Most people think of Social Media (Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, etc.) as only a channel of chatter amplifying noise of millions of people or just a “fun” activity for those with too much idle time. Social Media in fact provides a means to reach a pinpoint audience in ways never before possible. As a photographer who has been sharing his work online since web browsers could first display images I’ve seen the Internet evolve both in good and bad ways. Social Media represents one of the most positive points of the Internets on going evolution.
You say you have a a web site or share your photography on forums and that’s just fine by you? Let me share with you why Social Media platforms, particularly Twitter, are something to be embraced by photographers rather than discounted as pure distraction. Think you can handle the truth!?
What is the difference between Social Media and static web sites or photo forums?
In simplest terms static web sites are bully pulpits. You put out material for people to take or leave. It’s a one way stream of communication. Photo forums aren’t much better, but there is a way for people to leave feedback through comments. The downside to both is that interacting with those that contact you are limited; to carry on a meaningful interaction you have to regularly check back to a forum or hope someone contacts you separately through your web site. Social Media sites on the other hand foster greater interactivity not just between you and others, but between everyone viewing your content.
Here in lies the fundamental shift in online content creation and publishing. Online content, namely your photographs and/or writing, is now more about community than the individual. Social Media isn’t just about posting something online, its about talking about what you’re posting with others.
Talking vs. Posting
If there’s a photo forum more than likely I have an account on it. From Photo Alley back in the late 90’s to Flickr I’ve been there and met great photographers. I’ve made contact with great people over the years in these forums and continue to interact with them to this day. As mentioned photo forums do have some degree of conversation, but in general they default to someone posting content who then walks away from the content. If you’re lucky people comment and a limited conversation takes place, but with a very narrow focus. The process takes time either due to busy schedules or the sites lack of ability to notify you. Conversation is dependent on others remembering to revisit your forum post. In the end due to the crude nature of forum software response time varies and most people move on merely posting content.
The interesting thing about Social Media and how to get the most out of it is to change ones mindset from merely posting content, but to talking to your target audience about your content. This might seem like splitting hairs, but I can assure you there is a meaningful difference. Posting is a take it or leave it proposition. Talking is knowing that there is a second half to the equation that will hold your audiences attention longer and even enable them to spread word about your work, thoughts and perspectives. The second half to the equation…
Listening… the Missing Link
While the Internet makes it incredibly easy to share and publish content online its an empty proposition to do this alone. In the past photographers or any web site author only looked to metrics reports to see how many times their web site had been visited… in essence their only window to viewer feedback. If you’ve been online for any amount of time you’ll remember web site page counters were the rage. This was a web publishers only means for the longest time to give readers feedback to the popularity of their web content.
Web metrics filled a need for site feedback very poorly. Page views and hits painted a very shallow view of how your site visitors valued your writing and/or photographs. These days Social Media sites and applications provide a granular means of feedback. Unlike photo forums, Social Media sites and applications can easily be cross-referenced interweaving discussions and introducing disparate audience members to each other spurring added interaction… in the end keeping people interacting with not just your writing and photos longer, but interacting with you. This interaction of course being…
The 3 C’s – Conversation, Community and Collaboration
Web visitors interacting with each other and you creates a more dynamic interaction and creates a more robust conversation. If you want to be successful online the key is in fostering conversation and even community. Unlike the late 1990’s and even early 2000’s Social Media services and sites have sprung up lowering the bar for photographers to create larger spaces to converse with those taking interest in their work. The more conversation taking place the more likely a community forms. It’s up to the individual if they keep that community with in the space of Social Media services or host their own community using one of many Social Media applications. The advanced use these platforms to build collaborations with other photographers and their communities. It is this later stage that can exponentially increase exposure and traffic to your photography.
Conversation and the 3 C’s provide more than interaction, they build a connection. Connections foster closer relationships and trust. Relationships and trust foster viewer/reader advocacy extending your reach to others that reside in the network of your viewers. If you’re lucky enough to have 100 people that follow your writing and/or photography and they each have 100 friends you’re increasing your odds of introducing thousands of new people to your work. The ability to reach newer audiences on this scale makes Social Media a marketing tool to pay close attention to.
But Wait There’s More!
Tomorrow we’ll peek under the hood of a well oiled machine and I’ll share with you what powers productive use of Social Media from a photographers perspective namely RSS and I’ll share with you why I think Twitter is a Social Media lynch pin to success.
Read Part II The Birds and the Bees of Social Media Connectivity
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You’ve found my blog, but you’re only seeing the tip of the iceberg… follow me on Twitter, Facebook and FriendFeed.I also invite you to listen and subscribe to my podcast “EXIF and Beyond” featuring photographer interviews and the chronicles of creating some of my photography
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[tags]Photography, Social Media, Marketing, Twitter, Facebook, Flickr[/tags]
Some great advice – and proof it works. If it weren’t for Twitter, I probably would never have seen this post and, by extension, your website.
Excellent article. Definitely worthy of a “Retweet.”
Very good article, very nicely written. Indeed worth a retweet ;).
Retweetworthee :-). Smart, smart, smart, Jim!
Jim,
I like where you’re going with this and am looking forward to the second half tomorrow. With respect to “listening”, my one frustration is that, at least on Flickr, the people only tend to leave only positive feedback. This is great for knowing that a photostream has a “fan-base” but, warm fuzzy feelings aside, this feedback has no real value. I consider photography a “practice” — an art/science to which there is no mastery. As such, there is always something to be learned. If a photog is looking for value in the feedback to improve his/her skills or even to target a more specific audience/market then 100 posts of “Great shot!” don’t help. I wish people, especially experienced photogs, would offer up advice like “This shot is good, but you have some CA in the corners, stop down a few next time around” or “your composition would be better if…” or “you over-did it on your saturation adjustments”, etc…
Of course, this misses the mark a bit. Often these social media outlets are casual and, perhaps, only a small percentage of the audience are experienced photogs. In this case, it’s simply about the ‘fun-ness’ of the community…
Thanks for posting! You always get the wheels turning…
Really well written, Jim. Looking forward to pt.2
Cheers,
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Thanks to everyone for the kind comments and retweets.
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@Miles I’m a firm believer in individual culpability. It is up to you to shape the conversation around your creative content. If you post a photo be sure you specify your intentions to your post. People left to their own devices will fall into standard photo forum habits. If you expect something different shape the conversation accordingly.
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You will getting a lot of hits on this as I just posted a link to it on deviantART http://news.deviantart.com/article/81334/
It’s nice to read such a well-written perspective on this issue. I recently posted a piece about my experience with Twitter, and other social media, on my blog.
This is a very intersting post. I’ve only just begun using social media in recent months.
And on the flip side….
There are dangers with reliance on Social Networking sites. Firstly the copyright and image theft issues. The recent furore over the Terms and Conditions for Facebook is one example.
There are also issues regarding censorship. I have had benign images pulled from Picasa because an anonymous person complained. Not nudes, just images of medieval re-enactment. I cannot even find a customer service contact to talk to about it.
Third, social networking sites take immense amounts of time to keep up with. Time I am better off actually doing photography, following warm leads for sales, commissions and other gigs. Many of us are time poor (try running 2 businesses and raising a family), and the return rate on websites and social networking sites is still very low. Watchers and commentors do not equate to sales. Getting images into galleries, on photo editor’s desks and the like DO get sales, guaranteed. I think time and motion like studies would show that wearing out shoe leather nd personal contact is far more productive in terms of getting sales if you are more than just a semi-retired or unemployed part-timer.
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Great article Jim, thanks for sharing your expertise!
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I’d like to read part 2 but the link doesn’t load for me.
I tend to agree with furiousennui read the time factor and rather be taking photos!
@John De Bord Thanks for posting this to deviantART!
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@ matthew lyons I’ll be sure to check out your post. I hope this post proves to be helpful to you.
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@peter s Thanks. I hope this helps you start off on the right foot with some of the social media sites/services out there.
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@Furious Ennui If you read some of my past blog articles you’ll see that I’ve been incredibly critical of some social media sites over Terms of Use as in the case of Facebook and Copyright Infringement in regards to Flickr. I whole heartedly agree that photographers need to be wary of these situations, but to avoid using the Internet for marketing purposes through Social Media sites is a mistake. All photographers should pursue best practices and copyright their work (another topic I’ve posted on repeatedly) while staying diligent to keep these new sites in check. The Internet has been unique in that the community at large has been able to come together to keep sites in line to the law. As long as you take precautions to ensure your legally mandated rights you’ll always be in a good spot.
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To be honest I think the concern over censorship is one that artists need to cope with and move on. These sites are private and are governed by the terms they feel are appropriate. If one site is not hospitable to your work fine one that is. The people looking for your style of work will certainly not be on a site enforcing conservative rules anyhow.
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I also agree with you in managing your time appropriately. Marketing on Social Media sites is not for everyone. Personally I do think it is worth the time even if you’re time poor. I have made numerous contacts with people that would have otherwise been completely out of reach. Yes you should pursue proven means of making sales, but you should also be committing a certain amount of your time to cultivating new opportunities. Social Media is an area worth exploring for that purpose. It would be a mistake to think that Social Media is best for part-timers or retired folks. I welcome you to read the second part of this article. I’ve added the link to the bottom of my write up above the comments. Check it out and then make the decision that is best for you.
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@Ron Glad you enjoyed the article. As an early adopter of blogging I know you’ll make the most of this information.
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@Sunseeker I’ve fixed the link, so please feel free to click through to the second part of the article. Not to be snide, but if you’re serious about the business of photography you’ll understand that its not always possible to just take photos. Thanks for the comment.
I’m very surprised to hear all of the positive and absolutely none of the negatives for Shared Media Sites. Yes, they’re great if you’re just looking for feedback from all over the spectrum, so you’ll get 10 +1, and 10 -1.
IMHO, the biggest draw back to these sites are the Terms of Service for the sites. Almost all of the ones that I have read, basically boil down to we can do whatever we want (manipulate, crop, change, composite, etc) to the photographs that you published on our site — including using them as marketing material to promote our site without you ever getting recognition or fees from your images.
That’s just one of the dozen right off of the top of my head.
@Aram Many of the terms you’re noting are standard for these sites to actually display content. If you search my blog you’ll see several instances where I’ve raised a red flag to overreaching terms and the end result of the community driving the sites to correct course. To the core of your comment yes every person should scrutinize the terms of use of every site, but understand them and don’t let them limit your ability to market yourself online… otherwise you’ll forever be confined to just your web site as if its an island in the middle of the ocean.
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what an informative and helpful article. thanks for being on the cutting edge of photography and sharing your valuable knowledge of social media.
Are there any obscure sites out there that photographers and artists can use to promote themselves other an the facebook, twitter, flickr, ect. standard.
Thanks so much!!
Alexandra
Jim,
Great blog. Social media is relevance in our industry and the key way to keep current. I agree with you 194%! Thank you.
Leigh
I do so agree with you. And happy to read it on your blog, as I feel a bit isolated in France on this specific point.
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