How to Market Your Photobooth Business Like a Pro!
Marketing your photobooth business is more than just going out and getting your first free event as we talked about in our last article - Secrets to Pricing Your First Photobooth Gig. You want to continually market your photobooth throughout the entire year - you can't get lazy! Keep in mind that whatever you do now is probably not going to pay off until six months to a year in the future especially because most people don't have photobooth events every single weekend. That means that you need to get them ahead of time and have people constantly thinking about your company.
Don't worry though! There are a ton of great resources to help you network your photobooth business. Most cities have a Chamber of Commerce or in your city you may even have a local Rising Tide Society which generally has a lot of wedding vendors and photographers that you can connect with. Photographers and videographers often are asked about photobooths, but they may not have their go-to person yet. This could be your opportunity to be that person!
Catalina from MDRN Photobooth Company has found that sponsoring high-price charity events has really worked for her company! The reason she likes to sponsor these events is because the audience tends to have the budget available to either purchase or rent a photobooth from them.
Now, that's not to say you can't sponsor charity events from the goodness of your own heart, but when it comes to marketing your booth, high-end charity events are always best.
Catalina from MDRN Photobooth Company
Keep in mind, however, that any time you're sponsoring an event that you make sure you're getting an equivalent package on the sponsorship role as the package price that you're giving them. This allows you to give them the biggest package that you can without spending too much money on your end. Remember how we talked about perceived value in past articles? Things like custom screens, which are easy to create or cheap to outsource, can allow you to charge an additional $150 to even $500!
Speaking of marketing, don't forget that your Salsa Photobooth has collected emails and phone numbers from the people who have used it! Of course you should make sure that you're collecting this information within your country or state's regulations, but once you have that information you can reach out to these people after the event. You may even drop them into email campaigns, which may or may not work for your business. If you decide not to drop them into email campaigns, you can still send a follow up email with a link to their gallery. This gives you an opportunity to touch base, share the photos from the event, say thank you, and also share your contact information. It's a nice reminder of the awesome night that they had, but also a great reminder of your company that made it *that* much more awesome!
Market Your Photobooth Business with Social Media
Email and phone numbers are great marketing tools, but we can't forget about another great source ... social media! Facebook and Instagram are both great places where you can advertise your photobooth business. You don't have to go and pay for Facebook ads when you're first starting out - it's actually quite beneficial for you to go and join local groups in your area, such as wedding groups or business groups, and advertise that way. Be cautious, however, and follow the rules of these groups as to not spam its members with advertisements.
On the topic of advertising, there are ways to tell people about your photobooth business without it seeming like an ad. You can ask questions in these groups. Posting something like, "I'm looking for a new backdrop to purchase and I would love to hear your input" alongside photos of the backdrops you have and photos of the backdrops that you're wanting to purchase will allow you to give your business exposure in a subtle way - it's a lot less intrusive!
Like I said, Instagram is another great marketing tool. First, make sure that your profile picture is your company's logo. When your logo is your profile picture, every time you post something, you're also posting your logo alongside your image. Also double check that your Instagram account is a business account and that it is tied to your website and Facebook page.
Your Instagram bio should contain your website address, phone number and email address, and a brief description of what it is that you do.
You can also use #hashtags in your description so make sure to use a phone, but don't go overboard!
In terms of pictures, you want to post as much as you can regarding what it is that you do. So if you're a photobooth business, make sure that you get lots of great content at every event. Remember that we talked about taking "key shots?" You're going to be taking a couple of pictures with every set up that you do, so you should not be short on any content that you can post later - take advantage of this! Stay consistent and if you're stuck on what to post, there are a lot of websites where you can download free Instagram content to keep your feed active.
People are always really intrigued to know what it is that you're doing behind the scenes, so Instagram stories are a great way to engage with your followers!
If you're wondering how to get people to follow you, it's all about interaction. You need to go and follow those people and genuinely interact with them, but be authentic about it! You can't go to everyone's profile and start commenting, "Hey, great shot!" because they're just going to think you're a bot and nobody likes bots. If you're looking for weddings, go to other wedding photographer's pages and you can comment things like, "I really thought this image was beautiful because _____." Make your interactions personal and not spammy.
Challenge yourself to get your photobooth business out once a month at a networking event or some sort of sponsorship that you can utilize to market your booth. However, remember to make sure the people you are targeting are your target clients.
Ready for the next step of Starting a Photobooth Business? Check out this article here where we go into detail about standing out from your competition! Alternatively, download our free eBook and read about these steps on the go!