Advantages (if any) of Social Media for stock shooters

[Wawa]

I'm not quite up to speed when it comes to social media.  Can anyone tell me what is the advantage of Instagram, Facebook, etc... for a stock photographer?  I understand if you're looking for clients, such as a wedding shooter, who wants to show off photos that are not for sale from previous weddings that have been done.  But what if a stock agency is doing the selling for you?  I know you get a lot of attention from all over the world but It seems to me that if I put all my images on an Instagram account everyone sees it, downloads it and I get zero.  Not to mention Alamy gets zero also.  I know the images are very low-res but a lot of images today often are for cell phone use, tablets, etc... that don't require more than low-res images.  So what's the advantage?  Thanks.

[Arletta]

To use the Social Media you must decide if you do the marketing or just share your personal life with friends... who have friends...

You must be smart and careful with your steps in the marketing option:

- never upload clear large size images (like on FB)

- I suggest to add your watermark for protection (oh please, don't start another thread that it doesn't work!)

- create your posts in a creative way, encourage your audience to discussion, or at least to visit your gallery (actually that's the main goal)

- there are clients, they see your website/ blog and ask for licencing details by email/ phone. Keep that in mind when you decide what to share.

 

This is just a tip of the secret iceberg to the successful self marketing.

 

In my opinion the best idea is to share some smarphone shot telling about what the photo session will be about and then put a link to valuable image. Also you can share some short announcement on the picture or collage (with link in description).

 

I redirected many clients to my stock collections this way. It works. And it's worth. Btw, I wish Alamy could offer our personal galleries so my effort focuses on my work in first steps and not gets client to common search engine. Just dreaming.

[NYCat]

To use the Social Media you must decide if you do the marketing or just share your personal life with friends... who have friends...

You must be smart and careful with your steps in the marketing option:

- never upload clear large size images (like on FB)

- I suggest to add your watermark for protection (oh please, don't start another thread that it doesn't work!)

- create your posts in a creative way, encourage your audience to discussion, or at least to visit your gallery (actually that's the main goal)

- there are clients, they see your website/ blog and ask for licencing details by email/ phone. Keep that in mind when you decide what to share.

 

This is just a tip of the secret iceberg to the successful self marketing.

 

In my opinion the best idea is to share some smarphone shot telling about what the photo session will be about and then put a link to valuable image. Also you can share some short announcement on the picture or collage (with link in description).

 

I redirected many clients to my stock collections this way. It works. And it's worth. Btw, I wish Alamy could offer our personal galleries so my effort focuses on my work in first steps and not gets client to common search engine. Just dreaming.

 

Are you just not happy with My Alamy Homepage? I know it is not ideal but at least it will only show your own images.

 

Paulette

[Arletta]

Paulette, that's right. There's something missing to view only my gallery in more comfortable view for clients. So far when I give the link they can see two lines of my images and if they want to review my collection in more files on one page there is no choice, they can only click on NEXT button to see next images. There's no even the easiest tool with numbers of pages, like 1, 2,...last. 

 

Then, when a client goes to my image, click on my name, he is transferred to the page with common search engine, so all his next search is for all Alamy images, not only mine.

 

I guess it would be enough to give another button here - "search in Arletta's collection" or something like that?

 

 

Typos edited.

[Ed Rooney]

Social Media? Is that what people are doing when they stare at their cellphone screens in the street? I think that's how the White House conducts business these days.

 

I don't do Social Media myself. I'd need to have my reading glasses on, and I would be tripping over things. Yes, I'm old and so old fashion. Am I missing out? Maybe. Walking around with a camera, I usually try to pay attention to what's going on. Maybe there's a picture opportunity that cellphone folks could miss? 

 

But you're talking about career promotion, I guess. I don't do that either. 

[PhotoEclectica]

Paulette, that's right. There's something missing to view only my gallery in more comfortable view for clients. So far when I give the link they can see two lines of my images and if they want to review my collection in more files on one page there is no choice, they can only click on NEXT button to see next images. There's no even the easiest tool with numbers of pages, like 1, 2,...last. 

 

Then, when a client goes to my image, click on my name, he is transferred to the page with common search engine, so all his next search is for all Alamy images, not only mine.

 

I guess it would be enough to give another button here - "search in Arletta's collection" or something like that?

 

 

Typos edited.

 

Link to your images on Alamy is the way to go, but you must use an external site. I don't think Alamy is interested in that, they want clients searching through the whole site.

[Arletta]

But using the whole-external site doesn't exclude visiting or rather staying-with-more-options on my collection The case is that now client is transferred just like that.

[Brian Yarvin]

Wawa, while those stock agencies do a nice job of selling, they don't really provide more than the faintest assistance in producing the images. For me, social media is a major part of the production effort. I maintain worldwide contacts within my niche and the ability to find out where editors are going before they make their move. I find that this business works a whole lot better when I have a network of people I can call upon when it's time to do some serious production.

 

Putting your finished stock photos up doesn't make much sense, but putting pictures of your shoots up gets others interested. 

[RedSnapper]

My social media networks are my eyes and ears

 

 

km

[RedSnapper]

I find that this business works a whole lot better when I have a network of people I can call upon when it's time to do some serious production.

 

 

A point i will be stressing during my Alamy workshop next weekend.....

 

km

[Alamy]

I'm not quite up to speed when it comes to social media.  Can anyone tell me what is the advantage of Instagram, Facebook, etc... for a stock photographer?  I understand if you're looking for clients, such as a wedding shooter, who wants to show off photos that are not for sale from previous weddings that have been done.  But what if a stock agency is doing the selling for you?  I know you get a lot of attention from all over the world but It seems to me that if I put all my images on an Instagram account everyone sees it, downloads it and I get zero.  Not to mention Alamy gets zero also.  I know the images are very low-res but a lot of images today often are for cell phone use, tablets, etc... that don't require more than low-res images.  So what's the advantage?  Thanks.

 

You may find this blog post we produced on this very subject useful.

 

http://www.alamy.com/blog/how-social-media-has-changed-photography

 

Thanks,

 

Alamy

[Gennadii Rybalov]

According to my observations, the placement of social networks links to their work, gives only unwanted views, which adversely affect the rating of the STR. Maybe I do not understand something, but in my case it happens that way.