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Time to Switch: Making Facebook Timeline Work for your Business

24 Apr Filed Under: Education, Marketing, Shalyn, Social Media

Love it or hate it the, Facebook Timeline is here to stay. The good news is, evidence shows that engagement scores can sky rocket with the new layout.  In fact, Simply Measured recently reported that brands get 46% more engagement per post with timeline which is quite a staggering increase!  So, how can you capture stellar results with Timeline? The four tips below will help you do just that.

1. Make your cover photo engaging

Since the welcome page is no longer where prospective fans land, your cover photo is your key visual brand element. It is therefore essential that you create a cover image that reflects the energy, aesthetic, and market position you want new vistors to understand about your brand.

Different brands have employed different strategies– from Starbucks single image, to Verizon’s user generated cover image, to Ben and Jerry’s graphics, to Coke’s snazzy image collection.  Some brands have stuck with the idea of placing their logo as their timeline photo and a different image as their profile picture, but remember, in people’s NewsFeed only your Facebook profile picture appears, so if you choose to use your logo as a cover photo rather than your profile picture, it will get less exposure on a new’s feed.

Helpful Hint: Your cover photo needs to be 851 x 315 pixels.

Examples

What we did at Two Bright Lights

 

 

 

 

What Coke Did

 

 

 

 

What Starbucks Did

 

 

 

 

What Ben and Jerry’s Did

 

 

 

 

Helpful Hint 2: Facebook says that cover photo CANNOT include price or purchase info, contact info, references to Facebook features, or calls to action.

 

2. Pin and Star Posts

Now you can control what post appears on the top of your page by “pinning”them to the top. They will stay there for 7 days unless you create a new pinned post during that time. Since you can only pin one post at a time, make sure to pin a post that you think is the best representation of the activity and message you are trying to communicate for a week. You can also Star posts which makes a post wider, giving it more screen real estate on your page. This layout control is a helpful way to highlight to your fans what you think is most important – and the pinning and starring feature allows you to help guide them through your page.

Helpful Hint: Because the Timeline shows post from the whole period you have been on Facebook, you can always go back and hide or delete posts that you feel do not represent your brand anymore.

3. Organize your tabs

Photos, likes, and apps are listed right below your cover photo, but only four of these tabs are visible from your main screen. You have control of what order the tabs appear and what images and icons shows as the tab “cover.” In order to change and edit these tabs, simply click on the arrow next to your last tab. From there you can click the pencil icon that appears when you hover over each tab which will allow you to edit the cover photo (for all by the image tab) and/or move the position of the app.

Helpful Hint: You can have up to 12 apps on your Timeline.

4. Enable Messages

If you enable messages, fans can send you private messages which is a great feature for those of you who are in the creative industry. This tool can allow you to have non-public conversations about everything from bookings to pricing. The messaging feature should have been a default setting when you transitioned over to timeline, but if not you can always turn it on (or off) in your admin settings mage.

Helpful Hint: Messages will appear in your admin panel.

If you do these four simple things, you will be well on your way to creating a more engaging and profitable Facebook Timeline for your brand. If you have any other helpful tips you would like to share please let us know in the comments section!

 

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Filed Under: Education, Marketing, Shalyn, Social Media

Be a Social Media Maven: Pinterest Best Practices

8 Feb Filed Under: Education, Marketing, Natalia, Social Media, Strategy

If you haven’t joined one of the fastest growing social media sites in history yet, now is definitely the time! We’ve already covered the basics about Pinterest and even put together some tips and quick explanations to get you started on Pinterest in a previous post. Now we are ready to dig a little deeper and get to know some of the best practices for using Pinterest, while even helping your own brand!

Be Social on Pinterest

After you Pin an image to your page, then you get the chance to share it with your entire social network! If you want to share what you pin with more people, you can tweet pins to your Twitter account or share pins on Facebook to help expand your network across all three services. You can also share a Pin with another Pinner you know by using an @mention in the description, just like you do on other social sites like Twitter. They’ll get an email to let them know they’ve been mentioned.

Showcase Your Newest Products

When launching a new product, whether a new dress, dinner dish, or piece of jewelry, businesses want to know the initial reactions to the product’s look and feel. Because of Pinterest’s commenting ability, it is the perfect platform to introduce a new product and gather firsthand opinions from your own followers and other new viewers. As users Repin a photo, business owners and managers can gather more knowledge and ultimately decide whether they should move forward with their latest product. Think of it as a social media focus group!

Sell Your Work Through Pins

If you add a “$” or a “£” to the Pin description, Pinterest will automatically add a price banner to the photo. The Pin will then appear in the Gifts category. Within the Pin, remember to link to your website where fans can purchase the actual item. Just remember to remove the Pin once you’ve sold out! You can also add a ‘Pin It’ button on each product page of your own website to allow customers and prospects to share and catalogue your images.

Some Words of Caution from Ready2Spark

  • Self-promotion – Every social networking site has its own etiquette. Pinterest is no exception. They discourage users from using the network as purely promotional. (Don’t forget to share others’ work as well as your own!)
  • High quality photography needed – If you’re going to participate, recognize that if you want to be repinned, your images / videos need to be high quality and attractive.
  • Open window into your thoughts, ideas & organization – Pinterest does not have the ability to make your pins private for now, although they have identified this is something they’re considering working on. So, be cautious about what you share. For example, you might not want to post ideas for projects you’re working on – for confidentiality and privacy reasons.
  • Rules of conduct – As with any social networking site, there are specific (and legal) rules of conduct. Ensure you follow Pinterest’s Copyright, Privacy and Terms of Use Policies.

Pinterest holds immense potential for brands to interact with their audiences and to visually entice current and potential customers. Using the power of images, businesses can create buzz around products, display different aspects of their businesses, and ultimately create more personal and visually pleasing social experiences for their audiences.

For more inspiration and ideas, follow our Pinterest Page through Two Bright Lights!

- Natalia
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Filed Under: Education, Marketing, Natalia, Social Media, Strategy

Be a Social Media Maven: Get Started on Pinterest

19 Jan Filed Under: Education, Marketing, Natalia, Social Media, Strategy

You’ve probably heard the buzz building around Pinterest the last few months, and it’s no surprise why. This social photo-sharing website has already become one of the top 10 social networks for 2012, and it’s even being touted as the fastest growing social media site in history– and it’s still invite-only! In case you aren’t familiar with this popular new website, we put together some tips and quick explanations to get you started on Pinterest.

1. What is Pinterest?

Pinterest is all about sharing visual images and ideas. It is a place to organize all the things that you find inspiring and intriguing. The images that you share are called “Pins,” which you can then place onto “Boards” that are themed and/or categorized as you wish. You can create a board for practically anything, including (but not limited to): exotic locations, gorgeous photography, DIY ideas, and more! You can even think of it as your personal wishlist, filled with things to try out for yourself.

You can sign up for a Pinterest invite on the website, but prepare for a little bit of a wait. Chances are, you might know someone who is already pinning, and you can ask for an invite from them!

2. Why should I use Pinterest?

You can use Pinterest to just pin pictures of cool stuff all day, but it’s also a valuable tool for people with a specific purpose in mind. In the wedding industry, many new brides have employed the simplicity and portability of a Pinterest account to collect their favorite ideas and inspiration. Some people create a Board for each room in the house and then pin decorating ideas for that room. Artists can use it to organize inspiring images for their work. DIY-ers can bookmark crafts and ideas for those projects they always meant to try. You can also allow your boards to have multiple contributors, so collaborating with co-workers on a project is easy with everyone’s ideas and inspiration in one place.

3. How can Pinterest help my business?

Whether you’re a wedding photographer, florist, baker, or any other type of vendor, you can showcase your own work simply by pinning images to your boards. If your product or service can be visually compelling, then this is definitely the site for you! You’ll be able to reach a huge audience that continues to be highly interactive. Start by picking out your favorite images of your work and dedicate a board (or even a few!) to what you can offer. If you’re a florist, maybe you want to create one board for wedding bouquets, another board for boutonnieres, and another board for centerpieces. The possibilities are endless!

4. How do I start Pinning?

By using a simple drag-and-drop browser extension from the Pinterest website, you can use the “Pin It” button to pin any image from any website you visit. Just click the “Pin It” button, select the  picture you want, assign the pin to a Board, add a short description, and you’re done! If the Pin is something you want to buy, you can also include the price in the description and it will attach to the Pin for easy reference. The best part: anything you pin from a website will link back to exactly where you found it! There’s no reason why you shouldn’t Pin your own images to drive traffic back to your blog or website!

5. How do I become more social on Pinterest?

In addition to uploading your own pins, you can also Repin posts from other people using Pinterest! This is where the social aspect comes in- the more people you follow, the more likely you are to encounter new images and ideas that peak your interest.

To find other Pinners with similar interests to yours, click the Everything drop-down menu and pick a category that interests you. When you see a good Pin, you can leave a comment, Like it, or Repin to one of your own Boards. If you find a Board that is particularly intriguing, you can follow that individual board’s updates or you can choose to follow the Pinner’s profile with all of her Boards. Like Twitter, it’s an open network, so follows don’t require permission, and you don’t have to follow anyone back.

Be sure to check out the Popular button at the top of the main Pinterest page to see what pins are trending at the moment. It’s a great way to find new content and to find Pinners who share your interests!

In no time at all, you can master this simple social site and help your creative business get the exposure it deserves. Follow our Pinterest page for more ideas!

Stay tuned for more tips coming up in the next few weeks on building your brand through Pinterest and other social media networks!

 

 

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Filed Under: Education, Marketing, Natalia, Social Media, Strategy

A Custom Facebook Fan Page is a Great Investment. Enter to WIN one for your business!

11 Jan Filed Under: Marketing, Siri, Social Media, TBL GIve-Aways

We recently designed a custom Facebook welcome page for Two Bright Lights and our blog Done Brilliantly.   While there was an out of pocket investment, we believe it was totally worth it.  We designed ours with Doodle Dog Creative and the process was easy.  We recommend working with a creative shop that has experience in designing custom Facebook pages and for around $200 you can have a great one!  We gave Nikki (the owner of Doodle Dog) a creative brief and she took it from there.  She installed it and the process took just a few days.  We say, go for it!

Here is why we think custom Facebook pages are a great investment.

  1. Creates brand continuity.  Business fan pages on Facebook are a second website—so maintaining brand consistency across your online outpusts is critical.  Customization makes it easy for your fan page to look like your company.

  2. Builds credibility.  A customized fan page projects a level of seriousness about your business.  First impressions do matter!

  3. Easily customizable to suit your needs.  Your customize page can be crafted to suit you.  Looking for email addresses?  Include an email opt in on the page.

  4. Provides for easy integration into your other social networking efforts on Facebook, like advertising and promotions.

  5. Leads to more likes, more leads and more visitors to your page.

  6. Exposes your brand to the 800+million Facebook users who are incredibly active—many users are on Facebook daily.

We are big fans of the custom fan pages and have partnered with Doodle Dog Creative to give one away for free!  Click here to enter our Facebook promotion and take your business to the next level!

Siri

 

To get a sense for Doodle Dog Creative’s talent check out the great work they have done for us over here at Two Bright Lights for our Two Bright Lights and Done Brilliantly fan pages.

 

 

 

 

 

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12 Ways to Boost Your Business in 2012

4 Jan Filed Under: Marketing, Siri, Strategy

 

The New Year is upon us and there are several ways that you can jump start growth.  Here is the list of 12 small business boosters for 2012.

 

 

  1. Create a custom Facebook page.  With 800 million people and climbing on Facebook, it is quickly becoming your second website and where your customers are spending a lot of time each day.  Don’t miss out on this opportunity to attract and connect with potential customers.

  2. Invest in sponsor story advertisements on Facebook.  This is a great way to gain fans and get exposure for your business.  You can set your daily budget too so there is no risk of overspending.

  3. Hire a great employee.  Take a page from the Google playbook.  A terrific employee will earn twice their salaries for the business and boost morale in the workplace.

  4. Build a list of references and put testimonials on your website.  We live in a social world and clients need to put faces and names to your references.

  5. Submit to be featured in magazines and blogs.  Photographers who submit to be featured made 73% more revenue and wedding planners 56%! 

  6. Put an email address on your website and Fanpage.  We surveyed thousands of sites in the entertainment and wedding world and 40% of the sites did NOT include an email address.  Make it easy for potential clients to reach you!

  7. Use Pinterest to drive traffic to your blog.  Pinterest is growing leaps and bounds and many businesses find that this is a bigger driver to their blog and site than SEO.

  8. Outsource various tasks.  Everyone has strengths and weaknesses and there are only 24 hours in the day.  Find others to do work that isn’t your strength so it frees up time for you to do what you do best.

  9. Spend time on your financials.  While outsourcing your tax returns and bookkeeping makes sense understanding the math behind your business will lead to better decision making and spending.

  10. Craft a business plan.  The most successful businesses have detailed business plans and proformas for the next 3 years.  Hire an expert to help with this process; the investment will more than pay for itself in the long run.

  11. Be a leader on Twitter.  In our marketing effectiveness survey we found that businesses that are leaders on Twitter earned 30% more revenue than those who only followed.

  12. Run a Facebook promotion.  There are legal items to consider (Facebook has many rules) but with third-party apps you can boost your fan base and do it with minimal expense.



 

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Sage Wedding Pros Part 2: Top Tips for a Successful Wedding Business

22 Dec Filed Under: Brand, Education, Industry Insider, Lauren, Strategy, TBL GIve-Aways

Yesterday we introduced you to wedding business superstar Michelle Loretta of Sage Wedding Pros, who has put her finance expertise to work helping wedding professionals amp up their business with practical solutions. Today we’re excited to share some of her fabulous tips for marketing, branding, and finance!

The question: what advice do you have for professionals who want to improve their wedding marketing?

1) Invest in branding identity: your business website, business cards, promotional information.  I see far too many wedding businesses investing in ads before their website is presentable.  You lose the marketing dollars spent on an ad if your customer comes to your website and logs off.

2) It’s important to have a good mix of promotional activities.  When you make a financial investment in the stock market, you have to diversify your investment… spread our money into lots of different things so you don’t lose the farm in one place.  It’s the same with marketing. Spread your efforts into lots of different areas:

  • Advertising
  • Networking
  • Publishing
  • Social Media

…and so on.  There will be years where one activity brings you a ton of business.  And, later it’ll fizzle out.  Try something else.  But keep an eye on your results and you’ll be able to adapt our marketing efforts as needed.

3) These days, being published has become increasingly important.  Engaged couples look to see if wedding professionals have been published to gain a sense of trust.  Being published gives you a ‘stamp of approval’ by the wedding industry.  And, as the adage goes, getting a feature in a magazine or on a blog is free publicity.  And, with platforms such as Two Bright Lights, getting published has never been easier.  (I’m so amazed by you ladies at TBL!  You really do make it easy!)

Finally: What do you think is the single most important thing a wedding professional can do to improve the success of their business?

I’m completely biased because of my finance background.  And, I’m going to speak only for the wedding industry.  I don’t believe enough business owners have a firm grasp on their financial results and how to use the information to assess performance.

The single most important thing a wedding pro can do is to KNOW their NUMBERS.  You can have the most innovative product or service, incredible branding, outstanding marketing, and amazing operational structure.  But, if you don’t know if you are making any money, and how marketing activities correlate, then those other factors can’t save you.  By knowing your numbers you have the power to build your business.  Numbers are the only benchmark of performance.

Be sure to check out Michelle’s blog for tons of practical business advice (like this post on Pricing Products & Services in the Wedding Industry).  Thanks so much to Michelle for taking the time to share her fabulous insight!

Want more great advice from Michelle? Just in time for 2012, Sage Wedding Pros is offering $100 off The Simple Plan Exclusive which is their one-to-one partnership with small business owners to help build a business plan.  Simply visit The Simple Plan website to learn more about The Exclusive and enter the discount code “TBL” when you enroll.  This offer is only good through December 30th and space is limited to first-come-first-served!

(Image: Creative Commons)

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Filed Under: Brand, Education, Industry Insider, Lauren, Strategy, TBL GIve-Aways

Styled Shoots Continued: 3 Tips for Seasonal Shoots on a Budget

21 Dec Filed Under: Design Elements, Education, Featured, Inspiration, Marketing, Natalia

Yesterday we showed how you, as a vendor, can use styled shoots to help promote your business. We usually think styled shoots are just inspiration for brides, but they can be so much more than that! For photographers, they are also a necessary business tool to showcase your work and a great way to build your portfolio. Today we want to give you some ideas to put together a great seasonal shoot, and you can even do it on a budget!

1.  Ask a friend to be your model. As a photographer, Sarah D’Attoma from D’Attoma Studios had always wanted to do a styled wedding shoot. She contacted Callie Bell, an aspiring model, and asked Kenyatta, who had never modeled before, to be the groom. She told us, “I thought it would bring a realistic aspect to the shoot, and they both connected and had a wonderful time together – and it showed.”

bride, dress, white, woods, outdoorswinter, woods, groom, tux, outdoorsstyled, shoot, poinsettia, white, diamondwinter, poinsettia, pearls, white, jewelry, bouquet, boutonniere, hairwinter, outdoors, dress, poinsettia2. Recruit vendors or friends to donate their services in exchange for the publicity. Sarah planned a Christmas-inspired DIY shoot, complete with a poinsettia bouquet by Pineview Florist, evergreen springs in the bride’s hair, a rustic outdoor setting, and to contrast, a sparkly reception tablescape in the middle of the woods. She worked with some amazing vendors who donated everything from the the wedding gown, engagement rings, cake table and more. She said, “I am proud of the finished product and hope that our brides can use these ideas to implement into their own wedding plans!” Not only can brides find inspiration from this styled shoot, but also D’Attoma Studios and every vendor had the chance to showcase their talent and to network with each other.

white, green, winter, woods, Christmas, cupcakes, poinsettiawhite, green, silver, wedding, ornaments, poinsettia, cupcakeswhite, green, styled, shoot, winter, theme3. Make it seasonal and plan ahead! Picking a seasonal theme, such as an evergreen Christmas in December, will keep your portfolio relevant and fresh to help bring in new clients. All the wonderful details of this photo shoot contributed to an elegant winter theme, and editors are always on the look-out for something new to feature in their printed or online publications. Editorial deadlines are very early in the seasonal calendar, so if you plan your styled shoot ahead of time, it will be ready to submit in time to get you featured that season!bride, groom, outdoors, woods, white, green, dress, flowers, poinsettia, bouquetwinter, woods, outdoors, bride, groomThank you to D’Attoma Studios for submitting this seasonal shoot with us via Two Bright Lights!

Photographer: D’Attoma Studios
Floral Designer: Pineview Florist
Reception Venue:  Sesquicentennial State Park
Dress Store:  Carolina Couture
Cake Designer:  Carrier Cakes
Jewelry:  Moseley’s
Bakery:  Cupcake

 

- Natalia

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Filed Under: Design Elements, Education, Featured, Inspiration, Marketing, Natalia

Using Styled Shoots to Promote Your Business

20 Dec Filed Under: Design Elements, Education, Featured, Features, Inspiration, Lauren, Marketing, Real Wedding, Real Weddings

Have you ever considered putting together a styled shoot to promote your business? We usually think of styled shoots as a source of inspiration for brides, but for wedding vendors, they’re an indispensable business tool and a great way to build exposure.  So how can styled shoots help your business? Read on to see how the vendors in today’s featured maximized the marketing power of styled shoots to promote their businesses!

1. Styled shoots are a great way to network with other vendors.

When Stephanie Bishop of Daniel & Steph Photography and Film and Adam Evans of Click Boutique & Gallery realized that brides in Hattiesburg, Mississippi were looking elsewhere for their wedding vendors, they pulled the best of the best that their town had to offer and created a show-stopping styled shoot in hopes of convincing brides to choose local vendors.   The vendors in this feature  worked within popular southern bridal trends of vintage, rustic whimsy, to showcase their skills.  The result?  Each vendor had the chance to showcase their talent and to network with other vendors who will likely promote these images– and thus their business– to their brides.  Styled shoots are the perfect way to make valuable connections that could translate to referrals.

wedding-styled-shoot

2. It’s easy to cater a styled shoot to appeal to a particular type of bride.

This shoot from Prince Edward Island, submitted by Rachel Peters Photography, was also designed to encourage  brides to choose local vendors.  Their goal was to showcase what made the island unique, pulling together nautical influences and, of course, a reference to Anne of Green Gables (the series of which was set, in part, on Prince Edward Island).  The team of talented vendors put together an inspiration shoot to show local brides the talent of Prince Edward Island vendors and to encourage destination brides to consider the island for their big day!  Because these vendors had control over the details of the shoot, they were able to target a particular client type– destination brides. 

dessert-table-with-jars

3. Many publications love to feature styled shoots, which could improve your chance of getting published.

Editors want to feature shoots that will inspire their brides, which means they’re looking for details, details, details! Styled shoots are designed for just this purpose and are often filled with carefully-chosen details–and lots of them. Styled shoots are thus the perfect opportunity to be featured in a blog or magazine, which creates exposure and lends credibility to your business. Two Bright Lights vendors and photographers know that submitting albums for feature can majorly boost your revenue, so a styled shoot is the perfect way to start submitting!

Both of these shoots show how teamwork and planning can help turn a styled shoot into a fantastic marketing tool.   For more styled shoots and tips for using them to boost your business, check back on Done Brilliantly– we’ll be showcasing outstanding styled shoots throughout the week!

Feature 1:
Floral Designer:  Blooms a Garden Shop
Dress Store:  Forrest Paper & Bridal
Heirlooms and extras:  McKenzie’s on Main
Linens and Coverings:  Plums Bridal Registry
Bridesmaid Dresses:  Click Boutique & Gallery
 
 
Feature 2
Hair Stylist:  Cheryl Week
Event Planner:  Kiss The Bride
Event Designer:  5 Words Design
Floral Designer:  Hearts & Flowers
Reception Venue:  Outside Expeditions
Invitation Designer:  Kim Roach Designs
Dress Store:  Repeats Clothing
Cake Designer:  City View Bakehouse
Makeup Artist:  Michelle Cudmore Makeup Artist
Personal Stylist:  Green Man
Veils and headpieces:  Love Charlie
 

 –Lauren

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Filed Under: Design Elements, Education, Featured, Features, Inspiration, Lauren, Marketing, Real Wedding, Real Weddings

The Client’s Perspective: The how and why of the final decision

1 Dec Filed Under: Blog, Brand, Marketing, Social Media, Strategy

In May, I started a short series about the client’s perspective in photography and discussed my search for my perfect photographer. I shared how I narrowed my list and honed in on a few photographers. But, then the question remained: how do I choose? After speaking with many Two Bright Lights photographers, I came to realize that few clients ever tell them why they don’t choose them, and sometimes clients do not tell them why they DO choose them. I am going to walk you through the process that helped me choose who I did and who I did not.

Before I start, these views do not represent the views of Two Bright Lights, and I do not intend to speak for all brides. I just want to share my personal experience, to give you insight into my process in the hopes of adding value to your client acquisition process and strategy.

 The Process

After narrowing down my list to about 6 photographers I spent considerable time looking at a few key items to get a better sense for who was going to be a good fit for us. I was looking for the photographer whose online and offline presentation presented and communicated the following elements the best:

Their website

In particular I looked at a few key areas:

Their portfolio: I looked for diversity in the types of shots featured: I wanted to see examples of all the different type of work they did.

Weddings: I looked for a variety of moments featured – from romantic/epic shots to the first kiss to the grandma dancing!)

Engagements: I was looking for examples demonstrating their creativity and ability to reflect the couple’s style, not just their own – so I  looked for variety in style of shots and perspective.

Non-wedding Work: I was hoping to get a sense of how they saw the world and what non-wedding work struck their fancy. This gave me a sense for who they were. If it was mainly baby images that gave me one sense, if it was mainly fashion, it gave me another.

Their style

I wanted someone with a documentary approach to photography – who focused on taking beautiful pictures of real moments versus someone who took the epic, but more posed shots. Because I knew what style I wanted, when I looked at their portfolios, it helped me narrow down the list – eliminating those with different styles and keeping those who did.

Their client praise section

I know that photographers often ask the brides who they felt were pleased with the ultimate work to provide feedback to share with other clients. Understanding that what I was reading was from people who were asked – I looked at the type of praise they chose to give. I looked for comments about how the photographer created work that really reflected the wedding, about how the photographer was non-intrusive, about how the photographer was easy to work with, made clients feel at ease being themselves, and that the work was fantastic.

Their blog

Content. I wanted to see what work of their own that they chose to feature and the commentary they wrote. I was looking to understand how the photographer positioned themselves within the field. The photographs they chose to highlight gave me more insight into their style. I looked at what other sort of content they wrote about – did they highlight the work of other vendors, did they report on industry trends, did they seem up to date and excited about quality equipment, etc.

Social Media. I looked at their Facebook page and Twitter feed. I was not judging the number of followers, though I did hope to see enough to seem like they were connected to their peers. All I wanted was to have evidence of their engagement in the industry, as noted by the content of their tweets/posts and when it came to Twitter the people they followed.

Features. It was important to me that they had been featured on blogs or in magazines, and that they understood that was important. I looked for links to their features and checked out who featured them and what work was featured.

Lists and Professional Affiliations. I kept an eye out for any lists they were on, such as Green Wedding Shoes or Style Unveiled. I paid attention to what industry groups and professional organizations they belonged to. It was important that this information was easy to find and was there.

The Connection

After I had a good sense for who they were, I called them. Because I lived far away I was unable to meet them in person. I realize this is a somewhat unique position, but like in a meeting I was hoping for a good connection, someone who I felt understood what I was looking for, someone who I could be comfortable around.  Their personality and professionalism mattered to me. I wanted to feel like they were excited about me and wanted my business, but were not desperate for my business – so little intonations and word choice gave me clues to this. It also mattered that they knew the answers to my questions and that the answers came smoothly.  I asked about how they would describe their style, what their favorite part of shooting a wedding was, how their pricing worked, what their training was, etc.  Charlie (my fiancé) also talked to them – and we compared our impressions.

Price was also a factor, but the photographers we like had almost identical pricing, so the decision came down more to fit and follow through than anything. Because we did not have a chance to meet in person, it was essential that they returned calls and emails promptly, followed up on the what they said they would send, and were quick to answer questions.

So, who did we pick and why?

We picked Otto Schulze of Otto Shutlze Photographers. Why? Well, in brief he had an extremely professional website and blog, took award winning documentary style photography, was delightful on the phone, and conveyed a genuine sense of excitement to work with us. The other photographers were also amazing, but they missed some of the key elements I outlined above.

So far the working with Otto has been amazing. Charlie and I are in love with our engagement pics (which we will feature soon) and cannot wait for the wedding pictures!!

 

 

 

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Filed Under: Blog, Brand, Marketing, Social Media, Strategy

Build your Network and Boost your Word-of-Mouth Marketing: Easy Share Cards

27 Sep Filed Under: Brand, Marketing, TBL Scoop, TBL Updates, Two Bright Lights Update

When you are shooting at a wedding, party, styled shoot, etc you have an big opportunity – the opportunity to build relationships with the other creative professionals who helped make the event you are shooting fabulous. These relationships are a crucial to building your network and boosting you word-of-mouth marketing.

And a core part of building these relationships is sharing images.  Sharing helps your business and is correlated with increased revenue and referrals.  But burning disks, mailing them, and selecting appropriate images is time intensive to say the least.  Two Bright Lights is built to make sharing easier!!  And we wanted to make this even easier.  Introducing:  Easy Share Cards!

 

You can download them here (or go to the Help Center – Guide and Reports – and click Easy Share Cards) and then all you need to do is print out and start spreading the word.   These cards make it a snap for other creative professionals to know that you will be sharing images with them via Two Bright Lights.

We like to think of them like little tickets to revenue!  For each card you give away you are investing in your business in terms of generating referrals and helping other creative professionals market their fabulous skills.

Click here to download yours now!

So get hoppin’ and login now to Share!

 

 

- Shalyn
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Filed Under: Brand, Marketing, TBL Scoop, TBL Updates, Two Bright Lights Update
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