If you own a smartphone with a decent camera, you can do basic photography by yourself. The same goes for everyone else. This is precisely why photography businesses tend to bankrupt more quickly than other types of business—the demand is simply lower than usual.

Although there are still a handful of people that seeks photography services, you must expect that they’ll have high standards since they’re willing to pay for the service. What they’re looking for is the best of the best, and while you may not be the best, you’ll have a better chance than seasoned professionals if you know how to reach out to potential clients. To help you do that efficiently, this guide will show you tips that can drastically improve marketing campaigns for your photography business.

1. Consider Multichannel Marketing 

Multichannel marketing is when you use multiple platforms to promote your business. For example, you may use text messages in conjunction with social media platforms to spread the word about your business. You can think of it as the doors to your house. The more channel you use, the higher the chances are for people to enter your business.

Unfortunately, the main problem with multichannel marketing is that you’ll have to exert more effort than usual. After all, you’ll have to market your business on several platforms. Updating and monitoring all these channels could take up much of your time.

The good news is, some companies out there can help small and medium businesses manage their marketing strategies. An example of this is Caffeine Marketing. By partnering with such a company, you can leave all the work to them. This includes several kinds of digital marketing strategies, whether it’s search engine optimization, social media marketing, pay-per-click, and the like.

2. Host A Photo Contest 

Engaging customers is one of the most critical responsibilities of a business, and you can’t push this responsibility to anyone else. And if you are in the photography business, a great way to initiate customer engagement is by hosting a photo contest.

Photo contests can serve as a good marketing strategy since competitions in general pique the public’s interests. In other words, not only can it engage existing customers, but it can also gain you new leads and followers. With that said, here’s a list of what to consider:

• Choose a theme for the contest (animal photos, portraits, landscapes, etc.)
• Decide on the prize (consider adding consolation prizes).
• Determine the process of picking the winner.
• Inform your loyal customers about the event via emails, texts, etc.
• Make sure to spread the word about the event.

By hosting a photo contest, you can expect an increase in customer loyalty and traffic. However, do take note that this strategy requires a considerable investment. If you’re not ready, you might want to go for a small-scale marketing strategy, which would involve joining forums.

3. Join Relevant Forums

Businesses consider online forums as a gold mine of leads. It’s where people with similar interests gather. Simply put, if you can find an online discussion that your current customers visit frequently, you can pretty much find numerous other people that are likely to become your customer. However, it’s not going to be easy, especially if you don’t have much experience in forum marketing. As such, here are some tips to get you started:

• Start Browsing Online Forums: Since you don’t have much experience dealing with a group of similar interests, it might be best to start with any online discussion. That way, you can familiarize yourself with how online forums generally work and avoid the likelihood of making a bad impression.
• Ask Current Customers: Once you figure out how to deal with online forums, it’s time to look for one that is relevant to your business. One way to do that is by asking your customers if they’re active in any forum and how you can join them.
• Don’t Act Like A Business: When members of a forum find out that an account was made solely for business, they tend to steer clear of it. So, make sure you act like an individual and not as a business as you participate in forum discussions. Most of all, make sure you remain active in the community.
• Share Insights: While you’re at it, you might as well share your insights on the forum. Considering how you’re a photography business, you should have some information that individuals will find useful. This will help establish your credibility, which will come in handy once you actually promote your business.

Being active in a forum may also be an excellent way to engage your existing customers, especially if a good amount of your prospects is active in it. Even if you don’t get many leads through this method, you can at least increase brand awareness and gain new leads.

Final Words 

You may not be the best photographer, but that doesn’t mean you don’t have a chance at running a lucrative photography business. You can start with small-scale strategies that require an authentic and genuine way of engaging customers through multiple marketing channels and forums. If you have the resources, you can host a photo contest and get your services promoted to a large number of participants and their friends.