Attracting business: website vs word of mouth vs social media vs ...?

[Dinarius]

Obviously, when one has clients, one wants to hold onto them.

But, excluding what I would call existing business, can people put any kind of number on where new business comes from? Or, what they think the best way of attracting new business is nowadays for their line of photography?

I don’t do weddings, or any kind of social photography, but I’m told that apart from word-of-mouth recommendations, the best way of attracting new business in those fields is Facebook. Would others agree?

Have websites become just a means of confirming what a potential client has learned about you elsewhere?

Any other views?

Interesting times.

D.

[TonyVentourisPhotography]

I’ve taken a different road...I stay off most social media entirely.  I occasionally post to Instagram, but it’s nothing serious.  A lot of my clients find me on google actually.  I find that surprising given that searches make it tough to find small fish sometimes, even with strong seo.  Word of mouth is still a good source.  Nothing beats a good recommendation.

[tcphoto1]

Social media has turned into this monster that has many faces, you don't know if the profiles with a high number of followers is paid for or organic. Last year, I read about a Canon Ambassador or whatever her title getting booked to shoot a large project for them, paperwork was signed and then someone cancelling the contract when they thought she didn't have enough Instagram followers. Who wants to put that much time into the medium when you have no idea what the rules are? Most of my friends are quite literate when it comes to social media and they have been stepping away from it. They used it to stay current on trends in their industries and put their own work out there. If I had to pick a source of new business, it would be word of mouth referrals and the websites are the next step in confirming the level of work.

[Martin Kristiansen]

I use a Wix site and do email campaigns to my user base and try to add new emails as I find people. That seems to work the best for me and I enjoy it. I’m not on FB. Tried it but it attracted the wrong kind of clients. I only work for businesses. I’m not interested in working for the general public. I couldn’t get FB to do that for me. I deleted my FB accounts and now run an Insta account. It’s just a bit of fun.

[Rob C]

My working life was before social media.

However, putting myself into client shoes is easy to do, and wearing such shoes, I would listen to word-of-mouth reports, but with caution: people can be bitchy about individual photographers out of all sorts of reasons, even bad interpersonal vibes that have more to do with the client than the photographer. Also, they can praise poor photographers because they, the client, know no better.

So yeah, I'd use my ears but most of all my eyes, and look at hard-copy portfolios after websites. I think a good website is a fine initial contact encouragement.

Rob

[stinar]

The new generation generates new ideas and new realities of life. And naturally, new fields of activity and new technologies appear. Approximately the same applies to business. By the way, startups often use DCF Models to understand how relevant this business is and how it will develop. Young people are very pragmatic now and understand how to make a profit from any business started. The ability to make money online is a very important feature of the modern generation.

[Sebastrue]

Having a website is still valuable. It's like your online portfolio that potential clients can check out anytime. It's a way to confirm what they've heard about you elsewhere.
But it's not just about websites or social media. Networking, collaborating with other professionals in your field, and even niche-specific platforms can be excellent ways to attract new clients.
So, in these interesting times, it's all about finding what works best for your specific photography niche. If you ever want to boost your YouTube presence, you can buy instant youtube views.