BB is my new weekly series on business and marketing, which stands for BETTER BUSINESS. I've decided that while I'm striving to make Twelve 50 Photography the best brand it can be, I want to pass on any knowledge or tools to other photographers who are looking to the same. Now, I am not an expert on any of this, but I am a journalist so I've made sure to do all of my homework and then some. I hope the BB series will help you whether you're a budding photographer or a veteran who's looking for new and exciting ways to attract your customers.
Branding (dun. dun. dun.)
Why start with branding? Well this is where I am right now and I think this is probably the best place to start since those other two years I was in business, I was barely running a business at all and I've noticed that a lot of us get stuck there. Also, so many photographers I've spoken to lately are struggling most with identifying who they are as a business. It was a sign of sorts.
So, before we even talk about RE-branding, let's talk about what branding actually is.
Many businesses mistakenly believe that your logo is your brand or that your slogan is your brand or that your colors are your brand. While those things are a PART of your brand, your brand is everything you do, say or show concerning your business. Your brand is the total package. From packaging to the way you answer the phone. When you think about it that way, it's no wonder that some businesses do really well and others struggle to get their feet off the ground.
The brands we love are consistent in every aspect from their marketing and promotion to the bags they use to place their products in. These companies understand that everything you do is a part of your brand and it all matters.I think about the stores I love to go into. Not only are they aesthetically pleasing, but the small things like packaging or their price tags match what their brand is about.
What usually happens with us photographers is we wait until we've shot our first 6 sessions and then we think about what kind of bag we'll deliver the photos in or what company we want to print albums. Unfortunately, this sets us up for major disappointment and frustration. But, I'll come back to this.
Why I'm re-branding
The reason I chose to re-brand Twelve 50 is simply because I wasn't happy with the way things were going. I was shooting babies, kids, families, weddings, birthday parties...EVERYTHING. Yet, what I wanted to do was provide fashion-styled shoots for engaged couples, weddings and high school seniors. I knew this early on. Yet, my brand wasn't speaking to them. My brand was attracting families who just needed images of their kids because they hadn't taken any in years or brides who just wanted the traditional photos to share on Facebook. There is nothing wrong with that, but this wasn't my ideal customer.
So, after a few tears and a lot of frustration I decided I would just stop shooting photography professionally. At that point, it seemed like the easiest thing to do. And nobody tried to stop me really. Everyone I told was like "awwww", because unfortunately it's so common to see people start a project and never really see it through. So, they didn't really push me to keep going or to look for solutions.
Luckily, I had fellow photographer and Howardite (Vincent Hunter) reach out to me and remind me that my work was necessary. So, I snapped out of my funk and decided I would just take ONE MONTH off from photography.
During that one month break, I read and researched and read some more about everything related to branding and re-branding a business. I learned about marketing and financial planning for a business and let me tell you there are TONS of FREE resources out there so much of what I found I didn't have to pay a cent for it.
Once I had all the information, I put it to action. Here's what I did:
1. I stopped complaining about not attracting the right customers or not getting to shoot the sessions I wanted and owned up to my failure to take the time to learn how to run a business. YAY ME!
2. I evaluated what I liked and didn't like about my business.
3. I thought of 7 words that described my brand and that I wanted people to think about when they saw my images.
4. I decided on what brand colors spoke to me and represented what I wanted Twelve 50 to be.
5. I decided whether I wanted to keep or trash my logo.
6. I wrote a description of my ideal customer.
7. I created a detailed monthly budget for my business and projected my yearly earnings.
8. I created a marketing and promotion schedule.
9. I cried. I was happy, don't judge me. :-)
10. I got to WORK!
Check back next week to see how I did each of these things and how my actions are already yielding results.
Feel free to email me with your questions to Twelve50Photo@gmail.com and check out my website at www.Twelve50Photography.com.
Have an absolutely amazing week!
LATER LOVELIES!
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