The Top 5 Reasons Your Brides Are On Facebook And Why You Should Care

Location, Location, Location. We've heard that for years, but if you're in the right place with the wrong message and the wrong means, then you're doing more damage than good for your business. Wedding Photographers know that our target demographic is on facebook, so let me show you why they are and how you can use this to your advantage.

If you’re running a business page on Facebook, you’re probably wanting to draw people towards it so that you can convert them into clients of some kind. Your aim is likely to be posting content that your target market will like, and therefore, you will service your market, and build your business at the same time. It’s amazing that we have access to this free networking system that can provide us with direct access to our potential and existing clients, but do you unintentionally expose your audience to bad habits and destructive emotions?

Let’s put ourselves in the general public’s shoes, focusing on the target market for most wedding photographers: Women from the ages of 20 - 35.

Why are they on Facebook in the first place? They’re definitely not on there to be marketed to. They certainly didn’t decide one day that they should create a Facebook account so they could get all of your ads. I would argue that there are 5 main reasons that they might be on Facebook:

1 - They want to be social
2 - They want to be in the know
3 - They want to share their opinions and be heard
4 - They want to show off
5 - They want to market their own business

If it were not for at least one of these reasons, I highly doubt that they would even be on Facebook in the first place, and almost nobody will be here for all 5 reasons. In light of these reasons, I have developed some useful tips on engaging with your target market in a way that they will appreciate and will make them want to share you with their circle of friends.

THEY WANT TO BE SOCIAL

What to do:

Be personable with them. Many women look forward to going to their hairdresser because it’s a social experience for them that is not based around business, and it’s usually based around them and their stories. Give them a chance to be social with you as a person, not a business. An easy way to do this is to post personal posts that let your audience see into your life a little bit, and then to reply back to them when they leave a comment.

What not to do:

Don’t Ignore them. Never leave a message unattended on your page. Even if it’s just liking the post, they will be notified and feel appreciated. When possible, reply to the posts and comments that your audience leaves on your page so you encourage them to continue being social with you. Ask them a question that lets them dive deeper without you having to be the one who writes paragraph after paragraph. People want to be heard more than they want to hear you, so allow them to connect with you.

THEY WANT TO BE IN THE KNOW

What to do:

Keep them up-to-date with your latest endeavours without selling every time. If something exciting is happening with your business, share it with them in a way that expresses gratitude and doesn’t seek attention and ego stroking. Post engaging content that will get people sharing your posts. People want to be the first in their group to know about something, so keep the lines of communication open. It is important that you’re not just always posting about the latest mini-session deal or giveaway contest. As a rule of thumb, only 1 in every 8-10 posts should be an advertisement of some kind looking to convert to sales.

What not to do:

Don’t post about booking sessions with you too often. This will make you seem desperate and needy, and also give the appearance that you are not successful. Perception is reality, and the more positive, encouraging and grateful you are online, the more people will be drawn to sharing in your experience and success. Don’t fake being busy, but don’t act desperate either. There is a balance that you can find when you focus is on creating engaging content for your audience rather than selling and booking up your time so you can bring in money.

THEY WANT TO SHARE THEIR OPINIONS AND BE HEARD

What to do:

Give them avenues to share their wisdom, thoughts and feelings. Sometimes a question is more engaging than a statement and you can draw your clients closer to you because of your listening ear. Be careful to always respect their opinions even if you disagree, and always respond in a caring manner.

What not to do:

Never argue with your audience as it only fuels the fire and leads to burning bridges. If somebody needs to be confronted or controlled, always do it in a private manner and never on your public page.

THEY WANT TO SHOW OFF

What to do:

As a photographer, you are capturing moments in people’s lives that they want to show off to others, so make it easy for them to do that. This is great for your business as this can drum up more business for you through referrals. The next decision to make is whether or not to add your logo as a watermark to the images that your clients can share. I would suggest that you not watermark your images, and instead you could write them a message explaining that you would appreciate them putting your website link in the description of images posted to Facebook. Also, communicate clearly with them where you would like them to send people to when asked “Who took that photo of you?”. Make it clear and easy for them and they will often credit you when it matters. Of course there will still be some times when clients just don’t understand how to properly do this, so you will have to decide if it’s worth taking the extra effort to explain it again for them.

What not to do:

Never get upset with your clients publicly. If your clients decide to run your perfectly edited photos through an instagram filter and place their favourite quote on it, just smile and be thankful that they are sharing the image. Their friends will not assume that if they book with you they will get images with instagram filters from you. People like having fun with the technology available to them, and we can’t hold that against them. If this really affects you personally, you can go the extra mile to explain to them why you feel so strongly about it and request that they not attach your name to it. That being said, I think you would be losing out on more work than you are gaining in prestige and artistic integrity through them not posting your images in that way.

*** Quick tip ***

If you want to stop people from doing something that you are continually annoyed with, communicate ahead of time with them some other options they have so they don’t find themselves doing what everyone else is doing that you don’t like. For example, tell your clients about an app like squareready and explain to them how amazing it is that with this app they can post the original cropping of the images to instagram without having to do any of those cheesy filters that take away from the image.

THEY WANT TO MARKET THEIR OWN BUSINESS

What to do:

Network with them and join forces to make each other’s business stronger. Sometimes the best referral system you can have is from someone with a desire to have your referrals as well. Be a content creator and content sharer, always giving credit where credit is due. If your clients are running businesses that can be beneficial to your audience, share those businesses with them and you will see the same generosity come back to you.

What not to do:

Never talk badly about other vendors, businesses or people in general. This never makes you look good, and will only draw more negative feedback and feelings towards you as well. This doesn’t mean that you need to treat the world like it’s always rainbows and butterflies, but steer clear of negative attitudes and criticisms online. People will start to avoid your page and may even start talking negatively about you, and we don’t want that!