Social media for photography companies is a must-have marketing tactic. But so too is an understanding of the marketing and sales funnel.
And when you combine the two together, a social media/wider digital strategy that’s aligned with the buyer journey (AKA the marketing and sales funnel), converting leads and generating brand loyalty is easily achieved.
If you haven’t had a chance to read part one and part two of our ‘Best practices for brands in the photography market to use social media to increase sales’ articles, it’s important you know the basics about the top and the middle of the marketing and sales funnel right now, at the very least. Feel free to read our articles on these two stages of the funnel when you get a minute. In the meantime, to quickly recap…
The Top of the Marketing and Sales Funnel Is:
The awareness and recognition and research phase (also known as the Top of the Funnel or TOFU).
TOFU social media tactics include: Generating relevant content, doing it regularly and creating a sense of community
The Middle of the Marketing and Sales Funnel Is:
Where buyers consider and evaluate the various different options available to them (also referred to as the Middle of the Funnel or MOFU)
MOFU social media tactics include: Sharing case studies and reviews, giving prospects a behind-the-scenes look at how you work and showing them how you can solve their pain points and challenges.
Now Let’s Focus on the Final Part of the Marketing and Sales Funnel…
This is the commitment/conversion/purchase phase (also known as the Bottom of the Funnel or BOTF). It’s the moment prospects convert into customers, who hopefully value your services and products so much, they reward you with brand loyalty, which also involves recommending you to others.
3 Wider Digital Strategy Tactics for Converting Prospects into Customers:
#1: Live demos
Are great, especially if you stock photography equipment and want to show people how they work and the benefits of using them. These demos don’t have to be too long either, the main thing is they clearly show potential buyers the product in detail and address any product or functionality queries they may have.
#2: Consultations
Consultation sessions are literally just one crucial step away from getting prospects over the finishing line and encouraging them to use or buy from you. Whether you offer a 15, 30 or 60-minute consultation, it’s entirely up to you. The main thing is that prospects are given something tangible (a clear solution or actionable advice) at the end of it in exchange for their time.
#3: Case studies
Are a tactic that can also be classed as MOFU marketing activity because they help people weigh up the various different options available to them. You know how good you are at photography or how your products are of a superior quality and offer great value for money, but if you get your loyal customers to say this for you, this form of brand loyalty is incredibly valuable. Not only is client retention key for your future success, so too is the brand loyalty communication you can leverage from them (e.g. case studies, online reviews and testimonials etc.)
3 Social Media Tactics for Converting Prospects into Customers:
#1: BOFU content creation
Take all of the demos, case studies and testimonials we recommended you produce above and turn them into valuable social media content. Testimonials can easily be transformed into social media postcards, demos can be carved up into bite-sized snippets and case studies can be turned into multiple social media posts that contain a link to the full case study details.
#2: BOFU promotion
Nobody’s going to know all about your valuable content unless you share it far and wide – and do so on a regular basis. But don’t just push it out and hope for the best, schedule your content according to peak viewing days and times and don’t forget to monitor your social media analytics to see which types of posts are performing the best. Then take all this insight and refine your social strategy on an ongoing basis.
#3: BOFU results
Results are the end goal for all lead conversion processes. They mean prospects become customers and, over time, customers become brand ambassadors and loyal social media followers. Don’t forget to share your successes on social media where you can because they help demonstrate brand loyalty in full force.
There are, of course, many more BOFU social media and wider marketing measures you can implement, the tactics listed above are just the tip of the iceberg. For more best practice social media for photography companies tactics and wider insight, feel free to get in touch with our team.
In the meantime, we wanted to share this case study with you. It’s about photographic editing app specialist, Macphun, who are using their widespread media results to elevate their brand awareness across the EU. They’re also using these results to generate wider awareness by promoting their coverage across their social channels.
Got any queries or want to discuss your social media or lead generation requirements with us? Contact us at [email protected] or 0121 399 0065.
