Create a Montage of Masterpieces

by Tori Allen/Brainchild Associates on Monday, October 26, 2009

It’s hard to gain new clients.

Developing new business or clients can be a monstrous task, especially in this economy. But a safe, simple and sure way to harness new business is by creating an online photo album. Your online photo album is a quick, cool and sure fire way for you to introduce your skills to a potential new client. It also guarantees your audience that you know your stuff and you stay ahead of the curve and not chasing it!

Creating your brand is vital to ensuring your business grows at a rate which is acceptable for you. Following a few easy steps will pave the way for displaying your montage of masterpieces quickly and to a greater audience.

Here are five things you need to know or do to get your photo album into full gear.

1.   Create professionally imaged photos – Your look is what is driving those clients to you like flies to honey. So why not create the right look the first time? Take the time to plan a professional photoshoot. A professional photoshoot will ensure that the proper lighting, angles and positioning of the model is featured within the photo instead of Little Ray Ray who happens to make his celebrity appearance in your image. You don’t want to come across to your audience as unprofessional, so take the time and make that financial investment for your career.

When choosing a professional photographer, consider utilizing a photographer who has credentials within the hair styling industry or one who is a member of a photography association. The Professional Photographers of America is one organization that focuses on providing quality education, training and marketing of photographers. Visit their website at www.ppa.com for more information.

If your budget doesn’t allow for a professional photographer, contact a local art/photography school and put an ad in their school newspaper or online careers portal to seek help from a photographer intern. A hungry student may be just what you need to fulfill your image and your budget.

Time to take the picture.

2.   Select reliable technology – We all have one, a Blackberry, an iPhone, HTC Touch Pro. Smart phones are reliable and transmit your images fast. When selecting a smartphone, make sure the storage and data packages fit your needs. Do your research. If you haven’t upgraded from that flip phone, now would be perfect time to make that conversion. A smart phone allows you to snap images of styles that you’d like to try, colors inspired by a beautiful landscape that will go great in that next hair show or images of your work you just completed on the client in your chair. Either way, a smart phone will allow you to capture the desired image without missing a beat.

Once you capture the image, it’s time to download it to an online photo site. Just a few more clicks and we’re home.

3.   Choose an online photo site – There are many, but don’t get lost in the mix. Know your limitations, if you can’t convert a file from .jpg to .pdf, then chances are you need a basic, photo site that doesn’t require the Mac customer service rep. Online photo sites like Flickr allow for user-friendly uploading, editing and sharing of images. Shutterfly is another online photo site that is easy to navigate and also provides alternative media formats, photobooks, coffee mugs, t-shirts, calendars, you name it and Shutterfly can put an image on it. But remember, in this internet-crazed, immediate gratification world, we’re shooting for digital, but if you’re looking for a more professional finished product, Shutterfly provides options for display as well as online image sharing. Fotolog is a cool way to provide a description of the image or event by setting up a photo-blog. The service is free, but you can only put up one photo per day. To upload more than one photo a day you will have to enroll in a fee-based membership plan. It’s not rocket science, so stay away from online photo sites that are bogged down with too many steps. Too many steps only cause confusion, frustration and your photos may stay stored in your smartphone instead being displayed and shared within your photo album.

4.   Time to Merge your Images with your Audience - You need to know how to bring more attention to your online photo albums. There are different ways to drive traffic to your online photo album. Email is premium as it allows you to send a link to your online album to hundreds of family, friends and clients in your database. You may also send album links through photo applications, such as Flickr, where sample photos are embedded in the message to pique the interest of contacts receiving your photos.

Sharing links to your online photo gallery through social media sites such as Facebook or Twitter will further increase your visibility while keeping your audience updated regularly. These networks are great for accessing and attracting a myriad of potential new clients, from college students to professionals to your favorite celebrities who may be in the market for a new stylist.

5.   Get in the News! - A more traditional approach for marketing your online photo album is to contact beauty editors of your favorite magazines. To obtain contact information, look up the editor on the magazine website or within the magazine itself and provide by email a brief introduction of yourself, including details on your styling techniques. In this email you want to include a link to your photo album. Securing editorial opportunities present premium ways to market your skills and services—and it can all begin with the development of a nicely laid out online photo album.

Conclusion

The steps described above are simple and easily coordinated. Once you have executed these steps successfully, you’ll be on your way to becoming a hair rainmaker, so what are you waiting for? Go out there and start your online photo album TODAY!

Tori Allen is President and CEO of Brainchild Associates, with more than 10 years of experience as a communications professional. She specializes in experiential branding and consumer marketing for businesses and individuals. She has helped numerous clients in the beauty and cosmetology industry. For more information on her services, visit www.brainchildassociates.com.