As a photographer, are you reaching out to women?
Depending on your niche, your primary target may be almost exclusively women. If you’ve been throwing your marketing dollars at a variety of things with none of them really sticking, it might not be the source … it may be the approach.
Throughout history, women have always had the upper hand in decision making when it comes to spending the family’s money. Yet in the online world, many brands have forgotten the female approach, and blast out content with little regard for who their ultimate target is. And why they are there.
With social media, women use it because of the connectivity and engagement. As they move throughout their busy days, social is an easy way to find out what they are missing with friends and family, whether they are in carpool line with the kids, or waiting for a meeting with their next client. Smart technology has given us one more way to multitask, and we can now learn all we can in the spare minutes we have.
A recent survey conducted by Women’s Marketing Inc and She Speaks published some interesting findings that can help you as you plan out your next marketing campaign.
A Woman’s First Source of Information Every Day is The Online World
Over 77 percent of women surveyed stated their first connection with the outside world is made through their smartphone or computer. They don’t flip on the television or turn to the daily newspaper – they check in with their newsfeeds bookmarked on their online devices.
If you want to be a “blip” on a woman’s radar, you have to be a source in their information. They don’t look for advertisements or rely on push advertising. Instead, they want to find out what is happening with the things they care about. They want reliable content that makes sense to them and who they are. Provide them with quality content in the resources they care about most, and you’ll connect.
Email Is Still Top Priority In Our Lives
If you read anything on the future of marketing, one of the first things that surfaces is that email is dying a very quick death. While that may be the case – with over 90 percent of email being spam related, we all have an intimate relationship with our delete button – the fact is email is still an important part of our lives today.
Survey results show that the first thing a women checks is her personal and/or business email, making up 52 percent of responses, with Facebook coming in second at 21 percent. If you want to be where she’s looking, you have to provide the right source of content. Are you sending out email? Are you sending out ezines? Are you posting regularly to Facebook? To reach her, you have to be using the media source she is checking.
Women Like To Share Updates and Coupons … and Photos
We all know women are visual by nature. Social plays a big part of that because it allows us to do what we already enjoy. When searching and sharing online, we may read; but more than likely we like quick bits of information that are very shareable – that’s why Pinterest is growing in leaps and bounds.
According to the survey, 30 percent love sharing promotions and coupons – good deals, 23 percent love updating friends and family about their daily lives, and 21 percent love sharing photos.
In many cases these photos are personal – things they shoot with their smartphones. But they are just as likely to share things that they find interesting. If you showcase your latest images and a follower loves it, they will share. The more they share, the wider your target audience.
What It All Means
Overall, 30 percent of women report that by being more active in online social media, they have also become more social offline. That means women are sharing and talking with people in their circle of influence on a regular basis, online and off, and have the power to connect with you in a variety of ways. When they experience something great, something they love, and something that WOWs them, they are more likely to share it with the people around them.
As a business, remember that women love the personal touch. While you may be trying to reach out to the masses, developing the one-to-one relationship will result in a strong, healthy influence for your business now and years into the future.
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