Gaining followers/likes/customers?

[Rseider]

Hello,

I have struggled for years with trying to get a decent amount of people to like my photography Facebook page for example. I've been thinking about creating an Instagram too. I am looking for some tips on how to get people to follow/like my social media accounts. I am resuming freelance work and would really like to get my name out there. I've created a Shootproof and eventually I want to buy domain and be able to keep the membership via photography gigs. On Facebook, I only have 164 likes and most of them are all people I know or have known. They probably are not people that are going to hire me, but who knows?

I have tried running contests throughout the years. I have one going right now. It's just to win an 8x10 print of mine. Problem is: very few people are liking or sharing the post. I know I can't control people, but maybe I'm not making it enticing enough or something? They could pick any print they want from my website. So I'm not sure how to get them engaged? I know they like my work because I get comments and all that I do a good job and I've had people hire me before, so what gives?

Just a tad frustrated I suppose. Any advice?

Thanks!

 

[Derrel]

Do some online research. There are literally thousands of articles about how to market, and how to gain followers on social media. One of the most important things on Instagram is posting regularly, and using the right hashtags

 

[Soocom1]

The kicker is that it has to appeal to them.
THAT you CANNOT force!

So your shtick has to reflect something that will grab a particular crowd and get them to desire what you offer.

Sorta like selling kumquats on the street of Nanjing.

 

[tirediron]

From a dollars-in-the-pocket perspective, I wouldn't worry a whit about how many likes, dislikes, or whatever else you have on social media. That has almost zero throughput into business. To the best of my knowledge, maybe a half-dozen AT MOST of my social-media followers are or have been clients.

 

[GeraldEdward]

likes are only good for your ego, they dont bring in money.

heck I found fan pages to be useless after they changed the way things work so I dropped mine all together.

but if you really want likes, you can challenge your clients to achieve 100 or 200 or what have you likes on an image after a sales session, if they can achieve that many likes before the portraits are ready you can offer then a bonus 8x10 of that image. Only share that image on your fan page and dont give them any social resolution files until delivery, and it should be fairly easy for them to get 100 or what ever likes on that image that you shared on your fan page. and after you can invite every like to like your page as well. its a fairly cheap way to get a ton of likes for $2.40

I would go ahead and print the 8x10 to include it in the delivery anyways, so you dont have to schedule a 2nd portrait pickup.

 

[PDP]

I feel your pain, but I wouldn't worry too much about social medial 'likes'.
Work out who your customer base is, and find a way of putting your images in front of those people.

 

[snowbear]

I feel your pain, but I wouldn't worry too much about social medial 'likes'.
Work out who your customer base is, and find a way of putting your images in front of those people.

Just a reminder to everyone to look closely at the original dates on question-type threads so we can reduce the number of Zombies.

Locking it.