Get Out There: Advertising on Facebook

Definitely read this great article on understanding the difference between marketing and advertising on Blogtrepreneur.com


It made perfect sense! One of friends told me that since she updated her status on Facebook as "engaged," she had been seeing a ton of advertising on her profile page pegged toward the bride-to-be, including ads posted from wedding photographers, event planners, destination wedding sites, flowers and catering and gowns and tuxedos. The same thing happened as soon as I wrote on my profile that I was now fostering dogs for a local shelter. Suddenly, I started receiving all of these ads about rescuing abused dogs. "You should create an ad too!," my friend told me.

She was right. For only a few dollars a day, I now have an ad that brands and promotes my services on one of the most popular social sites on the web. The ad is 100% branded by the advertiser with copy and image and does not include any social actions. It can link to a Facebook Page, application or external website. Plus an ad directed to a Facebook Page or application can generate social actions for future campaigns.


I loved this "explanation" when I found it on Pronet Advertising.

Facebook Ads display in the right side column on Facebook pages in the Ad Space. The key to having as many people as possible see your add is to use keywords. The better your keywords, the more effective your add in narrowing the audience who receives it based on interests that match my offer. Even if you aren't interested in advertising on Facebook yet, be sure to check out the "best practices" guide because the information provided is great for helping you begin ANY marketing campaign.

This has also been a great opportunity for me to try to specialize my branding, since Facebook advises that ads are more likely to perform better and continue running successfully if it's displayed to targeted, smaller, more specific group users. There are tons of ads already out there for general photography services. Wedding photography is definitely a more targeted ad campaign. So I decided to narrow it down even further with a pitch for my boudoir photography as a way to test the waters about potential interest.


Teri's Rose is now featured in my new ad campaign on Facebook.

I've extended my boudoir special started earlier this month to extend throughout the wedding season, which lasts through September 2009. My Facebook ad keywords target everything I could think of (until they wouldn't let me add anymore) including girls night out parties, wedding photography, brides and grooms and the ultimate gift. I think I mustered up about 30 keywords.

Since the ad was approved yesterday, I've had more than 100 extra visitors to my business website, starting at my boudoir galleries. That may not seem like a lot, but that's 100 more visitors than I might have had otherwise. All I need is one person to book a session, and my Facebook ad campaign has paid for itself 3X over.

Growing Pains: Reaching Customers Online and at Home

This weekend, I came in contact with two new clients in very different ways.

A plumber who fixed a leak in my bathroom noticed the 20x30 black and white print I have hanging up in my home of Teri and Avery (the photo on my blog banner) as well as other images I have on display in my hallway and home studio.

"Are you the photographer?" he asked. Yep, yep I am! We talked for a few minutes and he told me that he and his wife for looking for a photographer to take family portraits of them and their 3-week old baby boy, and he was struck by the image of Teri and her child. He asked me how much I charged for a session and was shocked when I told him $150. Another photographer he had contacted wanted $900 just for the session! He said he could tell I did great work and that he would be calling me to set up an appointment this Saturday once he consulted with his wife.

LESSON LEARNED? Find some creative way to display your work in your home. It could be an easy way to gain new clients or give existing clients ideas on more photos they could take (and purchase!). The same thing happened when one of my brides who had come over for a bridal portrait session liked a boudoir image I had hanging up, and decided to get a similar image done as a surprise for her new hubby.

Also on Saturday, I got an email from a client who wants senior portraits done for her son. My blog allows me to backtrack and see where my visitors are coming from. Turns out, my new client did a very simple Google search for "senior portraits, discounts and Denver," and my blog was the first item on the hit list.

LESSON LEARNED? Never underestimate how important and vital labels, tags, and keywords can be for your business. Think about the kinds of things potential clients might be looking for, or Googling online to help them narrow down their search, and write those "tell-tale" gems in titles of your blog post, throughout the post itself and in your tags and keywords. Make it easier for potential clients to find you!