I’ve followed Adam’s blog for the last year or two and am constantly impressed by his perspectives. He’s put together a smart presentation here. If you’re even thinking about online marketing or social media you need to check it out.
He’s a super talented Canadian photographer who I’ve know for a few years now. I’ve always admired his craft but was totally impressed when a message about ‘Foto Friday’ landed in my inbox a while back.
Ian decided to host Facebook Foto Friday. He would essentially be giving away a photo to anyone that turned up at his studio on the given date.
The catch?
The photo had to be used on all social networks.
Genius!
Of course I turned up with my husband and – obviously – I asked Ian to write about the whole thing. Why? Because Ian runs one of the first Winnipeg businesses I’ve seen using social media to effectively market his business. More than that. Ian absolutely embraced and understood the value in doing this. Golden rule of marketing: give before you take.
For years before any of this social media stuff – before the internet even – I’ve enjoyed gifting my work, usually to clients.
Clients who have kids get free baby portraits, for example. Or if clients wanted to enter their own design work in competitions, I’d shoot it for them. With the move to digital, it’s been even easier to gift my work.
Since Facebook, it’s been great to watch people respond to my work.
Whenever a portrait I’ve done is used on profile shots, people ask “who did this?” Clients who stand in for me while I set up the lighting, before the impatient CEO arrives, ask for the shot to be sent to them only for it to appear the next day as their profile shot!
Meanwhile a good portion of my 700+ friends on Facebook continue to use the worst photos imaginable as their profile shots.
Rather than waste time on creating a “fan” page for my work, I wanted to find a way for people to value my friendship on Facebook. Some of those friends were mere connections I had yet to meet face to face.
What better way than to give them amazing looking profile shots?
So an invite to the first “Facebook Foto Friday” event was sent. This is what I wrote:
My first ever Facebook Foto Friday
What is it? It’s a opportunity for you to get a new Facebook profile photo. For Free. It’s only open to my Facebook friends as of now.
Why? I dunno, thought it would be a fun opportunity to meet with some friends, and ensure everyone looks good on Facebook.
Whats the catch? Simple stuff, really:
- Only use the image for profiles on social networks, Facebook, Twitter,Flickr, etc.
- Please don’t crop out my logo, and a credit would be nice.
How’s it gonna go down? Drop by the studio between the times listed. Feel free to bring a few different changes of clothing or props. Please no guests, animals, children,etc. Keep it simple! We’ll take a few snaps, and one image will be selected and sent to you big enough to use as your profile image.
What if I want more than one? Hmmm, well we’ll have to talk about that if that’s the case.
What if I can’t make it? Don’t worry, I might do this again, if it turns out to be fun!
I have no idea why, but I cringed when I sent the invite. I felt nervous and scared to do this.
To give away what you do, the basis of your business for free, in any form is a scary thing. This was new territory for me and I had no clue what would happen.
Would all 700 friends show up? Would no one show up?
Fortunately right away my fears were dashed with the overwhelming response.
People seemed impressed that I felt strongly about their profile images that I would do it for free. Even people who weren’t able to make it still expressed their gratitude. The power in the gift doesn’t even rely on anyone taking you up on the offer. Over the next few weeks I reminded people with my status updates of the event. People who weren’t my friends on Facebook, but were on Twitter were asking if they could come anyway.
The day of the event, we had approximately 40 people show up.
It became not only a photo shoot but a networking event. Rather than mingle in the waiting area as I intended, everyone hung out in the studio to encourage each other, egg each on, and enjoy the antics.
Some people brought props, some sat for a photo when they hadn’t planned on it, some just hung out and chatted. Jamie and Lisanne of BlinkWorks shot a behind the scenes video which in turn, had people interested in their business.
For me the real pay off was watching the reactions and all over Facebook as everyone changed their profile pictures. For the last few days, the comments have been constant, the new friends adds about three to four a day, and the amount of goodwill generated is priceless. I will probably do another one down the road, Twitter Tuesday anyone?
Ian McCausland is a commercial photographer in Winnipeg Manitoba. He’s embraced the social aspect of the internet since 1992, before the web! (Check his URL. This man bought up the ian.ca domain before folks even knew what domains were). Find Ian on Facebook or follow him on Twitter.
There’s no piece of paper that says you’re a marketer.
Well, a Bachelor of Commerce, but let’s not be so literal.
We come from all kinds of backgrounds. Some come up through the creative side, writing or designing ads. Some are business school grads.
Because of this diversity and lack of oversight, you also get your layer of pretenders without much practical experience.
Social media marketing and the self-branding smokescreen of virtual life are bringing such self-styled gurus out of the woodwork, with thousands of “social experts” clamouring for attention.
This is really annoying to some people, though I think personal hubris is a quality of stars and that people with real ideas deserve a chance, however “proletarian” their roots. And anyway, the lack of official permission makes for an exciting Wild West meritocracy, in all stripes of marketing.
Though there are no hard and fast qualifications to be a marketer, there are many knowledge and skill sets that are darn useful when it comes to social media marketing.
Let’s take a look at the qualities that shine in the online persuasion space. All definitions from Dictionary.com.
Marketing (mar’ki-ting)
The act or process of buying and selling in a market.
Well that’s pretty interesting right there. Selling is a component of marketing, but so is buying. Marketers are consumers too. Put your customer hat on and see how your social media efforts look.
Communication (kuh-myoo-ni-key-shuhn)
The imparting or interchange of thoughts, opinions, or information by speech, writing, or signs.
Hey, there’s a pretty broad spectrum there. Are you a great talker with a big smile? Make a video! Is visual language your thing? Design it without words. Use your strengths to convey your message.
Strategic thinking (struh-tee-jik thing-king)
A plan, method, or series of maneuvers or stratagems for obtaining a specific goal or result.
Believe it or not, goals were not big in early social media. Everyone just set out to make friends without setting up metrics. How do you know you’re there if you don’t know where you’re going?
Psychology (sahy-kol-uh-jee)
The science of human behaviour.
Social media is about interacting with … people! People have a host of very easy to recognize (and manipulate, not that marketers ever do that) motivations. Know when to stroke egos, suggest inclusion, and foster tribalism.
Sociology (soh-see-ol-uh-jee)
The science of the fundamental laws of social relations.
Gee, what could be more useful to a community builder? Understand the interaction of content producers, joiners, lurkers, the people who comment and the people who brandvocate for you. Give them what they need to do what they want to do.
It comes down to understanding people.
Marketers are people who venture into the market – and let that conjure up a big ole’ funky flea market, rife with vintage delights, quirky gems and stuff you’ve never seen before, all fitting together in unexpected ways – and fulfill people’s needs.
If you’re useful, friendy, and facilitate people’s goals in the online space, hey … you’re a social media marketer!
We’ve put together a highlights video showing the best bits from the sessions.
I cover a bunch of things beginning with my definition of social media. I talk about the importance of genuine communication online and why you would even bother to spend so much time working on all these social networking sites.
I'm Liz Hover - a Brit gal in Canada; and the digital media manager for Canada's National Screen Institute. This is my personal blog. I write about the social web ... and I might occasionally mention my dog. [Read more ...]
