Inconsistency should be my middle name.
That’s right – Lisa “inconsistent” Edwards seems like the obvious choice my parents should have made.
Today facebook reminded me I hadn’t posted on my photography fan page in 5 days.
And Instagram? HA!
Instagram, old buddy, old pal…if Instagram were a real person (a celebrity will probably name their child Instagram some day), he/she would say my middle name should be “doesn’t even exist.”
And snap-chat?
Well…let’s just say I lost my Snapchat password like OVER A YEAR ago, and haven’t bothered to find it.
You’re probably thinking what I’m thinking….How the HELL are you even still in business, lady?
Sigh. I know. I know. I have pondered this question many-a-time while sipping a white wine spritzer over ice from dollar-store wine glasses (because in a land with 3 children under 6, spending more than $1 for a glass that will likely break within 7 days is just stupid…and because I’m cheap when it comes to that kinda thing).
No, I don’t have a rich husband (in fact my business supports my family of 5 for the most part).
No, I’m not getting rich selling antenna balls (but yes, my husband has an online antenna ball busines, ridiculous yet?)
And no, I am not a full-time educator (putting food on the table for my kids relies on booking photography gigs).
You see, I have this “knack for marketing.”
Like, knack for figuring out how to say things that pull at their heartstrings, and makes them want to buy.
I also have a knack for spreadsheets and accounting and
“OH CRAP! I need to make 10k in the next few weeks or I won’t be able to pay my studio mortgage or our health insurance and I will lose everything and what am I doing my life is falling apart! Mini session event here we come!”
And yes, the thoughts in my head are usually that melodramatic (and probably more…if I get a customer complaint? The WORLD IS GOING TO END AND I SUCK AT PHOTOGRAPHY AND AND AND…)
So I realize the only thing that has kept my business afloat is this knack for marketing + financial understanding. But no, this is not an accounting sermon on “knowing thy numbers,” I pinkie promise
Most of what I do is VERY “campaign” oriented.
Yeah, “campaign.” Meaning a short-length marketing series to get business around one specific type of specialized session, for a very specific person, in a very limited amount of time.
That’s a great way to spin “inconsistent” in a positive way, am I right?
And it’s worked very well for me. I am VERY deadline oriented (blame it on being a journalism major and then being the photo editor for my college newspaper).
And it’s the truth. When I want to, I can create business out of seemingly nowhere, and on a very tight deadline.
But as of right now, I’m having a bit of an aha moment about this (said in my very terrible fake British accent).
Because if I’m more consistent in my other marketing, my “background” marketing if you will…will that mean that I will 1.5x, 2x, even 3x my bookings when I have consistent marketing in the background?
Will it be easier to book, and will I book MORE with the same amount of effort if I have the “exposure” to the people I want to get business from?
EXPOSURE?
Wait a minute, you’re thinking…Haven’t you been PREACHING about how exposure is crap, how it gets you $0 in your bank account?
And I get it, hell, I’m the preacher’s daughter (seriously though, my dad is a retired pastor and my Mom’s dad was a pastor, too, and no, I’m not going to talk to you about religion OR politics, or about that guy with the crazy combover or the lady whose husband said “I did not have sexual relations with that woman”).
In short, I still believe exposure is crap when it comes to doing free work (though I beleive free work CAN make you money when you do it the right way), or just aimlessly posting crap that is a lot about nothing and has no goal in mind.
And frankly?
I don’t even KNOW if being consistent on social media will get me more sessions, or just make me spin my wheels aimlessly on the hamster wheel of the life.
The truth is, I have my doubts.
I’ve had a REALLY good past two business days without any “background marketing.”
I booked (and got the session fee for) one session today and two on Friday – which being a low-volume studio is REALLY REALLY good!
And one of those sessions is an adult with adult children session (which if you listened to my last Facebook LIVE is a HUGE untapped market where my two largest sales have come from in the past).
And here’s what I want to find out and report back to you:
Does it matter?
Does being on facebook and Instagram ACTUALLY matter?
And even more importantly, does what I SAY matter, do the images I POST matter?
What time do I get the most engagement?
What about facebook ads vs. Instagram ads vs. just regular posts?
So tomorrow, 9/13 will start my own little photography science experiment.
I’m going to be experimenting daily with facebook and Instagram (both ads and posts) to see what happens.
Will I get more leads?
Will they book me, or will they be price shoppers?
Will “engagement” posts help (aka asking a question)?
Will telling stories get me more likes, comments and shares?
What will happen to my website traffic when I post my link into every image?
Will it help my search rankings on Google?
What about using Facebook LIVE? Will that help?
I’ll be documenting my facebook and Instagram stats, my website traffic, and MOST important? I’ll be documenting my leads and bookings (read MONEY IN, aka, the ONLY thing that even really matters).
And I’ll report back to you every 3-5 days with my biggest insights including what will help you book more and what is a waste of time.
The experiment?
Will run for approximately 14 days.
Are you in?
Pop me an email and let me know if you’re IN, and what you want me to experiment with during this time!
Cheers to testing if Facebook and Instagram REALLY work!
Lisa “gonna be inconsistently consistent for the next 14 days” Edwards.
P.S. I’ve been toying with the idea of creating copy & paste and plug-and-play social media, website and email wording based on my own history of what works best. Would that be something you’d be interested in? Reply in the coments!
P.P.S. Click here to see the “dog-nose-effect” of a wide-angle lens in full use. And listen to me answer some of the toughest photography questions around (and learn the BIG target market I hope to target next). Watch my last facebook LIVE video (PS you’ll want to fast forward to the 2-3 minute mark – AFTER I figured out my sound issues)