Marketing Tips Insider: Top Marketing Trends 2017
Marketing your photography business has never been more exciting---or overwhelming---in the history of marketing! There are so many avenues and platforms and trends and changes!It seems that just when we have settled into one new “thing”, the next “new thing” has already hit! But it’s a good idea to at least know what’s coming down the pike at us…and here they are; the top trends in marketing a business for 2017.As you are planning your year, keep these in mind and ask yourself how you can implement (or better define) some of them into your business going forward:1/ STORY-TELLING THROUGH VIDEO: This isn’t new. It’s been happening for years. But you’ll see more “story-telling” through video than ever before. The real tip here is to keep it “short”. Bite-sized 60-second videos are best for keeping the attention of your audience. This can be done by incorporating behind-the-scenes clips into your social-media postings as well as actual video clips from either our dslr or mobile device PS: While your business will stand out with a more professional-grade video story, don’t let that stop you! I used iPhone videos for several years before incorporating pro-video. Just do it and get it out there into your social media!
2/ LIVE STREAMING: It hit big in 2016 and it’s only getting bigger in 2017. Sharing your brand (and the “experience” of your brand) through personal marketing via live-stream will be very instrumental in the coming year. Use it to pull back the curtain to your brand in all areas. This is a game-changer in marketing for all businesses, because it is an “instant-connection” with your audience. This can include Live IG Stories, Live Youtube as well as FB Live.
3/ INCREASED FOCUS ON THE EXPERIENCE: The “experience” to the client is not a new concept…but the “focus” of it has changed. While it’s always been important to provide a “unique experience” to stand out, now the actual “story-telling” of that experience is what matters. Behind-the-scenes captures through Snapchat and IG Stories will become even more instrumental for senior photographers in 2017. Changing up “how” you tell the story in a “unique way” that is different from your competitor will be the true game-changer for brands in 2017.
4/CONSUMER REVIEWS: Nothing new here either…but the “delivery” is. “LIVE or recorded” reviews on websites is going to be a big trend in 2017. Consumers want to know what previous consumers think about your business…what better way than to fuse a client-testimonial with…video. It doesn’t have to be “professional” grade to be effective…turn you iPhone on your client (with their permission and with prepping, first) and post that on social!
5/SOCIAL ENGAGEMENT: This has been changing in 2016 and it’s a big topic in the entrepreneurial world right now: don’t talk AT your audience…talk WITH them. This is a critical change in how we “market” online. Turns out that being on social media means being…SOCIAL.
This is not the “entire list”…but it’s the top 5 critical trends that are going to be big in 2017 according to every top marketing expert out there.
The good news is that we have some amazing tools at our hands to implement these trends: amazing mobile devices for streaming + video and great social-media platforms to get our brand-message out to our target audience!
Happy New Year to you all and many wishes for great success in 2017!
