I've been on Facebook for a while but never really spent a lot of time with it until recently. How do you use Facebook to help your business?

I'm not fanatical. I send a friend request now and again, have pages to promote by biz, and network with others.

Some do push harder however, looking for people that are engaged etc, and then promoting themselves a bit more aggressively. It works sometimes, just not really me.

I like pages. they seem to be a popular feature these days, so I'm sure you know about them. Seem to be a good way to develop followers of your brand. Here's examples. These are my pages. They get fans, and that can grow because fans friends see that their friend is a fan of my brand = more traffic
Seim Photo
Seim Effects
Pro Photo Show

I think this is going to be useful. A bride is a fan of my work, and then all her friends have a way to easily see that. Also you don't have to be friends to view a page, so anyone can be a fan of a page.

Anyone else using pages. Maybe we should start a "Fan each other club"
Gav

The my boss has been trying to use it is to connect with past clients and other vendors in a friendly, almost painless way (for her and them).

It seems like the least invasive way to push latest news -- not just passively posting on a blog or sending out an email/newsletter that will probably end up getting her on a spam list or ignored.

She hasn't quite figured out the mechanics of it yet but hopes to make it a little more of the regular workflow.

There is another thread here which covered facebook as well. You may want to have a read here.

For me it is a great way to keep in contact with past brides in a very casual way. I post pics from weddings and tag everyone that I am friends with. Usually bridesmaids will tag themselves and then add me as a friend, which is great because now I have contact with them. I think posting pictures up pretty regularly keeps you in the minds of all your friends. THen when they hear someone is getting married they'll be more likely to refer you. Facebook is also at the top of the list as far as my site hits...so it is definitely helping!

I am going to add you as a friend now....




actually there are about a thousand Dan Watkins...so add me! D.a.na Andre.asson

It's been pretty helpful for me. I did a 15 minute photo session marathon where people can buy prints or the files and advertised it by posting as a Facebook event. It's gotten me in touch with a lot of people that I wouldn't have otherwise met. Since my first portrait session went so well, I just posted a new event for engagement sessions for 25 minutes and I already have 7 of the 10 slots booked with people I don't know that are engaged and will hopefully be looking for a wedding photographer. I also rely on the tagging to get the photos seen on each person's page. I've gotten some regular business as a result of these mini sessions that I've done. So many people use facebook, so even just a fan page or a group will help with getting your name out and keeping you connected for referrals.

I am still figuring out facebook. Sort of using a shotgun approach. I am mostly using it for our senior photography right now and to much a lesser extent for wedding photography.

Here is another thread with some info:

http://www.opensourcephoto.net/forum/index...showtopic=31559

Dana -- I'm on there under Daniel J. Watkins -- you were easy to find.

I've just noticed how many of my brides are on Facebook and how willing they are to tag people in their photos. A number of them already posted pictures I shot for them...so I figured...as long as they are doing this...I need to help them out (and get some traffic back to me).

100% of my seniors are on there...and they all posted their senior pics...so I'm thinking first and foremost Facebook is a great promotional tool for senior photography.

Thanks for the comments everyone...keep 'em coming. I know there are other threads...I just figured one started by Dan Watkins would get a lot of attention.

Or not...

it got my attention! If you or anyone else would like to add me, please do. I haven't done a whole lot of networking with other photographers on Facebook...add me here

I had mentioned in a different post that I have gotten a lot of traffic from Facebook. It's definitely another tool, and lately I have been neglecting it... my client from today just sent me a request, so I have a renewed energy!

Haha.

Meredith

Sorry for the very facebook newbie question. Maybe I don't understand how to use it, but I have a business account with facebook and find it limiting (searches, etc.). Do you use a personal account or business acount?

I have a personal account and my business fan page is linked to it. We get 95% of our bookings based on our marketing via facebook. It's an amazing tool!

I LOVE Facebook! I import my blog (it's a Wordpress, but I did it before with my Blogger account and other platforms are transferable) and I have people who are leaving me comments on entries who may have never known about my blog elsewise. Plus it's awesome for the referral side of things. Someone sees shots you've done on a person's profile and they want to know who you are and how to get in touch with you! It's a great marketing tool....

I just posted an engagement marathon session via a facebook event and all 12 sessions are booked by 12 different couples that I didn't know previously and will hopefully be looking for a wedding photographer... facebook is fabulous!

Hi, Dan,

Someone told me that the best thing for the seniors market on Facebook is to create Pieces of Flair for them. It's a virtual corkboard with buttons of sayings and things you like. You can create Flair really easily.

I am working on getting all my brides as friends. I need to take more time and actually put up photo albums for them. Laura Novak has a cool Facebook icon on her blog with her profile pic. I cannot figure out how she did that. Anyone else know???

Link?

Flair is awesome. We have a piece of flair with our studio logo on it and a bunch of people have it! I randomly see it on people's boards that I didn't know knew of us. It's exciting!

I think I'm gonna make another "I got shot" piece soon too!

Is that how many people use it for business? The Business account seems so limited. I cannot look anyone up, or add anyone as friends. Makes me wonder how effective the business account really is...

Or am I just a dork and cannot figure out the business account? lol

I'm certainly not a pro on using it yet... but... I use it for seniors and as soon as I finish the session, I send them a friend request. Then when I post their preview on the blog, I post some of the images on my business page and tag them. That way before they even get the chance to put them on their page, I've done it for them and it directs friends to my page.

I usually get two inquires the day I post a friends pictures.

my business page