Sometimes, a lull in business can be provide you with the golden opportunity to research your ideal clients and prepare a marketing plan. Think of this slowdown as the breath you take before setting your business up for its next stage of growth. The following tactics can be incorporated into your marketing plan to promote your business, bolster your reputation, and help you reach a larger audience. This takes time, but with PPA's resources and community of supportive professionals, it's completely doable. 

Improve Your Website and SEO

Ninety-seven percent of consumers search online for local businesses, and seventy eight percent of location-based mobile searches result in an offline purchase. To be discovered by more potential clients, you need to optimize your website for local SEO.

New parents will likely compare a few photographers online before getting in touch. Your website is your online storefront, so make sure it projects a professional image and showcases your best work.

Keep in mind that site-loading time can impact your SEO. Visitors may click away if they have to wait more than a few seconds. If you have many images on your site, make sure they’re optimized, so the load time doesn’t affect the user experience. Make sure your images’ sizes are small enough to load quickly, without being so small that their quality is distorted. 

Manage Your Online Reputation

New parents look for recommendations on everything baby-related. Likewise, more and more consumers trust online reviews as much as they trust personal references. Online reviews can help you build instant trust and credibility to attract more new clients.  

To boost your reputation with online reviews, claim your business listings, and complete the profile information on third-party review sites such as Yelp, Facebook, and Google. You can also list your services on professional directories such as PPA’s Find a Photographer website. This is a great way to get eyes on your website. More than 13,000 consumers view the Find a Photographer website monthly. Highlight your specialities, add a profile and gallery and you'll be well on your way to more clients. 

Upload images of your work and ask your past clients to write reviews for you. Monitor your online profiles regularly and respond to feedback and questions in a timely manner. Remember, customers tend to choose providers that are responsive to their inquiries. 

Get Referrals From Health and Wellness Professionals

Many new moms have a team to support their health and wellbeing. From healthcare providers and doulas to personal trainers and nutritionists, these professionals are trusted by new parents.

Collaborate with these businesses to offer their clients or patients a special package on newborn photography. Some photographers build relationships with maternity wards in local hospitals so they can help new parents capture the precious first hours of a newborn’s life.

Create a list of potential partners and design an outreach strategy so you can systematically contact and follow up with these strategic alliances.

Final Thoughts

Having a well-designed marketing plan and implementing a consistent outreach strategy can help you reach a larger audience, stay top-of-mind, and promote your newborn/baby photography business.

Check out PPA’s wide range of educational materials for photographers and consumer research reports to promote your photography business more effectively. Reading PPA's consumer research is an excellent way to reflect on your own business strategies while digesting un-biased facts that will get the wheels turning. And of course, there's always theLoop, a great place to ask your unfiltered questions and get answers within a supportive community of PPA photographers.