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: , , , ,

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: , ,

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.

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Photo Booth Tips: Take Advantage of the Summertime

August 1, 2012 by Leave a Comment

Summertime Marketing

As we roll into the dog days of summer, we’re also entering the prime of event season. Don’t miss out! These next few months are a premier opportunity for you to grow your photo booth business and see some great profits in the process. Whether you’re an established brand in your community or just getting started, the summertime is the right time to hit the ground running with your business and market your photo booth with the best of them.

It’s Event Season – Cash in While it Lasts

What goes on in the summer? Everything! From block parties to outdoor festivals to backyard barbeques to wedding parties, these three months are a crucial span for anyone in the entertainment business. There are more and more potential clients out there every day waiting to be found. It’s your job to hit the pavement and market your photo booth so they can find you and give you their business. Think about it: there are no shortages of events in the summer that are looking for a photo booth. There are dozens of weddings every weekend, and more outdoor fairs and festivals than you can shake a stick at. The sky’s the limit for your business during the muggy summer months. Take advantage.

Summertime Events

Here’s the easy part about photo booth marketing: a lot of event organizers are already looking for an affordable and reasonable option. But a crucial step to take, and one that can cut out a lot of legwork on your part, is to approach local organizations and groups. Talk to fair organizers in your town, or present your ideas to local city officials. Obtaining permission is a huge step toward getting your photo booth placed prominently in many local events.

Hand out your flyers at similar public or municipal events, or promote your product in conjunction with other local businesses. If you’re just starting out, consider putting on a public demonstration of your booth. It’s the summer—people are outside, loose and having fun. If you park your booth in a busy park, people will be curious and stop by. If even a few of these people take your flyer or your card, you’re on your way to building your business.

Stand Out From the Crowd

Another way to set yourself apart from the competition is to offer your customers extras along with the booth rental. For instance, have you thought about purchasing an accompanying tent for your booth? Those kinds of purchases will cost you a little up front but ultimately make their money back and then some by swaying customers to purchase your product. Photo booth marketing, in the summer or any season, is about setting yourself apart from the competition. So think: what do people want in the summertime for their events? Well, most events are going to be outside and with the outdoors you have to factor in the heat and the elements. That’s where the tent comes in. It is little touches like that, simple and small, that can set your business apart. There will be dozens of events happening every weekend this summer, guaranteed, and every one of them is a business opportunity for you and your photo booth.

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Marketing Tip: How to Build a Foundation of Clients

July 24, 2012 by Leave a Comment

A Solid Client Base

The hardest part of starting any company is to not know where the next paycheck is coming from. It can be a little scary but it’s also the best part of being your own boss. You can take on as much or as little business as you can handle. One of the biggest first steps of any young start-up is building a steady client base. Your number of customers may jump up and down depending on the year, economy and season. If you can work off of a steady foundation of clients though, you’re in good shape. Here are a few simple steps for how you can build a network of trustworthy and repeat clients for your photo booth business.

Look to Local Businesses

There are a couple things you should look for in building up your client base: do your prospective customers have a need for your product, and if so, are they likely to repeatedly use it? Thankfully, if you own a photo booth, the answer to both questions is a resounding yes! The technology is only growing in popularity, and is always a smash hit at events.

A good place to start looking for interested clients is at local companies and event centers. Companies, for instance, will host many parties and events throughout the year for their employees. Many would love to have a photo booth present to assist in the festivities. Event centers, on the other hand, might be looking for something even more permanent. They could rent your booth during conventions and conferences, thereby guaranteeing you a steady client and steady income.

Another golden opportunity for marketing your photo booth business is local malls. Check around and see if any malls around you already have any photo booths. If not, offer your services to the mall’s director. You may have to pay a small rental fee to serve as a kiosk in the mall, depending on where they locate your booth but it will be worth it. Shopping malls provide incredibly high volumes of foot traffic and plenty of families with kids are walking around just looking to have a good time!

Promotions

Many businesses involved in sales are constantly searching for the best way to get people’s attention and your photo booth is a true head turning item. These companies could rent your booth for a weekend to use alongside their own demonstrations and presentations to grab people’s attention and get them to stop while they pitch their own products. That’s the beauty of owning a photo booth: it can be used for many different purposes! While you’re racking your brain thinking about the next innovative way to market your photo booth, it can be used to market someone else’s product! These kinds of clients are a boon for your business because they will use your booth repeatedly. It’s helping them grab people’s attention, and it provides another reliable customer for you. Talk about a win-win!

Starting your own photo booth business can be scary, but just think about all of the opportunities. There are countless companies, event centers and businesses looking for a photo booth. You’ve just got to go out and let them know you’re available!

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How to Incorporate SEO into your Photo Booth Marketing Strategy

July 15, 2012 by Leave a Comment

Running Your Website Right

These days, marketing yourself and your business online is a crucial component of any successful marketing strategy. If you take a few simple steps and do it right, you’ll already be miles ahead of most of your competition. The concept of “Search Engine Optimization” in particular can help you grow your photo booth business by leaps and bounds.

Everybody knows including important keywords on your website is important (take a look at this post we did recently on the top search terms for photo booths) but Google looks for so much more than that when they determine how to rank web pages.

Think Locally

Unless you’re building a giant corporation, the odds are that your photo booth business is probably going to be small and localized. A lot of people think that because they have a small business that targets a relatively small area that they can’t succeed online, and can’t get found on Google. Actually, the complete opposite is true.

Google’s algorithms reward unique, specialized content far more than they reward generalized websites. In other words, if you target your website specifically to the area you want to do business in, your website’s ranking on search engines will skyrocket. What does this mean in terms of how you run your website? It’s pretty easy, really. Let’s say you want your photo booth to do the most business in Champaign, Illinois. You’re going to want to brainstorm how people search for things in Champaign, and that’s how you’re going to write your website copy. Do they search by area code? County name? With the phrase “Champaign IL?” It’s simple, commonsense stuff, and once you figure out how people are searching online in your area, you can cater your website to them.

More SEO 101

There are a few more simple steps you can take on your website to effectively market your photo booth. The number one, most important SEO step that no one ever thinks about: page titles. A page title is the text that appears when you hover your cursor over the tab at the top of the window. This, believe it or not, is one of the most important things Google looks for when ranking your website. And another important feature of the page title: Google only reads about 55 characters of it, so you have to make it count. Here are a few sample titles, going back to our Champaign example:

Photo booth rental | Weddings, Events | Champaign IL (52 characters)

Cheap photo booths | Rental | Champaign, Illinois (49 characters)

Both of these examples would be great titles for your local photo booth web page, and Google would love them. Just making that one easy change would help increase your search engine traffic. Just remember, above everything else, target your local area with your website content.

Perhaps the second most important way to market your website is constantly creating content. This one’s a little bit harder, but it pays off. Google doesn’t like it when you just create a website and let it sit there. But if Google sees that you’re constantly updating your page with fresh, original content, it will increase your rankings. So create a blog, post pictures of the photo booth at events, or post updates and news about your business. It will help keep your site relevant.

These are a few simple lessons in SEO, and there’s plenty more out there to learn if you’re curious. But these are some great pointers on how you can best market your photo booth using your website.

 

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Marketing Your Photo Booth Tip: Team Up With a DJ!

July 6, 2012 by Leave a Comment

Strike Up a Partnership

Sometimes the best way to build your business is to team up with another aspiring businessperson in your community. Don’t look at other entrepreneurs as competition but instead as teammates. The list of things people want to have at events is a short one. At the top of nearly everyone’s is a DJ and a photo booth. Why not strike a deal so you both succeed? Teaming up with a DJ will help dramatically build your business’ reputation and client base. Sharing your talent, resources and equipment with another can be a great business move – sometimes two heads really are better than one. Joint venture marketing is one the strongest steps you can take to successfully market your business.

Find the Right Business Partner

Weddings are big business for both photo booths and DJs, serving as the primary customer for both in many cases. So search around for the best local DJ and see if he or she would be interested in forming a business partnership. You can find them by searching online, cruising your local social media, or by just asking around at bars and clubs. Who gets the most business? Who do people hire repeatedly? After you feel like you’ve narrowed down the field to a good list of candidates, reach out to them and see if they’d be interested. Remember, DJs are entrepreneurs just like you. They’ll be willing to listen.

Now comes the hard part. You’ll have to sit down with the interested party and hammer out the nitty-gritty details of your joint venture partnership. How will profits be split? Will you share equipment? How will you market yourselves? But throughout the negotiations, remember that joint venture marketing for your business is a fantastic way to expose your company to a wider base of customers, and make more money in the process. Put yourself in the shoes of your customers: would you rather hire a DJ and a photo booth separately and pay a higher price, or obtain both for a discount?

A Joint Marketing Plan

There are compromises in a joint venture, but both parties will ultimately achieve greater success. It’s easier to market a DJ/photo booth package deal for weddings and other events than it is to market each separately.  Have an honest conversation with your new business partner about how you’re going to reach your customers. You both bring many unique talents and contacts to the table, so don’t be afraid to utilize both of your skill sets to reach out. He or she may already have connections in the wedding business, or work off of referrals from previously satisfied customers. You may have a long time client that rents out your photo booth at every possible opportunity. If you combine your knowledge and resources, business can boom just like that.

Marketing your booth can be difficult, but if you build your business on the foundation of a rock-solid partnership, the process will only become smoother over time. Sharing your hard-earned business with another is never easy but keep your long term goals in mind. Teamwork can pay big dividends.

 

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Market Your Photo Booth for Last Minute Fourth of July Parties

June 30, 2012 by Leave a Comment

A Festive Holiday

With Independence Day coming up next week, many people are gearing up to throw a serious party. You know the Fourth of July drill: barbeque,  beverages and spending the day with family and friends. While you might think of the Fourth as a pretty low-key affair, in recent years it has grown into a more lavish and celebratory holiday, almost like New Year’s Part Two. This holiday is a great opportunity for you to market your photo booth to people and parties you may not have even thought of. And that’s ultimately the key to successfully marketing your booth: you’ve got to think outside the box (or booth, in this case).

Family-Friendly Fourth Events

There are generally two types of Fourth of July parties: the family-friendly ones complete with yard games and fun activities. Then there are more adult-oriented parties, with plenty of adult beverages and fireworks. The beauty of this holiday is that you can easily market your photo booth to either group. But since these two opportunities are so different, you’re going to have to market your booth in two very different ways.

For the family-friendly gathering, think about where these big bashes will be held. Families will gather for the Fourth in the suburbs so target the affluent neighborhoods. They’re more likely to have the money and space necessary to go all-out on their Independency Day shindig. After you’ve found specific areas you want to target, it’s time to market yourself. Put your brightest, most colorful flyers up in local businesses, like grocery store bulletin boards, or hang them up on neighborhood street lights or communal posting places—anywhere they’re going to get seen.  Just because the Fourth of July is coming up quickly doesn’t mean you can’t seize the opportunity to rent out your booths. Remember, most people are planning their parties at the last second, too, and will be looking for fun events and activities for their guests. It’s up to you to be visible to them.

Adult Parties

Let’s be honest: getting together with friends and having a couple of adult beverages is a large part of many people’s Independence Day plans. Nothing fits that loose and fun party atmosphere more than a photo booth.

While a lot of people looking to let their hair down on the Fourth will host a casual backyard affair, some will throw a party of epic proportions. It’s these people you want to look for when marketing your photo booth. The most fun part of marketing your photo booth is putting yourself in the shoes of your prospective clients. So think: how best can you reach this untapped client base? People don’t know they need a photo booth for their holiday get-together until you show them that they need one. Here’s what you can do:

  • Post a lot on social media. Facebook and Twitter are great ways to reach out to a younger audience. Even if your prospective clients aren’t friends with your page, you can publish a Fourth of July promotion that can reach them through other people sharing and posting it.
  • Go face to face locally. It might be the opposite of new-school social media marketing, but if you go down to a local park or restaurant and hand out flyers to people, you and your product will be remembered. 
  • Word of mouth never hurt anyone. Businesses, and especially local businesses like yours, thrive on referrals and recommendations. So tell your friends about your Fourth of July deals. Word of mouth can also reach future customers.

The Fourth of July may not traditionally call for a photo booth, but with the exploding popularity of the product and a little savvy marketing, you can make sure your clients ring in America’s birthday in style with one of your booths at their party.

 

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How An Event Planner Can Help You Grow Your Photo Booth Business

May 6, 2012 by Leave a Comment

 

Business to Business Networking

Finding an event planner to partner with can cut down on hours of phone calls in cold calling and hundreds of dollars in advertising. Your booth likely sells itself, making the resources to generate a positive income stream all you need. Having a dedicated event planner at your service is literally money in the bank.

What is event planning you ask? There are various types of event planners right in your own back yard. They coordinate large social gatherings such as weddings, concerts, ceremonies, sports competitions and business conventions. Usually they are responsible for overseeing the whole process of the event including parking, transportation, reservations, and catering services. Event planners also obtain all the local permits needed for the event.

Understand Business Connections

Catering, baking, and floral services are valuable sources of information. Why? They often work for or with event planners and can give you the right contact information rather quickly. Forging a referral partnership with them is not a bad idea either.

Making Positive Contact

When first contacting a potential partner, it’s best to try and identify the person who can approve the partnership and learn the way they prefer to be contacted. It is far more likely that you will find success if you understand their preferred mode of communication.

Try and forge a relationship with a busy event planner and stay loyal to them. Don’t go around town asking every even planner to sign up with you. Remain loyal to them and provide their customers with outstanding service. Creating one powerful alliance in the event planning industry can take you far.

Set Up A Light Business Meeting

First impressions are everything in today’s world and having a face to face meeting with your potential partner is key to securing a good partnership. Once you get the owner or decision maker on the phone, have your pitch ready and begin with talking about the benefits they will receive by partnering with you.

Keep it simple and ask for a meeting. Offering to buy them lunch often works wonders.
Example: “Hi, my name is John Smith, I live here in (your town) and I’m the owner of a photo booth business. Have you ever hired a photo booth for one of your events?…”

“Great. Well, I know I can offer your clients valuable keepsakes for their event and people always crowd around these booths, so I was wondering if you had time to meet with me over lunch to discuss becoming referral partners. We can take a look at what your clients need and see if we are a good match. Lunch is on me, so what time works for you?”

Let them decide where the meeting is and when. Be ready and have a place in mind, in case they prefer you choose. A casual restaurant or a coffee shop is a great meeting place. It is a good idea to make sure you know most spots in the area too. If you are in a big city or go at a busy time, you may have to wait in line for others to finish eating and you don’t want this to happen if you can avoid it.

Offer them a cut rate if they hire you exclusively. This will strengthen the value of your proposal and build brand loyalty. Remember to stay loyal to them too. If you are asking them to only use you, they should be able to expect you to do the same.

 

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

Photo Booth Tips & Tricks – Up-Sell with Photo Sleeves

March 14, 2012 by Leave a Comment

 

It’s easy to earn a good living providing people with memorable keepsakes, but why stop there? People need to protect their photos from scratches and keep them clean and safe, but few people think of that before the photo is in their hand. If you plan for this, though, you’ll be able to give them what they need while creating a new revenue source from marketing great photo sleeves.

 Many companies offer photo sleeves for photo booth strips in bulk for extremely low prices, generally less than .30 cents apiece with prices breaks the more you order.

 

Here are a few good sources to get you started:

 

 

Even with shipping costs included, there’s a great potential revenue stream here. Charging a dollar or two on-site is not overly expensive and many people would love to have one right then and there.  Make sure to have a few photo strips inside these protective sleeves on display next to the photo booth so that people know what they are and that they’re available.

 

Sell in bulk to the host of the event

 If you don’t want to stand there selling each one to every customer one at a time, then consider selling the sleeves in bulk to the person running the event. Offer a 200-pack for $150 or larger discount and everyone wins. 

 Everyone can make a profit along the way this way and it’s a great way to unload extra inventory when you are looking at years end.

 Upselling photo strip sleeves is a great way to get even more profit out of your AAA Photo Booths. It’s easy, cheap, and practically guaranteed to work. What’s not to like about that?

 

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