Effective Digital Marketing Channels for Photo Booths
The internet is a paradise of lead generation for photo booth businesses. Between search engine traffic, social media engagement, business rating sites and specialty sites for things like wedding vendors, photo booth owners have more options at their disposal than ever before. Even the oldest form of advertising, word-of-mouth, has changed largely to word-of-text as peer recommendations increasingly tend to come from social media posts, review sites and digital communication.
To strategize your photo booth marketing approach, read on to discover the most effective digital channels and how they can be used to book more customers. As we get further into our Ultimate Guide to Photo Booth Marketing in the Digital Age, we will cover most of these channels further in-depth with strategies and tips.
So, feel free to bookmark this page and use it as an outline for your marketing plan as we cover the best digital marketing channels for photo booths.
Your Business Website
We already covered the two most important features of a business website in our first installment of this guide:
- Clear information that helps visitors make a purchase decision
- Logical navigation through an easy-to-use menu system
A third point to emphasize is that your website should be responsive to different screen sizes, AKA mobile-friendly.
Unless you allow bookings directly from something like social media chat, your business website will be the final destination for all potential customers. As such, all of the other channels you use should connect back to your website in logical ways.
The use of landing pages, for instance, can allow you to connect calls-to-action on your paid social or search engine ads to a clear offer.
Search Engines and SEO (Search Engine Optimization)
People searching for terms like “photo booth for weddings near me” should be able to see your website near the top of search engine results. The best way to accomplish this goal is to use SEO (Search Engine Optimization) strategies.
We will cover these top SEO strategies for photo booth owners in detail in a later post. But for now, know that you should diligently research the keywords your local market uses most, and try to incorporate those keywords naturally into your website pages. Note that the advice given in the previous post about logical navigation and clear descriptions of your services can also enhance your SEO.
Generating business through search engines can also involve paid search ad campaigns and a presence on some of the local business listing sites described below.
Local Business Listing Sites, Review Sites, Vendor Sites, Etc.
One of the biggest factors search engines like Google use for rankings are links to your website. So, the more authoritative sites like Yelp that link to your website, the more likely your site is to rank near the top of search engine results pages (SERPs).
Start by claiming your business listing on local sites, like your city’s chamber of commerce, the local Better Business Bureau chapter and others. Then, refine your presence on services like Google My Business and Yelp by adding clear, accurate information and link back to your website.
After that, look for sites and organizations that attempt to aggregate services like yours together. Sites that list the best birthday party venues or the best wedding vendors, for instance, should include your business listing along with a short description. Finding your way onto these sites is a great first project as you upgrade your business’s online presence.
Social Media
Social media accounts can quickly become more important to your business than your own website. You should still maintain a great website, but focus on upgrading the professionalism and appeal of your business through a complete social media profile and regular, engaging postings.
Small businesses must also recognize that Facebook messaging has quickly become a direct line of contact for customers, so be prepared to answer questions or complaints — and even handle bookings via chat services.
Paid social media ads can be used to target specific audiences, enabling you to obtain a lot of leads from a tiny budget. Stay tuned for important advice on both paid and unpaid social media marketing strategies in blog posts ahead.
Email is far, far from dead! If your website includes a way for people to submit their email addresses in order to receive newsletters and offers, you have just earned yourself a direct line of communication to a captive audience member.
Start with email marketing by building out a set of templates that can be used for any customer at key moments in your relationship. For instance, always follow through on a price quote with a “Thank You!” email containing more information on your services. After bookings, a “Thank You for Your Business” is in order, along with information on what they can expect and ideas for further bookings. Including incentives for referrals is always a great idea!
After your session, send an email once more thanking the customer for the opportunity, which should include a request for them to review your business on Google, Yelp or any other sites. You can also once more advertise some of your services or even offer a coupon to encourage further bookings.
Once your marketing apparatus gets more sophisticated, you can add on components like a newsletter, and even an automated offer for prior customers who haven’t booked again in a few months.
Video
When first starting marketing, hosting videos on sites like Youtube and Facebook can be a low priority. However, photo booth owners should recognize that even one or two video assets can go a long way towards bringing in more clicks, which can lead to more bookings.
Early videos can be something as simple as introducing your business and a highlight reel of fun photo booth moments. As you build out your digital marketing strategy further, adding to your video content can be a good area of emphasis.
Content Marketing
Content includes things you create for people to engage with, like blog articles, videos, infographics or tip sheets that can make their event better. Content marketing can become a sophisticated way for you to obtain email signups, get clicks off social media posts and more.
Most importantly, content marketing is free for your audience, and it isn’t really like normal advertising. You are creating things your audience will want to read or watch, and learning about your business is just a small component of that.
Discover The Best Digital Marketing Channels for Photo Booths in the Rest of Our Guide!
This list is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to our digital marketing tips and advice for photo booth businesses! Stay tuned as we cover many of the above topics in greater detail with suggestions you can use to improve your online presence and start booking more customers.
One thing you may want to consider as you build out your marketing repertoire is the importance of fun props and backdrops for your photo booths. The wackiest and best-themed props tend to get the most attention in online photos, so the more you can bring out the fun in your photo booth, the better!
Take a look at the photo booth props and backdrops we offer to start making your photo booth more appealing both to potential customers and to people who just enjoy seeing hilarious things online.
Meta: Get an overview of all the best digital marketing channels for photo booths as part of our complete digital marketing guide to booking more events.
KWs: best digital marketing channels for photo booths, digital marketing channels for photo booths
