So many photographers (including myself!) are worried that social distancing can seriously hurt their business. A HUGE part of our job is finding (marketing) and photographing our amazing clients. Sad part is a lot of people are holding off any spending right now to prepare for weeks of self distancing. Which means no new booking in the new future for us.
Here’re a few things we can be doing right now to help our business stay active!
- Catch up on blogging. Now is the time to dig out all those sessions that you never blogged because you had no time and start tagging, putting in keywords, etc. Update your website themes and plugins, and make sure it’s running fast and smooth.
- Collaborate with other artists. Reach out to fellow planners, make up artists, other small business owners and feature each other on your platforms. Give each other social media boost we all need!
- Play with new social media apps like TikTok (or at least reserve your name on it, just in case). I’m no pro at TikTok, so any ideas on how to best optimize it are welcome! Also, look into streamlining your current social media accounts – I love the android app “Preview – Plan your Instagram”.
- Organize your home office. Even if you’re stuck at home for some time, make sure the space around you is clear of clutter and looks cosy and inviting. As much as I’m a “creative mess” person I need to go through all of the papers on my desk and clean my work space (or make room for more papers, that’s an option too 🙂
- Learn new editing and business techniques. Since we can’t practice new shooting techniques we can at least maximize our time and learn new editing skills. Maybe watch new Youtube videos, I love these ones, sign up for business courses online.
- Make relevant marketing decisions. I was thinking lots whether I should keep marketing my photos and have decided that I will keep posting recent work, but without COVID-19 connotation. Mother’s Day is around the corner and normally my make up artist and I would be blasting FB and IG with promos right now, however the situation with the quarantine is still unclear and we can’t commit to those sessions fully yet. This won’t stop me from placing my work on social media though and keep reminding my clients and friends what I do for when we are ready to work again. If you do decide to promote your work, I’d suggest doing so in a way not to tie your business with the virus and its effects, e.g. please don’t use promo code “corona” etc.
- Look through your gear and find items you haven’t used in a while. (I know we all have those no matter how long you’ve been in photography business). Post them on local Buy and Sell groups and find them a better home and make some extra $$.
- Check with your local government about financial support for local businesses.
- BONUS TIP. Stay positive, and reach out to friends, family, industry peers in case you need help, or want to vent. These are very difficult and challenging times for any business and we can only survive if we’re going through this TOGETHER.