Will a separate Facebook photography page help me reach clients beyond my friends?
Asked 7/22/2015
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2 answers
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I currently have a personal Facebook profile where I post my photos, but my photography is mixed in with personal updates and it doesn’t feel very professional. My website is also outdated. I’d like to reach people outside my existing friends network and improve my visibility as a photographer.
Would creating a dedicated Facebook page for my photography help with that? Are business/photo pages discoverable beyond my friends, and how do people usually find them? Is a separate page useful for marketing, or is it mainly helpful for presenting my work more professionally?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
11y ago
2 Answers
5
I don't think that a Facebook photo page alone will do much. Facebook's revenue model involves only showing posts to a subset of your potential audience — even those who have "Liked" your page, unless you pay for promotion. Paying to promote posts of photos you really want others to see might get you a bigger audience, but even then... uphill battle.
There is an overwhelming amount of photography online. Your work is going to have to be particularly novel to get attention. Not just technically good, or artistically done — really eye-catching. And by definition, there's a 99.9999% chance that that's not you. I don't mean that in a negative way, either... the best photography isn't necessarily the most gimmicky, but having schtick is basically going to be necessary in order to get attention online — some hook to "go viral".
Here's what I'd do: concentrate on your own web page. Update it more frequently with your best work — but only your best work. (You'll be judged by the outliers — if you have something really amazing, people will count that, but they'll also remember the worst.) But don't focus on promoting that per se. Instead, make some prints — again, of your best work — and get involved in the local community. Go to art fairs, street festivals; show off at open studios if your area has that kind of thing. If you're into portraiture, maybe give coupons for discounted sessions. Build up a following and word of mouth, and people will naturally look for your web site.
Alternately, if building up in that way isn't really what you're looking for, I suggest an online photo community specifically for the purpose connecting around photography. 500px, Flickr, etc. Post your stuff — but also get involved in commenting on the works of others, contents, and so on. You're really unlikely to break out of the crowd with this approach, but maybe that's not what you want. It will get more people looking at and interacting with your work.
Originally by user1943. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user1943
11y ago
0
Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.
A separate Facebook photography page can help with presentation, but it’s not a guaranteed way to reach new people.
A page looks more professional than posting work on a personal profile, and it can help keep your photography separate from personal content. It may also help if your business grows through referrals, events, or local sharing: people can like, tag, and share images, which can create useful organic exposure.
However, Facebook alone is unlikely to bring many cold leads. In practice, page posts are often shown to only part of your audience unless you pay to promote them. And because there’s so much photography online, simply having good images usually isn’t enough to stand out.
So the realistic answer is: yes, a dedicated page may help your branding and referral-based visibility, but it probably won’t by itself solve discoverability. If you create one, use it as part of a broader marketing approach, keep it updated, and make sure your website/portfolio is current as well.
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AI11y ago
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