I must admit that I am a Twitter addict. I love social media, but I use these platforms for different purposes: I post pictures on Facebook, connect with photographers on Twitter, and I blog, blog, blog more than I ever did before. Needless to say that my social media activities are connected to my website to rank it higher on Google searches. Marketing strategies have changed for many businesses- traditional marketing is out, social marketing is in. This is good and bad because most business owners and freelancers must have a social media presence- they have to blog, interact,and network with clients, competitors, vendors and future clients.
There are two Tampa Bay photographers, Andy Diamond, who uses the RSS Grafitti app to spread the news on social media platforms and Carrie Wildes who religiously blogs about her work and more on her blog.
If you are techie, like Ryan Scherf, you can post cool social media buttons on your site! He has one of the best websites regarding simplicity and creativity! I will think of you when I design my site :)!
Read more about Carrie Wildes in my last posting on Social Media to Grow Your Business.
Photo Gallery
Showing posts with label social media. Show all posts
Showing posts with label social media. Show all posts
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
Sunday, May 22, 2011
Using Social Media to Grow Your Business
Use Social Media to Grow Your Business, says Carrie Wildes wedding photographer + social media diva. Carrie demonstrated how she uses social media as a marketing tool attract clients and market herself:
- she blogs about the events and people she photographs to generate buzz
- she posts "thank you" emails she receives from clients and vendors
- she pays attention to keywords (keywords depend on your business, of cohttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifurse)
- she created a Google business profile (it's free)
- experiment with all social media platforms: Word Press, Twitter, Facebook, Squarespace, etc.
- she uses a blogsite as her website
- she uses hyperlinks and tags to rank her SEO
- she also uses her blogsite as her working photography archive- keywording makes even more sense now :)
- she creates photo galleries on Facebook, tags the subjects in the photo and through a link she redirects those interested to read more about the event and the subjects on her website!
But she agrees, using social media as a marketing tool takes a lot of time. It is well worth it for her and she schedules blogging and Facebooking into her work.
If you plan to follow her path, you should learn to manage your workflow and your time. She religiously blogs and monitors her Google ranking- you should do the same because it is fun and FREE!
I also suggest you follow other photographers to learn how they use social media for branding and creating a buzz!
Thank you Carrie Wildes for sharing the information and spreading your love for photography at the Menaul Gallery. I am looking forward to attending your next workshop on social media on June 6th at the Menaul Gallery in Clearwater! Special thanks to Jerri and Scott Menaul for hosting these workshops.
- she blogs about the events and people she photographs to generate buzz
- she posts "thank you" emails she receives from clients and vendors
- she pays attention to keywords (keywords depend on your business, of cohttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifurse)
- she created a Google business profile (it's free)
- experiment with all social media platforms: Word Press, Twitter, Facebook, Squarespace, etc.
- she uses a blogsite as her website
- she uses hyperlinks and tags to rank her SEO
- she also uses her blogsite as her working photography archive- keywording makes even more sense now :)
- she creates photo galleries on Facebook, tags the subjects in the photo and through a link she redirects those interested to read more about the event and the subjects on her website!
But she agrees, using social media as a marketing tool takes a lot of time. It is well worth it for her and she schedules blogging and Facebooking into her work.
If you plan to follow her path, you should learn to manage your workflow and your time. She religiously blogs and monitors her Google ranking- you should do the same because it is fun and FREE!
I also suggest you follow other photographers to learn how they use social media for branding and creating a buzz!
Thank you Carrie Wildes for sharing the information and spreading your love for photography at the Menaul Gallery. I am looking forward to attending your next workshop on social media on June 6th at the Menaul Gallery in Clearwater! Special thanks to Jerri and Scott Menaul for hosting these workshops.
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
Sunrise at the Safety Harbor Pier
This image got a lot of comments on my Facebook! Some of my friends asked me for my workflow.... I did the usual work, I uploaded the images in LR, selected the ones I liked, I merged them in Photomatix and then edited them minimally in CS5 (using the shadow/highlights slider, I also upped the contrast). I then imported the image back in LR and upped the vibrance, sharpened and finally I used the noise reduction slider too. Frankly, the amazing clouds and the sun, the blue hour, unusual low water surface, and reflection of "broken" pier that make this image "a moment."
I just pressed the shutter.
Thanks for my FB followers who push me to do better photography!!! I appreciate you friendship and your comments! I am what I am because of you, all!!!!
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
Social Media – Use it or lose it?- Part 5
I do realize that I have to use any new forms of communication to reach a global audience. Educational institutions should generate online content on the website to “keep the conversation” going (content can be a blog about students’ work, a book written by faculty, multimedia project about a student project, etc.). Thanks to technology virtual classes and online collaboration are possible so why wouldn’t we spread the word more?
Businesses should realize that social media is an evolving medium. What is in today (like Instagram, Foursquare) might be out tomorrow. I started the Multimedia Tips on USF’s iTunesU and according to Brad Stager coordinator USF iTunesU, the podcast has become a success. You can read about it on my FB or on my blog :)
I also adopted technology and social media in my photojournalism classes I taught last semester at USF. These methods were not demonstrated in the classes I took at USF. Few of my professors were using technology to interact with students outside classes. Among the various instructional modalities I used in these classes included blog posts, audio and video podcasts, photo competitions on Flickr, and Blackboard, and multimedia projects created in Soundslides or. Those students who were interested in learning multimedia had the opportunity to work with me outside class and learn Soundslides and audio editing in Audacity.
Sources for you:
- A great tutorial on Soundslides
- more tutorial on Soundslides
- Ken Kobre's blogpost about the Soundslides vs. Final Cut debate
- more tutorials from Mindy Mcadams
- Web strategy for higher education
Businesses should realize that social media is an evolving medium. What is in today (like Instagram, Foursquare) might be out tomorrow. I started the Multimedia Tips on USF’s iTunesU and according to Brad Stager coordinator USF iTunesU, the podcast has become a success. You can read about it on my FB or on my blog :)
I also adopted technology and social media in my photojournalism classes I taught last semester at USF. These methods were not demonstrated in the classes I took at USF. Few of my professors were using technology to interact with students outside classes. Among the various instructional modalities I used in these classes included blog posts, audio and video podcasts, photo competitions on Flickr, and Blackboard, and multimedia projects created in Soundslides or. Those students who were interested in learning multimedia had the opportunity to work with me outside class and learn Soundslides and audio editing in Audacity.
Sources for you:
- A great tutorial on Soundslides
- more tutorial on Soundslides
- Ken Kobre's blogpost about the Soundslides vs. Final Cut debate
- more tutorials from Mindy Mcadams
- Web strategy for higher education
Social Media – How do I use SM? Part 4
How do I use SM?
I have worked with the Web Developers Network at USF to develop my website (the website is a work in progress). Thanks Luqmaan Dawoodje for your hard work!!!!! My focus was to create a website that looks different than the other ones, to showcase my work for employment purposes. After looking at competitive websites, I ended up using a user friendly layout because of the simple navigation and functionality. The content is easy to update in PageLime.
Bottom line, messages have to be relevant and consistent to engage and keep the audience for a long time. It means a lot to me that because of one tweet I had 20 views for my last photo album posted on Flickr in less than two minutes!
How do you measure success in social media?
I measure success in the number of followers and in the business I generate. I use Google Analytics and Klout to measure the effectiveness of my communication and the users’ influence.
I started using social media more than a year ago as a curious media student. I now have 236 followers on Twitter and 440 friends on Facebook. I did not intend to recruit an audience, I just wanted to learn to use social media. However, I realize that numbers don’t mean much, and success in social media is a long-term endeavor. In my case, using web analytics and monetizing my website are secondary because my goal is to showcase my work.
I have worked with the Web Developers Network at USF to develop my website (the website is a work in progress). Thanks Luqmaan Dawoodje for your hard work!!!!! My focus was to create a website that looks different than the other ones, to showcase my work for employment purposes. After looking at competitive websites, I ended up using a user friendly layout because of the simple navigation and functionality. The content is easy to update in PageLime.
Bottom line, messages have to be relevant and consistent to engage and keep the audience for a long time. It means a lot to me that because of one tweet I had 20 views for my last photo album posted on Flickr in less than two minutes!
How do you measure success in social media?
I measure success in the number of followers and in the business I generate. I use Google Analytics and Klout to measure the effectiveness of my communication and the users’ influence.
I started using social media more than a year ago as a curious media student. I now have 236 followers on Twitter and 440 friends on Facebook. I did not intend to recruit an audience, I just wanted to learn to use social media. However, I realize that numbers don’t mean much, and success in social media is a long-term endeavor. In my case, using web analytics and monetizing my website are secondary because my goal is to showcase my work.
Social Media – 3 Free Tools to Grow Your Business- Part 2
As I promised last week, here are more comments about Alan Brusky's presentation. Alan is the Founder and Creative Director of Fireleaf Design and an excellent speaker on social media and more. Please follow him on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and on Flickr because you can learn more from this dude who is also a brilliant photographer!
How do I use SM? I am using social media as a student, freelance multimedia journalist, and educator to join professional groups, network, get involved with local organizations and projects, and more. I do believe that all platforms of social media have a different purpose and audience. For instance, I am using Twitter to do research (using keywords) and find experts in a field. I tweet about my work and I also interact with other professionals. I post my own content (and make it more specific by including hastags and links, I ask my audience to retweet it and give me feedback on my content), I try to follow people who interact with my tweets, retweet other people’s content if I find the information is relevant in my field, post polls, and organize contests. I promote professionals, workshops, and businesses so that I can get mentioned in their tweets too. I also focus on branding, I promote my freelance business by posting my work on Facebook and on Flickr. But I do not pay for advertising and I do not post “buy one, get one free” deals.I like Twitter because it is instantaneous and I can reach a lot of people fast.
I am using LinkedIn for networking purposes and I am using Facebook to post my pictures and interact with friends and clients. Since most of my work is media, Facebook is an ideal platform for visual content. My purpose is to get people go to my website, look at my work and then spread the word and recommend me as a journalist or photographer to their audience.
I do believe content is king both in traditional and social media. Multimedia is the essential tool to attract an audience. Telling compelling stories using the cross channel media approach keeps the audience growing and coming back.
How do I use SM? I am using social media as a student, freelance multimedia journalist, and educator to join professional groups, network, get involved with local organizations and projects, and more. I do believe that all platforms of social media have a different purpose and audience. For instance, I am using Twitter to do research (using keywords) and find experts in a field. I tweet about my work and I also interact with other professionals. I post my own content (and make it more specific by including hastags and links, I ask my audience to retweet it and give me feedback on my content), I try to follow people who interact with my tweets, retweet other people’s content if I find the information is relevant in my field, post polls, and organize contests. I promote professionals, workshops, and businesses so that I can get mentioned in their tweets too. I also focus on branding, I promote my freelance business by posting my work on Facebook and on Flickr. But I do not pay for advertising and I do not post “buy one, get one free” deals.I like Twitter because it is instantaneous and I can reach a lot of people fast.
I am using LinkedIn for networking purposes and I am using Facebook to post my pictures and interact with friends and clients. Since most of my work is media, Facebook is an ideal platform for visual content. My purpose is to get people go to my website, look at my work and then spread the word and recommend me as a journalist or photographer to their audience.
I do believe content is king both in traditional and social media. Multimedia is the essential tool to attract an audience. Telling compelling stories using the cross channel media approach keeps the audience growing and coming back.
Social Media – 3 Free Tools to Grow Your Business- Part 1
As I promised last week, here are my comments about Alan Brusky's presentation about social media. Alan is the Founder and Creative Director of Fireleaf Design and an excellent speaker on social media and more. Please follow him on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and on Flickr because you can learn more from this dude who is also a brilliant photographer!
The power of social media is unreal. Today social media is part of communication and institutions need to integrate new communication tools into their marketing and recruitment strategy along with online media (web presence through promotional videos/news stories on the institution’s website) and traditional media (including newspapers, TV and radio, direct mailing). The goal is to network, interact, collaborate, and attract a global audience, including a technologically sophisticated audience who uses social media. I noticed most institutions, including USF employ social media tools for marketing and recruitment. USF is also present on iTunesU with a lot of free educational podcasts, including the podcast I created, Multimedia Tips , a podcast pn technology and media, USF students and professors, and local photogs who use technology and media effectively in communication.
Unlike the one way communication in traditional media, social media means interactive communication through multiple channels. The key is to keep interacting, collaborating and networking with other people. Social media if fast and cheap, and it pays off if messages are clear, consistent, and engaging.
This is the basic model some companies are implementing to generate most of their business through social media. Successful businesses are strobist.com that relies on online advertising and Creativelive. This last one is an online education platform that relies heavily on social media to spread the word about their courses in photography, video and web design. The best photographers and videographers offer workshops and courses online. Workshops are free if the audience watches them online live because the organizers realized the power of tweets. A local example is Rafael Concepcion (RC) from the Kelby Media Group who sold his last book in a couple of days on Amazon thanks to the retweets on Twitter. RC uses his audience on Twitter (he has about 6,300 followers) to branch out to his other businesses (books and workshops). In addition, Columbia Journalism School has built on social media and has created social media courses and workshops. The dean of student affairs at Columbia University's Graduate School of Journalism, Sree Sreenivasan’s free panels on new media on BlogTalkRadio circulate the name of this institution to a global audience and impact student recruitment.
The power of social media is unreal. Today social media is part of communication and institutions need to integrate new communication tools into their marketing and recruitment strategy along with online media (web presence through promotional videos/news stories on the institution’s website) and traditional media (including newspapers, TV and radio, direct mailing). The goal is to network, interact, collaborate, and attract a global audience, including a technologically sophisticated audience who uses social media. I noticed most institutions, including USF employ social media tools for marketing and recruitment. USF is also present on iTunesU with a lot of free educational podcasts, including the podcast I created, Multimedia Tips , a podcast pn technology and media, USF students and professors, and local photogs who use technology and media effectively in communication.
Unlike the one way communication in traditional media, social media means interactive communication through multiple channels. The key is to keep interacting, collaborating and networking with other people. Social media if fast and cheap, and it pays off if messages are clear, consistent, and engaging.
This is the basic model some companies are implementing to generate most of their business through social media. Successful businesses are strobist.com that relies on online advertising and Creativelive. This last one is an online education platform that relies heavily on social media to spread the word about their courses in photography, video and web design. The best photographers and videographers offer workshops and courses online. Workshops are free if the audience watches them online live because the organizers realized the power of tweets. A local example is Rafael Concepcion (RC) from the Kelby Media Group who sold his last book in a couple of days on Amazon thanks to the retweets on Twitter. RC uses his audience on Twitter (he has about 6,300 followers) to branch out to his other businesses (books and workshops). In addition, Columbia Journalism School has built on social media and has created social media courses and workshops. The dean of student affairs at Columbia University's Graduate School of Journalism, Sree Sreenivasan’s free panels on new media on BlogTalkRadio circulate the name of this institution to a global audience and impact student recruitment.
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
Social Media – 3 Free Tools to Grow Your Business
What: Social Media – 3 Free Tools to Grow Your Business
When: Tuesday March 15th 2011. 6:30pm – 9:00pm
Where: Fireleaf Design Head Office
2410 Northside Dr Clearwater
Clearwater, FL 33761
Founder and Creative Director of Fireleaf Design, Alan Brusky will be presenting the benefits of three popular social media giants and show you how you can use these tools to grow your business.
The schedule for this meeting is quite simple, but the information you gain will be quite in depth. The event is hosted by Dave from LightroomTampaBay.
When: Tuesday March 15th 2011. 6:30pm – 9:00pm
Where: Fireleaf Design Head Office
2410 Northside Dr Clearwater
Clearwater, FL 33761
Founder and Creative Director of Fireleaf Design, Alan Brusky will be presenting the benefits of three popular social media giants and show you how you can use these tools to grow your business.
The schedule for this meeting is quite simple, but the information you gain will be quite in depth. The event is hosted by Dave from LightroomTampaBay.
Sunday, March 13, 2011
Social media revolutionizes education
Brad Stager Coordinator, USF on iTunes U says the Multimedia Tips podcast collection is getting a lot of downloads. The attached graphic is from Apple's main iTunes U site and Multimedia Tips is highlighted as a Noteworthy collection.
I am looking forward to feature photographers, photojournalists, students, and professors who have something to say!
Monday, April 12, 2010
Photo and Video Hosting Sites
I use Flickr not only to publish but to edit and store my photos. Just in case, if my hard drive kicks the bucket. Flickr is more than a photo hosting site, it is a social media platform with all kinds of groups so it is worthwhile to check it out! Flickr offers two types of accounts: free and pro. The free account gives you limited access, you can upload 100 MB of images and 2 videos a month. I have a PRO account that gives me unlimited storage space so I can use it as a backup.Flickr is easy to use, it also has a built in photo editor program, Picnic, and it is the most popular photo sharing site. To see my images on Flickr click here.
Another site is Google Picasa. It does not have the rings and bells that Flickr has, it is easy to use and I recommend it for beginning digital photographers.
Other websites are:
Photobucket
Smugmug
You can read a detail review about these photo sharing sites here.
I use Flickr because it is cleaner, easier to navigate, has the most users, so I can get the most exposure. You can tag your images, join several groups on photography or search by typing in keywords.
Most of these photo storage sites can be linked using an application to your own website and your other social media sites including blogs, Facebook and LinkedIn. Some photographers link their Flickr photostream to their website to drive more traffic and increase their exposure. If you have your own website, try connecting your Twitter, Flickr, my blogs and Facebook to your site and your website will look more active and interactive.
Another site is Google Picasa. It does not have the rings and bells that Flickr has, it is easy to use and I recommend it for beginning digital photographers.
Other websites are:
Photobucket
Smugmug
You can read a detail review about these photo sharing sites here.
I use Flickr because it is cleaner, easier to navigate, has the most users, so I can get the most exposure. You can tag your images, join several groups on photography or search by typing in keywords.
Most of these photo storage sites can be linked using an application to your own website and your other social media sites including blogs, Facebook and LinkedIn. Some photographers link their Flickr photostream to their website to drive more traffic and increase their exposure. If you have your own website, try connecting your Twitter, Flickr, my blogs and Facebook to your site and your website will look more active and interactive.
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