BRANDING & MARKETING For Commercial Photographers

Bill Cramer/CEO

BRANDING +

MARKETING

Promotion equals…

Create a memorable identity for your photography

Introduce that identity to appropriate clients

BRANDING

▹  Who you are, what you do, how you do it

▹  Specialties, style, audience

▹  Not just about your “favorite” pictures

▹  A good portfolio looks forward, not back

▹  In a nutshell: these are the kinds of pictures you can expect to get from me

▹  Consistent, intelligent use of type, color and graphics builds familiarity

▹  Communicates your level of professionalism

▹  In a nutshell: this is what it’s going to be like to work with me

Branding

Choose the right pictures to show

Design marketing materials to support those pictures

PHOTOGRAPHIC IDENTITY GRAPHIC IDENTITY

PHOTOGRAPHIC IDENTITY

Branding

What is my photographic identity?

What you like to do.

What you like to do.

What you are good at doing.

What you like to do.

What you are good at doing.

What the marketwants from you.

What you like to do.

What you are good at doing.

What the marketwants from you.

What you like to do.

What you are good at doing.

What the marketwants from you.

PHOTOGRAPHIC

IDENTITY

Generalist Specialist

GRAPHIC IDENTITY

Branding

Ties together all of your marketing materials:

Website

Blog / Social Media

Print Portfolio

Mailers / Leave Behinds

Stationery

Graphic Identity

WEBSITE ▹  Match URL to your company name— yourname.com or yournamephotography.com

▹  Consistent use of work mark/logo, color, design

▹  Large images

▹  Logical sections with meaningful names

▹  Concise galleries < 30 images

▹  Intuitive navigation—show what gallery you are on, where you are in that gallery, make it easy to move forward and back

▹  No music, no elaborate intros, no splash page, no water marks, no “recent work” section

▹  Mobile device friendly

WEBSITE ▹  Contact page with contact info and location

▹  About page with short bio and picture of you

▹  Link to blog and social media

▹  If images can be dragged off your site, include metadata with name, copyright, and contact info

▹  Check spelling, punctuation, grammar

▹  Make sure copyright notice is current

▹  Update photos regularly

BLOG/SOCIAL MEDIA ▹  Coordinate (but don’t duplicate) the look with your main website

PRINT PORTFOLIO ▹  Still important for big jobs

▹  Makes a great conversation piece for face to face meetings

▹  Make it visually consistent with your website, but not a printed version of it

▹  Include your logo/word mark, contact information

▹  Pick materials that suit your style and audience

▹  Update regularly

MAILERS/LEAVE BEHINDS

▹  E-Mailer

▹  Post card

▹  Accordion

▹  Booklet

Most get thrown away, so do what you can�

to stand out…

MAILERS/LEAVE BEHINDS

▹  E-Mailer

▹  Post card

▹  Accordion

▹  Booklet

▹  Cupcakes

Most get thrown away, so do what you can�

to stand out…

STATIONERY ▹  Business Card

▹  Letterhead

▹  #10 Envelope

▹  Crack-N-Peel Label

▹  Same look as your other marketing materials

▹  Design is important, but function comes first

THE LITTLE THINGS

Branding

THE LITTLE THINGS ▹  What’s your email address? Should match your url

▹  What do your emails look like? Normal sized (black or dark gray) text

▹  Do you have a proper email signature?

▹  What do your estimates look like? Treatments when appropriate

▹  How do you answer the phone? What does your outgoing message say?

▹  How do you dress?

▹  Are you responsive to emails and phone calls?

▹  Are you nice? Are you easy to get along with?

▹  Do you send thank you notes to your clients after a big job?

▹  Everything you do, say and create is part of your brand

Case study

Mark Katzman Lifestyle, St. Louis

Case study

Jonathan Chapman Lifestyle, Minneapolis

MARKETING

BRANDING +

MARKETING

Promotion equals…

Create a memorable identity for your photography

Introduce that identity to appropriate clients

▹  You never know who might relate to your work

▹  There are a lot of clients out there that you don’t know exist

▹  Take charge of your career path

▹  Get where you want to go

Marketing

Make it easy for clients to find you

Seek out clients who are right for you

PASSIVE MARKETING ACTIVE MARKETING

PASSIVE MARKETING

Marketing

Website Blog Social Media Online Photographer Directories Printed Source Books Ads Picture Agencies Reps Editorial Credits Contests News Releases SEO SMO

Passive�Marketing

WEBSITE ▹  The only absolutely essential marketing tool

▹  Centerpiece of every photographer’s promotional efforts ▹  Your other marketing tools should drive viewers here

▹  Highly recommended

▹  Opportunity to talk about your process and about your recent projects ▹  Helps bring out your personality, allows clients get to know you

▹  Helps with SEO

BLOG

SOCIAL MEDIA

ONLINE PHOTOGRAPHER DIRECTORIES

PRINTED SOURCE BOOKS

ADS

PICTURE AGENCIES

REPS

EDITORIAL CREDITS

CONTESTS

NEWS RELEASES

SEO (Search Engine Optimization)

SEO TIPS ▹  Avoid Flash (unless you have an HTML ghost site behind it)

▹  Tag your photos so search engines can recognize them

▹  Example: Portrait Photographer Philadelphia, PA Bill Cramer Photography

▹  Link to other relevant sites and have relevant sites link to you

▹  A blog is a great place to include lots of relevant text that search engines look for

SEM (Search Engine Marketing)

ACTIVE MARKETING

Marketing

Research Customer Relationship Management (CRM) Prospect Contact Lists Email Broadcasting Services Mass E-mailers / Print Mailers Individual Emails / Print Mailers Phone Calls Portfolio Meetings Industry Events

Active�Marketing

RESEARCH ▹  Record Companies

▹  Fashion, cosmetics

▹  Media Companies

▹  Architects

▹  Department Stores

▹  Institutions, schools, hospitals

▹  Ad Agencies

▹  Magazines

▹  Corporations

▹  Graphic Design Firms

▹  Non-Profits

▹  Book Publishers

CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP"MANAGEMENT (CRM)

PROSPECT CONTACT LISTS ▹  Agency Access, Creative Access, File FX

▹  Find and target the right clients for you

▹  Build a list, then refine it over time

EMAIL BROADCASTING SERVICES

MASS E-MAILERS/PRINT MAILERS ▹  Spray and pray?

▹  Limit your list to relevant prospects (don’t add to the noise)

▹  Use catchy subject lines, but don’t try to fake people out

INDIVIDUAL EMAILS/PRINT MAILERS ▹  Personalize each email by drawing a connection between what you’re offering and the

needs of that particular client

▹  Much more time consuming than mass emails, but can be more effective too

PHONE CALLS ▹  Have a purpose

▹  Get a meeting

▹  Pitch a project

▹  Send some emailers or print mailers first to build familiarity

▹  Create a script so you know what you’re going to say

▹  Research the client before you call so you know that you’re relevant to them

PORTFOLIO MEETINGS ▹  Meet with clients who are

most important to you (and the best match for you)

▹  Clients are generally interested in meeting with photographers who are relevant to their needs

INDUSTRY EVENTS ▹  Speed-Dating (pay-to-play) style

portfolio reviews ▹  Art Directors Club and other

associations are opportunities to meet clients

WORD OF MOUTH / NETWORKING / CHANCE MEETINGS

Marketing

You can’t do it all.

Shoot pictures

Integrate them into your marketing materials

Show marketing materials to clients

RESULTS

WHAT’S ALL THIS TRYING TO ACCOMPLISH?

Results

For the photographer: work with clients who are right for you.

For the creative: build a level of comfort so that they’re willing to

take a chance on you.

More Resources

Go to our blog and navigate to How We Help Photographers > Resources

Expert Advice Articles Go to our blog and type in “Expert Advice:” into the search field

Print & iPad Portfolios Go to our blog and scroll down to YouTube Videos

Questions?

Thank you!

(The End)