How Smart Businesses Use Twitter – Hint, It’s not About How Many Followers you Have!

May 10, 2013 by

listening on twitter - phtoto by: opensourcewayVanity metrics is the phrase used to describe numbers that are impressive but vastly overrated. Take Twitter for example. People and programs, blogs and articles focus on how to gain more followers but few touch on the real value of twitter; listening.

Out of the 1 billion Tweets every week, how valuable would it be to know when someone mentioned your brand, service, product or competitor? Being able to see and respond to these social media blasts puts you in the more powerful position of responding to activity rather than creating content and trying to gain followers as mentioned in the article linked to above.

One well timed tweet in response to a question or mention could be worth a lot more than a month’s worth of aimless tweets just to seem active. And what about geo-targeted listening? Noticing someone tweet about photo booth in general is not half so interesting as hearing someone tweet about renting a photo booth in Denver.

Geo-targeting your listening by choosing keywords within your area of service or largest target market cities can turn you into a ninja twitter! Just imagine tweeting to a friend that you needed a good dentist in New York and getting a tweet within 24 hours from a local dentist near you offering a 20% off coupon if you come in and mention that tweet. Talk about target marketing!

If you are an avid TweetDeck user already, try out this listening strategy from Slideshare. This brief slideshow shows you just how to put twitter, your brand name and your keywords to work for you. Chris Brogan had a neat little how to painted out for you more savvy readers on his blog for listening on Twitter too. Seems simple enough. If you  know how to use an RSS reader than you can do this. If not, well, a tool below might serve you better.

Here are some great links to twitter listening services that email you results daily. If you get hooked, most of these services have an upgrade for around $20 per month to get more listens and alerts for more keywords:

http://socialmention.com/

http://tweetbeep.com/

https://en.mention.net/

 

 

Filed Under: How to, marketing your booth, Social Media, Tips & Tricks, Tools Tagged With: , , , ,

Customize Your Photo Booth Props While Saving Money!

April 29, 2013 by

Photo Booth Props -Photo By fantabandfrugalProps Make the Day

Posing with friends and capturing silly faces makes a photo booth fun for any occasion, but adding props really gets the party going. A cowboy hat or pink feather boa lets guests play around and let loose. It’s a good idea to have a collection of props on hand for your photo booth that lend themselves to different types of parties. But there’s no need to buy every prop out there. Think about what items guests will have the most fun with and plan accordingly when budgeting for props. Here are a few ideas to maximize both your collection of props and the fun your guests will have.

Pick the Best Props for the Occasion

Ask your customers about the party or occasion they’re renting a photo booth for. A birthday party for a 6 year-old boy has a different theme and vibe than an elegant banquet. Categorize the various types of events that your clients have and buy props based on these groups. For instance, guests at a graduation party or a high school prom could both enjoy funny hats, sunglasses, and message boards they can hold up.

Occasions with specific colors or themes, like wedding receptions and baby showers, may go better with props that complement the party details such as flowers or balloons. Stock up on your basic props but think about occasions that can be grouped together and buy a few of these distinctive props. Remember, to ask your customers if they have any preferences for props they want with their photo booth, and see if you can fill their requests with props you already have on hand.

Quick Customizations

What to do if you run out of props or don’t have the ones a customer wants? Instead of rushing to the store and buying more props, try creating your own. Simple and cheap items like foam board and ribbon let you customize hand-made props. Craft and dollar stores offer inexpensive items that can shaped into props fitting all sorts of occasions. Here’s a great video showing you how to save money by quickly and easily creating your own props.

 

 

Filed Under: How to, marketing your booth, Props Tagged With: ,

Spring Wedding Season Top 5 FAQ’s for Photo Booth Owners

April 17, 2013 by

spring wedding season by: Tim BouwerThe warm weather and chirping birds are proof that spring wedding season is upon us. As their special day approaches, your clients will want to confirm that your photo booth business will meet all their needs. Having a wedding in an unpredictable season like Spring can be stressful, but you can easily calm your clients’ fears by preparing confident answers for the questions they will ask. To help you out, we’ve compiled the top 5 most common questions so you can be ready with well-prepared answers.

 

  • How long have you been in business?   This question is the most common when considering any service, so even if you haven’t been an established photo booth business for very long it’s important to answer honestly. In the instance that you’ve only been in the business for a year or less, stay away from specifics. Use phrasing like “We are a fairly new business, but we’ve had excellent feedback and worked many different types of events!”. This is a great time to pull out your portfolio, thus leading us to the next question.

    •  

    • Do you have references?   In short, you need references. Be prepared to have printed testimonials and examples of your work in a digital and printed portfolio to share with your potential clients. This will not only provide them with tangible proof of the product they’ll receive, but reinforce their decision to choose you based on the great feedback from your past customers.

     

    • What kind of equipment do you use?   For AAAPhotoBooth owners this question will be an easy one to answer with confidence. You can assure your clients that your photo booth business uses the most cutting edge software and equipment. There is no need to overwhelm them with details. Knowing the brand name and model of your equipment will be enough for most clients.

     

    • What will the booth look like:  This question is bride code for “Will it be an eyesore?”, so be ready to show the client pictures of the booth looking its best and most unobtrusive. Let your clients know the dimensions of the booth and what it requires to function (outlets, a sheltered area, etc.). If applicable let the client know you can be flexible with their theme, blending the photo booth into their decor or color scheme. For AAAPhotoBooth client’s that service mostly weddings, the booths now come in white!

     

    • How long does it take to set up? Can you set up early?  Weddings run on a tight time schedule. Making sure your clients know you can set up quickly and work with their timeline is key to maintaining their business. When the issue of time comes up, be sure to learn your client’s expectations so you will both be on the same page when the day of the event arrives.

     

    The key to keeping your photo booth business on top is preparation. If you can answer all of these questions professionally and back up your answers with visual proof then your client will feel confident they are working with the best in the business.

     

Filed Under: marketing your booth, Photo Booth Business, Tips & Tricks Tagged With: , , ,

Six Quick Tips To Getting Started in the Photo Booth Business

March 5, 2013 by

Photo Booth Business | Photo By:Sal FalkoAn increasingly popular feature at wedding receptions, company parties, class reunions and birthday celebrations, photo booths are a growing sector in the event planning industry. These steps will help provide a template for getting starting in this surging novelty market:

 

1. Put together a business plan: Determine who will operate the photo booth business (you? you and a partner?), and write out why that person is the right person for the job. Ask what problem the business hopes to solve, how it will solve it, and who it will serve. Think about the capital and resource requirements need to get the business going, and look for the funding necessary to meet them.

 

2. Take a look around at the market: Will this be the first photo booth business in the area, or are there dozens of professional photographers offering a similar service? Gauge each potential competitor, and look for ways the new photo booth business can stand out in the crowd. Photo booths range widely in price depending on their features; be sure to know what the competitors have in their arsenal before putting down money on a booth.

 

3. Make the initial purchases: Choose a photo booth that fits the business plan, and take the leap. Additional start-up costs could include marketing materials, camera equipment, photo booth props, business cards, or liability insurance.

 

4. Get a marketing plan together: Establish a brand that works well for the target audience, and stick with it. Choose logos, make a basic website, setup email accounts, and start social media accounts before the business goes live. Start cultivating content on all those channels so potential customers will have something to base their decision on.

 

5. Know how the payment will work: Set up all bank accounts, payment methods and pricing structures needed for the first year of business. Customers will want to see that payment is going to a credible source, and business owners will want to avoid last-minute questions when it comes to money.

 

6. Put together a portfolio: Especially in markets that are already home to a photo booth business, new owners will need to demonstrate their work and have examples of their services. Considering offering up a free or heavily discounted photo booth rental to a friend’s wedding, community organization’s party, or local high school’s reunion. Gathering examples of the fun, high-quality shots this new photo booth business produces will be key to building a customer base.

Filed Under: How to, Photo Booth Business, Tips & Tricks Tagged With: , ,

Building Pricing Packages to Grow Your Photo Booth Business

January 31, 2013 by

Grow Your Photo Booth Business - Photo Credit: Eric Dickman

 1. Set a baseline: Determine the shortest event timeline you’re willing to work, and offer it with a single set of photos for each session. Depending on the style of photo booth and the set up, the final product could be digital images available for download from your company’s website, or small, printed photos that are available immediately at the event. Set a minimum event time (2 hours is a good starting point), and bill a set amount Always include necessities, such as booth attendants or setup/take-down time.

Here’s a sample:

  • 2 hours of photos
  • Free photo strips for every customer
  • Photos will be available for download at our website after the event
  • 1 photo booth attendant
  • Setup and breakdown not included in 2 hours of service

 

2. Set a top tier: Roll out all the standard options for the most inclusive, most expensive package you plan to offer. Gear this package toward your target audience — if wedding receptions are the focus of your client base, then design this top package for a long wedding reception. Include every step of every applicable package you offer elsewhere, as well as final extras and a longer service time.

Here’s a sample:

  • 4 hours of photos
  • Free photo strips for every customer
  • Customized photo strips for the event
  • Customized photo album printed after the event
  • CD of all photos
  • Photos will be available for download after the event
  • 2 photo booth attendants
  • Setup and breakdown not included in 4 hours of service

 

3. Fill in with additional options: Variations in the length of the event, the final photo options offered, the number of attendants available, and additional services should occupy the middle pricing tier. Base the pricing for these tiers by the number of hours worked.

 

4. Keep specialty items a-la-carte: For event-specific requests — such as photo strips that match a wedding’s color scheme, a printed banner of the newlywed couple’s photo booth portraits, etc. — offer a menu of a la carte pricing options that can be added to any package. Many companies also offer the extra pieces of higher-end packages as individually priced options. This allows customers who opt for a shorter rental, but want the added items such as a photo CD, to get the package they’re looking for.

Filed Under: How to, marketing your booth, Tips & Tricks Tagged With: ,

Website Creation 101 For Your Photo Booth Business

January 26, 2013 by

Photo Booth Business Websites 101 - Photo by:Sean MacEntee

A functional, user-friendly, e-commerce-equipped website is a key customer service piece for any photo booth business. Potential customers turn to business websites to learn about pricing, packages, availability, and contact information. They’ll want to see a portfolio of your company’s photo work, and follow links to your social media presences.

Event vendors will want to know how your business operates, a little bit about the owners, and the best way to get in touch if they’d like to collaborate on an event. For either group, the information sought should be easy to find and presented in a clean, professional, aesthetically pleasing way.

To stand out from the difficult-to-navigate, cluttered websites of industry competitors, contract with a professional web designer to build the site, and focus on the following areas:

 1      Navigation: The front page of the site should showcase your business aesthetic (a sample of your work, a clean graphic, and contact information). It should include a navigation bar, with drop-down menu options, that directs visitors to additional information.

2      Important information: Make the things potential clients want to know the focus of the site. Pricing options should be listed — some prefer to create a menu titled, “investment”; the word “pricing” also works just fine. Include a page with photo samples. Include a contact form for new and old customers to submit questions or comments.

3      Fresh content: Further down the navigation menu, consider including pages for updated photos, and blog posts. These items will keep customers coming back to the site, and offer shareable content for social media.

4      A simple design: Let the web designer take the lead here. Web pages work in boxes filled with words and pictures — follow that principle, and your website will be clean, accessible and visually appealing.

5      Remember mobile: Resist the urge to overload the front page with videos, pictures, and flash elements. These items take too long to load on a PC or laptop, and frequently don’t translate to mobile platforms.

6      Proofread everything: Carefully read every word of the business website before it goes live, from the front page description to the confirmations created by the “contact us” form. A single typo can damage credibility with potential clients. Apply the same editor’s eye to all blog posts and social media posts.

7      A good website doesn’t need flashy add-ons: Skip the background soundtrack, auto-play videos, and animations. These elements increase load time, might not work on mobile platforms, and can be annoyances to potential customers.

8      Opt in forms: You must have a way to collect email addresses to build your lists. Whether you build it through subscribers to your blog or give away some great tips or information in the form of a white paper, infographic or ebook.

 

A website’s design, the company’s logos, and the photo business’s portfolio should convey your photo booth venture’s brand identity to clients.

Filed Under: How to, Website Tips Tagged With: , , ,

10 Photo Booth Props for Every Occasion

December 30, 2012 by Leave a Comment

Photo booth props add levity and a sense of fun to each shot taken in your photo booth. While the type and manner of the prop will vary by occasion—cartoon glasses might be a harder sell at a banquet dinner than at a jovial wedding reception—a steady cast of stand-by items will provide a base to build on for each event.

 

1. A small chalkboard and chalk – Guests can write messages about themselves or the event hosts, or phrases they’d like included in the photo.

2. Feather boas in various colors – Easy to pack and appropriate for kitsch or put-on class, a feather boa plays well at a young wedding or a 50-year reunion.

3. Flowers – From formal to fun, a small offering of fresh (or reasonably realistic artificial) flowers gives guests something to do with their hands while posing, and adds color to the shot.

4. Balloons – Whether they’re scattered at the base of a photo or filled with helium and held, a handful of inflated balloons are a low-cost, easily replaced item to keep in your kit.

5. Empty frames – Large enough to frame the face and small enough to avoid comedy, a set of empty frames add a level of depth and perspective to the overall shot.

6. Brightly colored pinwheels – Offering contrast to a solid backdrop and the ability to create a bright palette in a single group shot, a set of paper pinwheels in bold colors can be independently made or inexpensively bought for each event.

7. A quote bubble – Shaped from a chalkboard or paper, a handful of quote bubbles can add a nice message to the event host, or a playful phrase to the photo. Create one out of dry erase-board paper or paint to make it reusable.

8. Bowties in various colors – In prints that aren’t too flashy or glittery, easy-to-apply bow ties are useful at any event. Attach paper copies to the end of a wooden dowel, or offer clip-on cloth versions.

9. Sunglasses – Keep a small set of black, plastic sunglasses on hand for use at daytime or evening events. They add a small amount of humor to a formal event photo without going over the top, or play into a broader, sillier photo scheme in a more festive setting.

10. A fake moustache on a stick – Someone will use it, no matter the occasion. Same goes for a pair of bright red lips.

Filed Under: marketing your booth, Props, Tips & Tricks Tagged With: , , ,

Joining Your Local Chamber of Commerce as a Photo Booth Business

December 22, 2012 by Leave a Comment

The Ups and Downs of Joining Your Chamber Of Commerce

Photo Credit: Sussman Imaging

 

The Chamber of commerce provides a multitude of tools and platforms to benefit business members. Rates often vary by the level of membership and benefits offered, and the weight of a “Chamber Member” designation varies widely by community.

The responsibility of effectively using and taking advantage of those tools and platforms falls to the owner. Business owners get out of an association membership what they put in. Read up on the benefits offered—these may include networking opportunities, directory listings, or expo events—and think about how they could work for your business.

Look into the reach of the association — is it focused on business-to-business interaction, is it directed more toward consumers, or is there an equal balance?

Consider the ups and downs of a membership before joining:

Up: Directory listings – Take advantage of the association’s connections with business directories. A chamber of commerce might maintain its own online directory, submit business information to outside directories, or both. Submitting detailed service descriptions for the chamber to use in those listings will increase exposure.

Down: Outdated directory listings – A listing with an outdated phone number, email address or ratings listing won’t do much good. Be sure to know who is responsible for keeping listing information current.

Up: Connections to local businesses – Through networking events, member spotlights, and full association meetings, a chamber offers in-person connections to other local business owners. Among the potential related benefits for the photo booth business is an amped-up referral network. 

Down: Connections take time – To take full advantage of the connections offered, it’s crucial for the business owner to attend networking events and annual meetings. Volunteering for ad-hoc committees and special events offers additional opportunities to build up your Rolodex. If you’re a sole proprietor or small business owner, those commitments can be difficult to work into your schedule.

Up: Advocacy and support – Depending on the size of the community and nature of the association, your local chamber might be involved in numerous business advocacy and economic development efforts.

Down: Potential conflict related to advocacy – Business advocacy and economic development fit the chamber’s goals and purpose, but the positions the association takes might not always agree with your customers. Understand your local chamber’s leanings and how your main customer base might view them.

 

 

Filed Under: Business Associations, Tips & Tricks Tagged With: , ,

WordPress Plugins to Manage Event Bookings For Your Photo Booth Business

November 30, 2012 by Leave a Comment

For those who use the WordPress CMS to maintain their online presence, there are dozens of plugins that offer the ability to schedule and manage  reservations. Sitting on Photo Credit: Joe Lanmanthe  left-hand dashboard at the back-end of your WordPress site, these plugins feature devices to help navigate a busy client load:

 Bookings: With this tool, website administrators have the ability to map out “resources,” typically in the form of rooms — for a photo booth owner, that might be a single booth, or a single operation — and make a public schedule listing those resources.

 Plus side: Additional features include the ability to block out unavailable dates or set time limits on reservations.

 Drawbacks: Most useful features reside on the back-end of the site; the pieces of the plugin clients will see have a somewhat austere look. The free version caps at a single schedule with 25 bookings each month; a licensing fee gives access to unlimited schedules and reservations.

 

Booking Calendar: Clients enter information into a fairly basic front-end calendar, while administrators have access to a number of scheduling tools on the back-end.

Plus side: A colorful interface, user-friendly actions panel and auto-filled reservations list are on the positive side for this reservations calendar keeper. Details about each reservation, including name and contact information for each client, fall into an easy-to-understand main listing, displayed after a few clicks through the WordPress dashboard.

Drawbacks: The interface clients see on the front of the website leaves a good bit to be desired from the photo booth perspective, and is mostly fixed to date, time, location and contact information. Specific packages or personalities will be difficult to convey.

 

BookingBug: Offering a broad spectrum of services and customization options, BookingBug is a reservations widget that can be plugged into a WordPress site, and shared, customized and optimized from there. The basics, the bare bones of the widget interface and the ability to take appointments, come free with the download. Snazzier features come with a monthly service fee.

Plus side: BookingBug is more business management tool than reservations tool. Depending on the package, it can take payments, be edited to fit a site’s themes and colors, and include separate reservations pages for each resource.

Drawbacks: Of the most popular WordPress bookings plugins, BookingBug is on the upper end of the pricing scale. Pricing kicks in after two weeks, and a BookingBug.com account is required.

Filed Under: Tips & Tricks, Website Tips, WordPress Plugin Reviews Tagged With: , , , , ,

After Buying a Photo Booth, How Do You Find Your Target Audience?

November 24, 2012 by Leave a Comment

Photo Credit: Tara HuntWhen developing a marketing strategy for your new photo booth business, the first step is to identify the audience. Who sees your brilliant, shiny advertising? Who is your target customer?

 Before reading further, there are a few ground rules to keep in mind:

 1. The target audience is not the state, region or city where your company is based. No matter how small a geographical area the business operates in, crafting a marketing plan that appeals to every person who lives in that area is next to impossible and a complete waste of your time and energy.

 2. The target audience is not defined by a single characteristic: Maybe the operation will appeal to the men in the area, even specifically the men between 25 and 40 years old? Sorry, still too general! Men between 25 and 40 years old who are married and in a middle income bracket? Getting there, but a little too broad still. It helps to imagine their social life, family life and likely habits and behaviors as they go about a typical day.

 3. The target audience is not the end-all, be-all of who might be included in your customer base, but it will inform your marketing moves. Businesses often market to multiple target audiences, but to do this they engineer their marketing material and service to each group they reach out to.

 Let’s get specific. If the business is established with a strong customer base, answers can come from surveying those existing customers. If the business is newer, make yourself an imaginary target audience profile:

 

  • Basic information: Age, gender, income level, education, and marital status make a good starting point. A young person at a lower income level is going to see a lower-priced, kitschy photo booth differently than an older person of better means.
  • Lifestyle: Where does your imaginary target audience example get thier information? Does he/she ask friends for recommendations, or does he/she prefer to make a decision and go with it? Does this person have children? What do they like to do? What is a typical daily routine?
  • Values: What is important to your now almost-fully-developed image of a target audience member? What types of experiences are most important to him or her?

 Go into as much detail as you can imagine about the target’s lifestyle. Job type, home location, and media habits are factors to consider. With a fully realized image of one person who represents the business’s target consumer, it will be easier to direct marketing strategies effectively.

 Each marketing decision should go back to that prototype target audience. Because if the plan wouldn’t appeal to a person whose imaginary sole purpose to exist is to consume your product, who is it going to appeal to?

Filed Under: marketing your booth, Tips & Tricks Tagged With: , , , , ,
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