When I was a boy, I remember surfing through the channels on TV and stopping on an interview with Prince Charles, who was at that time assumed to be the future king of England. I stopped at the exact moment the interviewer asked the prince, “When will you get married?”

What Prince Charles basically said was this: “As the future king, I’ve had the opportunity to speak with presidents, kings, philosophers and some of the greatest minds of our generation, and they’ve all said the same thing: wait until you’re 30.”

At that moment, somehow through my addled brain, a single, clear thought emerged: “This is great advice. I’m going to follow it.”

I thought of that story again when I read that IBM had recently spoke with 1,700 CEOs worldwide and asked them, “What are the most utilized customer interaction methods today, and what do you predict in the next 3-5 years?” This is the largest survey of its kind ever taken.

The answers were not surprising. Click the graphic to see the results.

Here are some highlights:

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For women and moms on social media sites like Facebook, if you want to get their attention, focus on photography. That’s the lesson learned according to a 2012 report developed by ROI Research.

It makes sense. All of us are bombarded with dozens of advertising messages every day. Rather than read them, to quickly sort through the clutter we’ve learned to use images as a “preview” of the text of an article, a Facebook post, or even a web page. We then instantly decide if the content is important. While all of us do it, women do it more frequently than men (men are more likely to prefer jokes, links and videos).

As a photographer, this is both good news and a challenge.

• The good news is that no one has more access to high quality photography than you. As a professional photographer, armed with your camera alone, you have the ability to compete with any other business online.
• The challenge is that every image you show has to be a good one that represents your best work. “Good enough” doesn’t apply to you. For example, instead of showing a 50 image slide show on your website, show your best 8-10. And make sure your very best is the first image potential clients see on every Facebook post, web page, and marketing piece.

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I listened to a social media marketing specialist recently who announced to a group of photographers that “Facebook is over. Kids don’t think it’s cool anymore.”

With all due respect, the truth isn’t that simple. Yes, Facebook is a mature product. It has probably peaked in popularity, and may even be starting to decline.

But no, it is not done yet. In fact, it makes sense to continue or even strengthen your Facebook presence over the next year.

Here’s why:

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Sam Sarkis, a professional photographer in Farmington, Michigan has made social media the cornerstone of his marketing effort, and the results have grown both his business and his bottom line.

Search for “sam sarkis” online and you will notice that he dominates the front pages of Google, Bing and Yahoo.

That’s no accident.

I spoke with Sam, and asked him about his general marketing plan, and how social media fits into it.

“I spend 2-3 hours a day marketing online alone,” Sam said. “First thing in the morning, then perhaps again later in the afternoon.”

I asked Sam how he finds that much time each day for online marketing.

“I don’t spend as much time in PhotoShop,” he explained.

I then asked Sam if that much time spent online hurts his business.

“I used to spend a thousand dollars on an ad. Now I spend nothing, and I get even more clients. And they are better clients too.”

So where does Sam spend his time? Without giving away his secrets, Here’s the list of links on the first page of Google alone!

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Have you joined Pinterest yet? Pinterest is the fastest growing social media platform today. Why should you care?

• The amount of click-throughs from Pinterest are greater than YouTube, LinkedIn, and Google+ combined.

• The majority of Pinterest users are women ages 25-44, the target market for many kinds of professional photography.

So let’s say you’ve signed up for a Pinterest account. Here are a couple of ways you can use Pinterest to market your business.

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It is easy to become overwhelmed by the many kinds of social networking sites available to small businesses like pro photographic studios. Sure, you know about Facebook, but do you know how social networking sites like Quora, Flickr or Reddit can help your marketing?

That’s why we’re posting a link again this year to the 2012 edition of CMO.com’s infographic “The Social Landscape”.

Here’s how to use it.

Start out by figuring out what it is you want to accomplish:

1. Customer communication
2. Brand exposure
3. More traffic to your website
4. Higher Google page rank

Click the column heading on the infographic.

The green boxes tell you the best social media programs to use to accomplish your goal. For example, if higher Google page rank is your goal, the programs you should focus on are Google+, YouTube, Stumbleupon, and Flickr. Facebook doesn’t get you any higher on Google searches.

Take a few minutes to review this inforgraphic – especially the red boxes on the bottom. You may find you’re trying to use the wrong social media tool to accomplish your marketing goals.

How important are online reviews? According to online marketing research, 6 out of 10 potential clients look for online reviews of your studio before contacting you, and 8 out of 10 consider those reviews critical to making a purchase.

This means that even if potential clients know your name, 48% won’t consider contacting you without reading positive online reviews.

While that number should scare you, the solution is easier than you realize. Here’s how: (more…)

Although we constantly talk about social media marketing (Facebook, LinkedIn, etc.) , it pays to remember that their are many other marketing tools available for your studio. One of the most powerful is the cross-promotion.

Cross-promotions are low-cost techniques for getting your name in front of potential customers by promoting with other businesses. The classic example is putting a stack of gift certificates for bridal photography in a bridal store.

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Infographic by Constant Contact

A new Fall, 2011 survey of small business attitudes and outlook about social media reveals that social media marketing efforts are paying off. Respondents said they have found success in significant numbers:

• 86% found Facebook effective, up from 82% in Spring 2011
• 60% found Twitter effective, up from 47% in Spring 2011
• 55% found LinkedIn effective, up from 47% in Spring 2011

What this means for you: While we constantly encouraging studios to focus on Facebook marketing, photographers should not ignore Twitter or LinkedIn.

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I was at a party recently, and ended up talking to a lady much younger than I am. We didn’t have anything in common, so I kept the conversation going by asking her two questions: “What did she do?” and “Where did she go to school?” She did most of the talking, but it was enjoyable, and after a few minutes we both drifted off into other conversations.

A week later, I ran into the same young lady at another event. Only this time, she acted like we were long-lost friends. As she chatted away, it occurred to me that the conversation we’d had a week before had somehow got her to trust me.

It works the same in marketing. Sales start with trust. Trust is built by communication, and communication starts with questions.

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