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An overview of social media tools and networks aimed at photographers looking to promote their work and engage potential clients.
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Why Social Media?
● Market yourself & your work to a wide audience
● Connect with customers and other photographers
● Post photos on the go● Increase your SEO for freelancing● Obtain portfolio space online for free
Keys to Social Engagement1. Respond to replies, comments and questions
everywhere
2. Be transparent
3. Ask for help, be thankful when you get it
4. Make corrections quickly and publicly
5. Share others’ content, too
Read the Terms of Service!
On every social network you post photos….
Watermarking
● MyPix (iPhone)● Add Watermark (Droid)● PicMarkr (Web)● Visual Watermark (Mac or
Windows)
From PhotoShelter:Regularly sharing your photos, adding captions, and filling out photo details including the dimensions of your photo, the specific camera you used, exposure, ISO speed, and focal length, adds to your credibility as a professional photographer.
Social Media Tools
Who’s on it: Everyone (more than 1B active users)
Pros:● Shares make it easy for arresting images to go viral (with
caption info)● Crosses all demographic lines, mobile-heavy audience
Cons:● Users are there to connect with those they already know● Image compression can warp images● It can be really hard to build community here
Profiles Pages● One place to manage
everything● Control your privacy● Timeline design with large
image● Could mix
personal/professional ● May be more likely to be
seen
● Completely separate presence from profile
● Completely public● Timeline design with large
image● Detailed analytics to see
who visits● Can sell there, if you’d
want
Target Your Updates
Create An Engaging Presence
● Attach older photos to their dates on your Timeline with milestones
● If you aren’t comfortable posting images, post a link to them (make sure the thumbnail works)
● Update often and mix it up with links, photos, albums, etc.
Who’s on it: 16% of U.S. online adults, urban, college educated, split on gender and age
Pros:● Short and fast – ideal for breaking news, instant feedback● Mobile-centric● Users are there to surface new content
Cons:● Can be really noisy (no filters)● Only displays its native images inline, others are links
Who you should follow
● Sources of inspiration● Other photographers● Those in your area of interest● Those who reply to you● Those who re-tweet, share your
links
Find Who to Follow
● Find journalists: Muckrack.com● By subject/location: Twellow.com,
Wefollow.com● Follow and use photo and subject
hashtags (#photo, #DC, etc.)● Look at others’ follows/followers
● When tweeting a photo, say where it is and what is happening
● Note the time/date if not today● Tweet followups if photos are newsy● Share newsy photos with relevant
hashtags
Who’s on it: Photographers and wannabes, worldwide
Pros:● Meant for photos and only photos, images look great● Uploads camera info automatically● Can prevent downloads● License directly to Getty, Creative Commons● Can be used to host all your social photos
Cons:● Look is outdated and clunky, owned by Yahoo● Not a very social network for non-photogs
● Caption and tag images thoroughly – this will help them be found by those seeking images for stock use
● Use location on photos when possible● Understand Creative Commons licensing and
use it● Join groups based around areas and topics you
shoot● Join photographer groups
Who’s on it: Allegedly more than 300 million users
Pros:● The social layer on all Google products● All content is indexed for search, helps with SEO● Photos are large and look great● Active photog communities on G+
Cons:● Not a lot of people use it for engagement
● Fill out a profile completely, even if you don’t plan to use it very much
● If you publish anywhere, set up Authorship● Upload images with SEO in mind –
descriptive titles, names, locations and keywords
Who’s on it: 80+ million users, under 30
Pros:● Fastest growing mobile photography network● Easy to use and share to other networks● Great sense of community and interactivity
Cons:● Largely mobile-only● Square shape and filters can stifle creativity
● Be judicious with filters –and identify when you do and do not use them (#nofilter)
● Use tags and hashtags to spread your images● Search image tags & users using Search.stagram or
Gramfeed● Follow tags and communities of interest● Share others images (like retweeting) with Statigr.am
Who’s on it: 25 million+ users, largely female
Pros:● Fastest growing social network● Visually-based, made to spread content fast● People use it to shop and get ideas
Cons:● Users may or may not click through to URL● Not particularly interactive
● Create pinboards of your photos grouped by subject area, location
● Link back to your site or other networks● Look for inspiration● Pin others’ photos for ideas
Who’s on it: 80+ million blogs, people under 35
Pros:● Growing fast amongst teens● Reblogging allows photos to spread fast● Easy to use and mobile friendly
Cons:● Could be difficult to monetize● No comments, just reblogs
● Share images with descriptive tags so others can find them by location and subject
● Follow and participate in community tags like photography, photooftheday, etc.
● Use it as an easy publishing platform for collaboration
Who’s on it: Brands and photogs
Pros:● Adds attribution, ownership, context to images● Beautiful displays and interface● Can host most social images, gives analytics● Ecommerce support
Cons:● Not very social● Not all features are free
Final Thoughts● Don’t get caught up in the numbers game of
social media.● Don’t try to do everything at once, pick networks
that make sense for your subject.● Measure your progress using sites like Klout.
com and onsite analytics.● Engagement doesn’t happen overnight
Mandy Jenkins
[email protected]@mjenkins
Blog: Zombiejournalism.comThese slides & more at slideshare.
net/mandyjenkins
THANKS!
Sources● Photoshelter.com’s tips for photographers
on social media● Pew Research Center’s Internet &
American Life Project● Colby Brown’s Social Media Tips for
Photographers● Ignite Social Media’s Demographics
