Making Pictures Work For You
Vase avec bouquet courtesy of Bibliothèque de Toulouse
As an interiorscaper, you appeal to people’s senses to create business. You are often hired because people are missing a certain aesthetic quality from their business, office building, meeting room or home. A challenge to finding new clients may be that potential clients do not know what they are missing, or do not have a vision for how an interior plantscape could drastically improve the quality of their surroundings. This is when you can make pictures work for you.
Taking Pictures
You can start by carefully documenting your previous work. Take detailed pictures of the plantscapes you have designed. Before and after pictures are a great way to show off your skill for transforming spaces from plain to beautiful. While the focus of your pictures should be the plantscapes you have created, pictures with people that appear happy, content, and productive also send a subtle, yet powerful message to your potential clients.
Today’s digital camaras make it easy for amatuers to take quality pictures, which makes using pictures a very cost effective marketing tool. However, you may consider hiring a professional photographer to capture some of your best work. If you hire a professional, make sure that the photographer agrees to letting you use digital files of the pictures. You will want to be able to use these photos in various media outlets.
Using Your Pictures
How will you pass on these pictures to potential clients? One option is to have a physical portfolio. You can take a well designed portfolio to potential clients and this will reflect positively on your design skills. While physical photographs should not be neglected and are important for one on one meetings with potential clients, you should also consider using other media outlets to augment your visibility.
Your Website
The most important media outlet is your website. This is your face to the world. Today, many people find what they are looking for on the internet instead of in the yellow pages or through traditional advertising. If you have interesting, unique pictures on your website, this will immediately grab the attention of a potential client. Consider using different textures, colors, and shapes to convey your versitility to your clients. Here are some other things to consider as you think about your website. Is your contact information clearly visible? Is it obvious from your home page what your business is and what you do? Are you being found in search engines? If you are having trouble with the last question, this blog post from Becky McCray at Small Biz Survival is an excellent resource. It has great tips for making your business, via your website, visible on the internet.
Other Media Outlets
Another great place for displaying your pictures to potential clients is Flickr.com you can create albums of your pictures to share with your potential clients and to increase your chances of being found online. Be sure to use your business name and keywords from your industry or location when you are labeling your pictures and albums.
Don’t forget about Facebook. People love the opportunity to see pictures and comment on them on Facebook. If you have a Facebook page for your business, be sure to put up plenty of pictures, and encourage discussion around them by asking questions, and responding to comments made by your fans.
Other potential media outlets include Twitter, blogs, e-mails, and newsletters. The more your potentail clients are able to see your work and what you do, the more they will understand what they are missing in their spaces.
If you have more questions about marketing on the internet, refer to this previous post.
What have you done to meet potential clients? How have you made pictures work for you? Do you have any pictures you are especially proud of? Send us a link in the comments!
Image “Vase avec bouquet” courtesy of Bibliothèque de Toulouse.
Tags: marketing, media, pictures, smart business