Social Media and Photography

Dave DiCelloDave DiCello Photography

It’s about more than photography…it’s a partnership

with it.

• Online presence–Facebook, twitter, instagram,

website• Rules of engagement• Communication• Understanding your audience• Increasing interactions• Finding your niche

Online presence

• Facebook – where it all started for me–Started sharing links from flickr under my first business name, HDR Exposed Photography

• Sporadic posts• Not overly descriptive• Similar images, repetitive posts

Facebook

• Began including a description in my work–Time, place, etc. – tried to make a

connection• Explored other areas of the city–Needed to make myself stand out

• Connected with OneBurgh– Large audience with an interest in

Pittsburgh images• Started interacting with audience

Facebook – Rules of engagement

• First and foremost – produce interesting work

• Be consistent– I post 3-5 times a day

• Don’t be pushy– No one likes to feel like they are being

sold something

• Share other people’s work• Show your audience a personal side

(sometimes)

Twitter

• My favorite form of social media (once I started sharing images)– In the past I merely linked from FB

business page

• Easy to interact with all of your followers–No throttling like Facebook

• Easier to go “viral”• More forgiving of a form of social

media

Twitter – rules of engagement

• Stay topical– I even try to stay true to time of day

with my posts• Consistency, consistency, consistency• Don’t force your images on others via

tagging or mentioning• Interact with those who interact with you• Understand your audience–Don’t be afraid to find your niche, and

then deviate from it

Instagram – an underrated arena

• Appeals to a younger crowd– Use that dynamic to attract wedding

clients

• I spend little time there– Plenty of great communities (like Steel

City Grammers)

• Ease of use makes sharing images a breeze

• Drawback – difficult to convert your audience to your website

Website – sometimes forgotten

• Used to rely heavily on my website–Daily blog posts, photo essays

• For me, it makes more sense to spend time on FB/twitter– Easier to attract clients, much wider

reach

• Still maintain my website with special edition posts (fog, lightning, weddings) for SEO purposes

Increasing interactions

• Charities– Love giving back to the community, be

it through print or time donations–Have assisted in and ran my own

fundraisers as well

• Contests–On both Facebook and twitter, helps to

engage your followers

• Discounts/Coupons– Be selective as it can devalue your

work

Wrapping up

• Each platform has its pros and cons• Unique and quality work along with

consistency across all platforms is paramount for social media success

• Understand who your audience is and how to interact with them

• It’s called social media for a reason…be social!

Any questions?