It used to be that if you were talented your work would surely stand out and with a combination of good work, savvy marketing and some well deserved awards you could actually make a living in this business. Well, look around! The competition isn’t getting any smaller and the ability to stand out harder and harder. Marketing choices are abundant and you no longer know where a client will search for photography. You are spending more of your time marketing yourself than you are shooting for yourself. Your prospective clients feel these differences too. With so many choices of sites to review and photographers to consider, they have countless creative options available to them. So much so that great work is not the only criteria for consideration any more. It is time to realize that it is no longer just about your photographs, but about YOU and the story behind your images. It is crucial to understand that having great work is sometimes not enough and that often times clients now want to know the story behind the you and your work. They want to know what it would be like to collaborate with you long before they pick up the phone to talk with you. And, I believe that integrating social media into your current marketing plan is the single most effective way to have a voice and share your own story.

1. about.me/gopalkamat
Photo Credits: Flickr CC licensed and other royalty-free images
1

2. Welcome to...
say and me!
Gopal Kamat
May 2012

3. Or simply
“Social media
for
photographers”

4. Pop
quiz

5. Facebook
Twitter
Reddit
Blogger
Flickr
Google+
Pinterest
Skype
LinkedIn
Instagram
Youtube
Digg
Photo Credits: All logos are copyrights and trademarks of respective services

6. In plain english
http://youtu.be/MpIOClX1jPE
6 5/18/2012

7. Social Media is...
AN UMBRELLA TERM THAT DEFINES THE VARIOUS
ACTIVITIES THAT INTEGRATE TECHNOLOGY,
SOCIAL INTERACTION, AND THE CONSTRUCTION
OF WORDS, PICTURES, VIDEOS AND AUDIO.
Or, simply put...
PEOPLE LIKE YOU AND ME HAVING
CONVERSATIONS ONLINE
7 5/18/2012

8. Web 2.0
is an
ENABLER
for Social
Media
8 5/18/2012

9. All about YOU!
YOU want
a rich dynamic experience
to create your own content
to share your ideas
to engage in social media
to know now
with transparency
Source: TIME Magazine
9 5/18/2012

10. Some
crazy,
crazy
numbers!!
10 5/18/2012

11. 3 years, 2 months and 1 day.
First Tweet to the billionth Tweet.
Grows at an amazing
1,200,000,000 tweets a week &
1,000,000+ new accounts a day
Source: Twitter.com, May 2012
11 5/18/2012

12. Over 850,000,000+
users with
100,000,000,000+
connections!
Source: facebook.com, May 2012
12 5/18/2012

13. Over 90,000,000+
users and the button is
served over
5,000,000,000+
times a day!
Source: Google, May 2012
13 5/18/2012

14. Over 10,400,000+
users with
the fastest growth of
any site ever!!
Source: Pinterest, May 2012
14 5/18/2012

15. Over 40,000,000+
users worldwide who upload
5,000,000
photos every day!
Source: Instagram, May 2012
15 5/18/2012

16. 4,000,000,000 videos
are watched every day
24 hours of footage is
uploaded every 24 seconds!
Source: YouTube, May 2012
16 5/18/2012

17. Over 50,000,000+
users with over
120,000,000+
front page impressions!
Source: tumblr, May 2012
17 5/18/2012

18. Social Media has long
overtaken Porn
as the#1
activity on the web!
Source: Grunwald Associates National Study
18 5/18/2012

19. Elementary,
My dear
Watson!
19 5/18/2012

20. “If you wish to persuade me, you
must think my thoughts, feel my
feelings and speak my words.”
- Marcus Tulius Cicero
20 5/18/2012

21. Too little time,
too many choices!
Social Media is all about
Relevance
and not
Visibility!
21 5/18/2012

22. Only14%
of people trust
advertisements.
90%
of people trust the
recommendations of
other consumers.
Source: NIELSEN “TRUST IN ADVERTISING” REPORT
22 5/18/2012

23. Knowing what the consumer wants
Being able to respond more quickly
to market needs
Creating long-lasting relationships
over time
Leading to more brand loyalty,
awareness and evangelism
23 5/18/2012

24. Connect
tell them about yourself
Converse
engage with your
future customers
Listen
it’s often the missing link
Community
build your own
24 5/18/2012

25. Show Me
the
Money!!!
Photo Credits: TriStar Pictures, “Jerry Maguire” (1996)
25 5/18/2012

26. Gary Vaynerchuk (Wine Library TV) grew his family
business from $4M to $50M using social media
– $15K in direct mail = 200 new customers
– $7.5K in billboards = 300 new customers
– $0 (Twitter) = 1800 new customers
Naked Pizza set a one day sales record with social
media
– 68% of sales from Twitter, 85% of new customers
26 5/18/2012

27. Lenovo – 20% reduction in call center activity due to
new Community website
BK Whopper Sacrifice site - $50K in investment,
>$400K estimated return in press/media value +
32 million Free Media impressions
BlendTec quintupled sales with its remarkable “Will it
Blend” videos!
Dell sold $3M worth of computers on Twitter
Intuit introduced “Live Community” into their products
in 2007. Unit sales ↑+30% each year.
27 5/18/2012

28. Barack Obama – 3 million online donors = $500M
(92% of donations were <$100)
The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center
9.5% increase in registrations using social media
MoonFruit (web hosting) - $15K investment in social
media, ↑30% web traffic, ↑20% sales
... hundreds more stories!
28 5/18/2012

29. Wetpaint/Altimeter Study (June 2009) found a direct
correlation between Brand Social Media efforts
and Financial Performance
– Found that "Social Media Mavens" on average grew
company revenues by 18 percent over the last 12
months, while the least engaged companies saw
revenues sink 6 percent on average over the same time
period.
– Reference: www.engagementdb.com
29 5/18/2012

30. And several more...
30 5/18/2012

31. So what is Social Media?
http://youtu.be/5mid8p4A6Eg
31 5/18/2012

32. Real Benefits. Real Value.
• Reputation • Improved Revenue
• Client Retention • Perception Shifting
• Efficiency • Client Education
• Differentiation • Trust Building
• Public Relations and • Community Outreach
Exposure • Brand Association
32 5/18/2012

33. But, But, But...
I’m a
Photographer!
33 5/18/2012

34. true, but just talent isn’t enough
anymore. relevance is.
the world’s gotten busier and
attention spans shorter.
self-branding is as important as
having good skills.
it’s not just about your photos,
but also you and your story.
34 5/18/2012

35. Seven Habits of
Highly Effective
........umm,
Photographers?
35 5/18/2012

36. habit #1
believe that social media can help
you and your business
this system runs on faith.
don’t think of it as work.
accept it as a part of your life.
36 5/18/2012

37. habit #2
the internet is the real world.
act the same way as you do in the
real world – be yourself!
don’t just be a business.
make real, personal connections.
37 5/18/2012

38. habit #3
humans crave stories! people seek
them out, remember them.
use your photos to tell stories.
make these honest, genuine,
refreshing and practice.
because practice makes perfect!
38 5/18/2012

39. habit #4
find your creative voice
and share it.
oh, and make it visual!
after all, you’re a photographer!
39 5/18/2012

40. habit #5
you don’t always have to share
your own work.
sharing others’ ideas, work and
other interesting stuff is great too!
so is sharing about your own life,
your family and friends.
40 5/18/2012

41. habit #6
do not use social media
solely to get work.
this is the real world, remember?
you don’t always sell your work to
everyone you meet, do you?
41 5/18/2012

42. habit #7
engage. engage. engage.
find other people, brands, pages,
etc. that you like and follow them.
like. comment. share.
repeat.
42 5/18/2012

43. Thanks, But I
have NO CLUE
where to
start!
43 5/18/2012

44. 44 5/18/2012

45. different meanings
for different people
broad, complex,
not always definable
a mixture of publishing,
marketing, networking, sharing,
chatting, and much more...
45 5/18/2012

46. Start a Facebook brand page
• Fill out your brand profile, get a great cover!
• Embrace Timeline, don’t run away from it
• Engage, share, tag, like, connect...
46 5/18/2012

47. 47 5/18/2012

48. 48 5/18/2012

49. 49 5/18/2012

50. 50 5/18/2012

51. Get a Twitter Account
• Discover sources, Check it often, Take it with you
• Build a voice – retweet, reply, react
• Mention other users (@) and topics (#)
• Get fancy – explore advanced features
51 5/18/2012

52. 52 5/18/2012

53. 53 5/18/2012

54. http://twittogs.kamps.org/
54
5/18/2012

55. Start in-ning...
• Build your profile
• Create a few boards, and pin some photos to them
• Follow others, like their pins, get active.
55 5/18/2012

56. 56 5/18/2012

57. 57 5/18/2012

58. http://farbspiel-photo.com/
connect/pinterest-photographers
58
5/18/2012

59. More ways to engage...
59 5/18/2012

60. More ways to engage...
60 5/18/2012

61. More ways to engage...
61 5/18/2012

62. More ways to engage...
62 5/18/2012

63. Build a Landing Page
• Use about.me or flavors.me to create an awesome
landing page! Add links to your social media pages.
63 5/18/2012

64. Get some MOO cards!
• Have you heard of MOO Cards?? These are simply
awesome – get yourself some!!
64 5/18/2012

65. Some More Tools...
• HootSuite – keep track of your social media
accounts
• Sendible – like HootSuite, but lets you post
images
• Klout – helps measure your influence
• Constant Contact & TinyLetter – run newsletters
• Google yourself and work on improving the
results!
65 5/18/2012

66. What?? I have
NO TIME! You
expect me to
do all that?
66 5/18/2012

67. 67 5/18/2012

68. - Proxy for old-fashioned networking
- Stay flexible and open-minded
- Look to find the glove that fits you best
- You WILL find ways to use social media
for yourself!
Every time anyone tells me they don't have "time" for social
media it sounds more and more like,
"I know it's important. I'm just lazy"
68 5/18/2012

69. Go ahead!
Have a
sip!
69 5/18/2012

70. Credits/Thanks!
Google (Web, Image, Blog search, etc.)
Multiple sources
Various blogs:
– Joy of Tech, Geek & Poke, Mashable, Scobleizer,
TechCrunch, CNet, Kyan blog, David Armano, ...
And YOU, of course!
70 5/18/2012

71. Questions?
Connect with me
Twitter: @gopalkamat
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/gopalkamat
Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/gopalkamat/
71 5/18/2012