional looking makes a huge difference compared to one shot with a phone in poor lighting with a kitchen table in the background?

3) Make connections, give endorsements and give recommendations.  By making connections, you will grow your network.  By giving endorsements and recommendations, you are likely to receive.

There are so many more things that you can do with LinkedIn, but if you will start with 1, 2 & 3, that will help you get on your way to using LinkedIn successfully.

LinkedIn has a YOUTUBE page. There is also a LinkedIn HELP Channel that may be even more useful.

This video is less than 6 months old as of this blog post.  It’s 1 hour long.  Although I have not watched it all, you are sure to learn something by watching it.  It is a video by a LinkedIn employee.

For me, LinkedIn will be a critical part of my business moving forward until it makes no logical sense to keep using it.  However, I don’t see that happening with all the features that LinkedIn has to offer like Groups, Business Pages, Sharing Updates, Ease of Communication with Connections and more.

Let’s connect on LinkedIn.

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I decided to contact Brett shortly after going through his 6 hour DVD set “The London Sessions.” To my surprise, I was able to connect with Brett on SKYPE. However, like anyone running a business that stays busy, he is by no means at my beckon call. My point to all of this is take the actions needed to reach out to those you respect. If you do enough of that, you may be surprised at how many people take the time to engage in conversation with you.

I encourage you to take action and reach out to photographer’s locally and around the world. It’s great to network with like minded people. You may also learn something new along the way.

As always, comments are welcome.

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