Lessons Learned from Social Media
Lesson 40 from: Developing a Social Media Strategy for PhotographersColby Brown
Lessons Learned from Social Media
Lesson 40 from: Developing a Social Media Strategy for PhotographersColby Brown
Lessons
Class Introduction
13:12 2Ages of the Internet
18:47 3What is Social Media?
06:36 4Social Media by the Numbers
08:19 5How Social Media Changed the Photo Industry
17:02 6Social Media Myths
19:13 7Finding Value in Social Media
38:58 8How does Noise Effect Social Media?
05:18The Rise of the Curated Feed
16:27 10The Longevity of a Social Media Post
07:13 11Tips for Creating Successful Posts
07:36 12Leveraging Facebook for Your Photography
33:40 13Importance of Instagram for Photograhers
19:12 14Why Use Snapchat?
09:07 15Using Twitter to your Advantage
08:22 16Tips for Leveraging LinkedIn
08:48 17The Benefits of Pinterest & Google+
11:17 18What is a Social Media Strategy?
32:28 19Social Media Strategy Hotseat
17:53 20Identify Why You're on Social Media
05:45 21What networks are right for you?
15:35 22Choosing your Online Personality
10:14 23The Role of the Website in Social Media
11:19 24Outdoor Photographer Case Study
22:58 25Wedding Photographer Case Study
16:01 26Fine Art Landscape Photographer Case Study
11:54 27Music & Event Photographer Case Study
16:51 28Advocacy & Viral Content Photographer Case Study
18:18 29Tips to Building Your Social Audience
19:20 30Identify Your Target Audience
24:24 31Paying to Play on Social Media
16:54 32The Anatomy of a Social Media Post
07:20 33The Value of Engagement
06:33 34The Value of Consistency
14:26 35Feeding the Social Media Monster
16:09 36Details of Posting on Social
07:17 37Tools to Manage Social Media Accounts
12:30 38Taking Advantage of Momentum
13:09 39Reflections from a Career Built Around Social Media
26:05 40Lessons Learned from Social Media
04:23 41Social Media Mistakes to Avoid
08:41 42Common Social Media Questions
25:44Lesson Info
Lessons Learned from Social Media
All right, so, lessons learned. We talked about this a bit. Value is subjective. If both of us, if me and one of you guys here had the same number of followers and the same exact engagement, the same exact followers, both of us would see different value in it. Because of my experience, I might be able to take those followers or that engagement and sell it to a company, or sell it to a service or a product, or turn it into some sort of financial viable enterprise, because I've been doing this for so many years. And this is, again, one of the reasons why I think a lot of people, or a lot of photographers look at social media and say, "Well, where's the point? Why should I be on it? It's not worth it." I hear that all the time, "It's not worth it." And I don't think that's accurate. I think it can have value. It can give you value for your company, your business, for your inspiration, to help you learn about photography. It all depends on how you use it, how you leverage it. Your social m...
edia is like a camera. If you don't learn how to use your camera, you're not using it to its fullest potential. Social media is the same way. Leave the ego at the door. Again, I've mentioned this before and I'll mention it again, I don't understand why there are egos in the photo industry. Photographers are important, art is important, but we are not necessarily curing cancer, and photographers that get high engagement rates that think that they can treat other people like crap, I think is horrible. And it's something that's not sustainable. So if you do find growth, you do find success, don't let it go to your head. Remember the three tenets that we talked about. Be humble, be honest, and be passionate. Treat others like they are gold. Treat every single one of your followers like it's someone in your family, at least someone in your family that you like. A lot of people don't do this, and, again, I think it goes a long way. To me, it still tells me something, and I'm still surprised to this day that, 17 years into the internet, probably 10 plus years into the social age of the internet, where we've had Instagram, and we've had Facebook for a number of years, that the vast majority of people that reach out to me on social media, direct messaging, even through emails through my website, are still surprised that I respond. That's ridiculous. You guys are taking the time to reach out to me. Now, I'm not always responding right away. There are times when you guys will reach out to me and have a question and three months later I'll be like, "Hey, sorry. Traveling around, my son's birthday, yada yada." But I'll always try to get back to you. To me, that is huge. That is huge for photography, that is huge for social media. Again, the idea of engagement. That's huge for building brand trust, brand loyalty, your fan club, all of it. Super-important aspect, treat everyone you come across like gold. And there'll be people who don't treat you the same way, and that's fine. Don't worry about it. Don't dive into the trenches, no reason for it. Stay positive, respect other people, and treat your followers that are willing to follow you and engage with you like gold, especially early on, because it will help you. It will help you grow your audience, it will help you build things up much quicker. And the last one I would say is to have fun. We've talked about a lot of things in this class for social media, and social media's still about human connection and engagement. Have fun. Enjoy the time that you're spending online. You don't want to go through the process and just be like, "Ugh. What am I going to post today?" When I had this idea for this post with the DJ Maverick the drone I was like, "Wait a minute, the legs... okay. I'm going to go outside, let's pose this right, let's have a little fun with it." It was engaging. Life doesn't have to be so serious. Social media doesn't have to be so serious. Everything doesn't have to be so business-minded or marketed. Enjoy your posts. Have fun with your followers. Be playful.
Ratings and Reviews
Giles Rocholl
This course is designed to help you develop a Social Media strategy if you are Photographer. I am a professional photographer with over 37 years of experience and although I know how to use Facebook and Instagram I didn't really understand how to use them to achieve business and personal goals. I started watching this course about 2 months ago and have just finished it due to work commitments. However I have put into practice his advice as I learnt new understanding and my following has grown rapidly. Also my work load and quality of assignment has increased dramatically too. It takes some brain rewiring to understand how social media has taken the place of many traditional media streams but Colby does an excellent job of painting a picture that helps hugely. The best thing about Colby's strategy is that it is real life, honest and something I feel I can personally and ethically live with happily. I happily endorse this course and recommend it.
Beatriz Stollnitz
I was very lucky to be in the audience for this class. Colby is an incredible instructor - he has the rare combination of being successful, knowledgeable and talented, but at the same time down to earth, approachable and genuinely willing to help others succeed. The content presented is actionable - I have so many ideas of things that I can do right now that can help my online presence! I can't wait to get started!
Rob Lettieri
I learned a few things I never knew...especially the whole inside scoop on LinkedIn....who knew??? Easy to listen to....a lot of deflection to later answers to questions...which would have made a director allow for less...why ask if you cant answer just then....and he says every question is a "great question" but it clearly isn't in a few cases....so credibility goes down...I understand positive enforcement for the millennials...but every question is not great. otherwise easy to follow and straightforward....