When you're browsing a website and you need more information on something, what's the first thing you look for?

Very often, you have to dig around in navbars and footers for a phone number or an email address. In some cases, it feels like you need to be Sherlock Holmes to find it and it becomes very frustrating! In fact, if I struggle to find it within a minute or 2, I'll just leave.

For me, the first thing I look for is an Online Chat. If they don't have that, I will look for an email address or an online contact form and failing that, a phone number. I'm not a fan of talking on the phone, especially if I have a simple question about something and I'm not alone. For people aged 54 and below, the majority of people would prefer to use text over voice as a form of communication on a mobile device so it's no wonder that messaging apps such as WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger have become so popular.

Hi, and welcome back to the 3XM Blog, this time we’ll be looking at new ways to promote your photography business through the use of social media sites.

Social media marketing is as always on the rise and a common questions we receive is ‘what social media should I use?’
 
Now, for anyone who’s familiar with 3XM you’ll know that our own Jenny Johnston is the Facebook advertising guru!

So we in this post we’ll be skipping the more traditional social media of Facebook and Instagram and focusing on some other avenues you can take. 

We’ll be looking at some sites that you should add to your social media strategy.

Ok, so let’s get started. First up is the rabbit hole of Reddit!

So it’s that time of year again. Halloween is nothing but a distant memory and Christmas is very much on the horizon. But, before we starting hanging wreaths and singing carols we have to deal with Black Friday!
 
Black Friday has long been an American tradition but it’s been steadily growing in popularity in Europe over the last few years. So, this week expect to see every major retailer advertising Black Friday specials. But, you don’t have to be major to take part. Black Friday is a seller’s paradise and is the perfect time to grow your small business.

​Hey! Welcome back to the 3XM Blog. We’ve got a great one lined up for you today! We’re going to be talking all about marketing to millennials.
 
But before we start, be sure you’re up to date with all of our marketing tips. We’ve got some great recent posts on blogging, Google analytics and most recently on creating an effective buyer persona. Check them out and let us know what you think.
 
OK, shameless plug over! Let’s get started.

​First off, we’ll have a look at what we mean when we say “millennial”.

​Hi, and welcome back to the 3XM blog. We're back with more ways for you to improve your photography company. 

We hope you enjoyed our previous post on how you can improve your photography business by using Google Analytics. If you haven't read that one be sure to check it out. We think it's great (ok, we may be slightly biased, but do give it a read!)

In that post we talked about the benefits of creating a buyer persona for your business. Well it's a big topic so we decided it needed to have its very own post. 

So here we are, today we'll go over everything you need to know about creating and utilising a buyer persona for your photography business. 

First, we’ll look at what exactly a customer persona is and why it’s so important for your marketing plan.
 
Next we’ll look at how you can create your persona. There are several different ways to do this so we’ll go through all the options.
 
Lastly, we’ll have a look at what you should do with all of this information; basically, how you can structure your marketing plan around this persona.

So, let's get started. 

In today’s digital world, a well-run, concise blog can be the difference in how and where your photography business is viewed.
 
At the end of the day it’s all about revenue, every business wants more and more. Well how do you get it? You need more customers right?
 
Well a functional blog could soon have you appearing higher than ever in google searches. 

Content is King
 
This is a bit of a marketing buzz-phrase but when it comes to Facebook advertising it really is true. Content is a crucial component of any social media marketing activity and especially so when it comes to Facebook advertising.
 
Try to put yourself into your clients’ shoes and create the type of content that they want to see… this might be things like “tips before you hire a wedding photographer” or “how to pose like a pro”. Your content should be balanced and focused on the needs of your potential clients. If you try to stick with the 3-1-1 rule you won’t go far wrong; that’s 3 soft posts for 1 soft sell and 1 hard sell.
 
Pay it forward
Facebook is not free. Organic reach is minimal so set aside a budget to use for Facebook advertising each month. This doesn’t have to be anything huge, start off small and build it up as you get more confident with Facebook advertising. A little really does go a long way!
 

Facebook has given us the opportunity to capitalize on the very important, highly personal and uniquely relevant moments in people’s lives. It’s never been easier to find the right people or the right moments.