I started using Facebook about a month ago because I wanted to determine for myself its potential business (and personal) marketing value. Not long after I joined Facebook and began adding friends to my network, I came across an old friend from high school who was using his Facebook profile as a promotion tool for his photography business.
I thought it was extremely interesting how he was using Facebook, and wanted to find out from him just how well it was working – which is why I decided to conduct a case study.
The Company
Dustin Meyer Photography is a professional portrait studio based in Austin, TX, which Dustin started in 2006. He provides wedding photography and portraits for graduating high school seniors, which is about 90% of his business, while family portraiture comprises about 10% of his business.
Dustin differentiates his services from those of other local wedding and senior photographers through a highly personalized approach, and by offering quality over quantity. He also offers value-adds in the form of extended sessions (with no time constraints) and makeup services for his senior portrait clients.
The Target Audience
For his wedding photography services, Dustin targets brides in the 22-35 age group and their mothers, with upper-middle income and a wedding budget of about $25-50K. For senior portraits, he targets students whose parents have an annual income of $200K+.
How is he able to target these income brackets? According to Dustin: “I do this by posting my prices online and screening out those [who] are looking for a good ‘deal’…my referrals [come] through channels that reflect families with higher incomes.”
Why Facebook?
Senior portraits is a relatively new area of Dustin’s business, and he quickly realized the potential of Facebook as a marketing tool to grow in the space. Since a growing number of high school students are using Facebook (especially those that are college-bound and in the market for senior portraits), it presented Dustin with the opportunity to market his services directly to students. By doing this, he was able to bypass parents, allowing the students to directly influence their parents about what they wanted.
How Facebook is Used
According to Dustin: “I use the birthday feature to email gift cards for portraits. Once a student has their portraits done, I use Facebook to display their images as a portfolio.” View Dustin's Facebook profile here.
He also posts wedding and engagement photos in the form of video montages on his page, along with personal comments about each couple and their wedding. This allows Dustin to engage his customers directly while displaying his work for prospective customers.
The Results
Dustin has been using Facebook as a marketing tool for his business for about 6 months, and his results have been remarkable. “I would say that 75% of our students are introduced to us via Facebook, which in turn allows them to refer other students to us once they've done their portraits,” he says. “Since this is the first year we've actively pursued senior portraits, I would say that the majority of our sales are brought about by our exposure on Facebook.”
Dustin also says that he doesn’t use any direct mail or search ads for his business, and 100% of his senior portrait business has been from Facebook or referral. “It allows people to instantaneously promote my business to everyone they know with barely any effort,” he says.
What Have We Learned?
- Know your audience – Facebook is not for every business, and you have to know who your audience is and where they are before focusing your marketing efforts on Facebook.
- Use the tools you have to your advantage – Facebook presents you with a variety of tools, such as photo albums, slideshows, videos, and apps. Think of how to best use these tools to not just promote your business, but allow others to share it easily.
- Personalize and engage - Create a community around your page (and your business) by conversing with your customers and engaging them on a personal level.
