Are you Tweeting OPF!

Spread the word. Follow us on Twitter and chirp @OPFWEB to your friends!

Would you please!

Thanks!

Asher

I shall leave that up to the youthful souls here at OPF.
I live a blissfully Tweet, MySpace, FaceBook and i-Pacifier free life...

John Angulat said:

I shall leave that up to the youthful souls here at OPF.
I live a blissfully Tweet, MySpace, FaceBook and i-Pacifier free life...

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Ditto. The only time I tweet is when my seasonal allergies flare.

So who is using 'social media' as part of their marketing?

Am currently considering jumping on either the Facebook or Twitter bandwagon, but with a focus on my photography rather than my personal life. Would be interested to hear of others who have done similar.

Asher - If I do sign up to Twitter I'll be sure to use @OPFWEB where I can!

Asher Kelman said:

Spread the word. Follow us on Twitter and chirp @OPFWEB to your friends!

Would you please!

Thanks!

Asher

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Hi Asher,

It is a good initiative and I support you. But you have to do this properly, meaning that you should post multiple tweets daily with interesting info in order to gain followers and to keep them. Judging from your twitter profile you haven't been doing that in the past. So now would be the time to start catching up. It is quite a burden to keep this going on the long term so I wish you all the success

I too am considering opening a twitter account like Andrew for similar reasons. So far, I have been in the same camp as John and Ken.

Cheers,

A good blog that covers social media and photography reasonably well is Black Star Rising. It has articles that cover using Google Analytics and other tools effectively.

I read various blogs on various topics for various reasons. (I like specifics.) If you read a lot of blogs, I highly recommend using an RSS reader.

Given my recent comments about news media photographers being let go, Black Star Rising has two good articles:

1. After the Newspaper Layoff: The First Six Things You Should Do
2. After the Newspaper Layoff: The Next Five Things You Should Do

Andrew Stannard said:

So who is using 'social media' as part of their marketing?

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Andrew's opening question cuts directly to the quick of why I have sub-zero interest in the new "social networking" media: it's pure advertising. It's corporate advertising. It's personal advertising. It's noise. And if there's one thing I've become hypersensitive to in my later years it's noise and bullshit.

It's clearly entertaining for youngsters who seem like zombies, walking the streets oblivious to their surroundings and to the moment of life they're investing in this mindless garbage.

No disrespect, Asher, but I really don't have any interest in your stream-of-consciousness twits. (You already leave plenty here! ;-) )

Ken Tanaka said:

No disrespect, Asher, but I really don't have any interest in your stream-of-consciousness twits. (You already leave plenty here! ;-) )

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Just as Black Star Rising article Six Ways to Focus Your Twitter Strategy and Grow Your Photography Business suggests:

1. Follow relevant tweeps.

Build your Twitter community around a photography-oriented ecosystem — following photographers, photography magazines, agencies, stylists, galleries, etc. Don’t dilute your account by following everything that interests you (for instance, your gym, recipe posts, gardening, etc). The personal interests can be a separate account.

2. Tweet with your followers in mind.

If you are serious about using Twitter to grow your photography business, you should not be treating it as a diary or a life cam. You should keep your tweets on target, messaging about topical areas in photography, the imaging world, equipment, photo tips — as well as your own work.

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Following the article link to read the rest of the article and others with similar content.

Chirp!

I tweet. I facebook.

Twitter is like making small talk at a bar. It's like news bites. Found some interesting things and gained some following.

Facebook is like a gathering of friends. Longer bits of gossip. I have picked up business from it and made friends, mostly from connections that I already had. I think more of it being like a water cooler.
My high school class had a reunion using just facebook. We had 1000 people show up at a picnic. No other connections were made to invite people.

Twitter is like making small talk at a bar

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Facebook is like a gathering of friends.

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So how are we best using these from a photography point of view - even if it is marketing for our websites or our work?

A lot of articles suggest that useful information is the key. A stream of 'look at my picture of some rocks' or 'look at my great picture of a ship' would probably come across as rather annoying.

But what about turning posts and tweets into useful information for the readers and followers - use the photos for sure, but turn them into tips on depth of field for photography, or information about the subject of the picture, how to use a sun compass etc

That's my plan anyhow, any other thoughts?

My feeling is that seeing Hoofs and Dust", for example, by Tony Bonanno, one of the Themes, Objects, for example, each give instant pleasure. The forging of news pictures is another quick worthy subject of interest.

That's my approach. However, I'm very new to Twitter and Tweets!

Asher