Picture snaps

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     You've taken a zillion pictures with all this new technology. But how many have you used to promote your small business?

     It used to be that you had to hire a professional photographer to take pictures you could use in your business. Those days are gone.

     Today, professional photographers are still available. They take pictures that meet high quality standards--event and product photography are two examples that require professionals.

     But promoting on social media is a different world. People see your pictures for a few seconds only--and hopefully, they pass them on to their friends. Also, most viewers are using smaller screens that can have trouble handling high quality professional photographs. Further, social media emphasizes the thought behind the picture--not the picture quality, and maybe not even the subject matter.

     Example: Yolinda is a certified acupuncturist. She opened her place and attracted a growing stream of clients. To promote the therapy, she decided to devote a room to community acupuncture where people could walk in, spend 20 minutes is a quiet, darkened room and relax. It served as an introduction to acupuncture. She posted close-up pictures of her work on social media at least twice each week. She now has more clients.

     Example: Mike is a contractor specializing in creatively designed and built decks. To promote his work, he takes pictures of his jobs in progress and posts the detailed photos on social media. His multi-level decks attract lots of attention, and the close-ups of details of his work clearly show his expertise as a carpenter. Recently, he posted pictures of a tree house he built for neighborhood kids. From those pictures, he scheduled several new projects.

     Example: Susan is an interior decorator specializing in window treatments. She, too, takes pictures of all projects underway and posts on social media. Her drapery arrangements have created quite a buzz on social media, but nothing attracted more attention than the picture she posted showing open drapes with a cat curled up on the window sill. 

     Pets always attract attention. You don't have to be a pet groomer to use cats and dogs in your promotions. Hey, you take pictures of them all the time anyway. Why not use them to get viewers to pay attention?

     Start by punching up all the pictures you have taken and have stored on your computer. Select those that can be used and start posting on social media. Just don't use any person's face without permission. 

     The value of pictures on social media cannot be overly emphasized.  It's one of the chief reasons social media works so well. You are missing opportunities if you don't use pictures in your business promotions.