Public Relations and Publicity Photography

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Celebrities (and wannabe celebrities) depend on this. Politicians depend on this. All professional sports depend on this. The entertainment industry depends on this.

Publicity and public relations photography are exceptional marketing tools because photography is the number one way to get attention. The public loves looking at photos and they trust photography. News editors love free hand-out pictures not only because it’s free content but also because photos can increase readership.

One of today’s catchy buzzwords is “content marketing” but many folks will remember when it was called “public relations.”
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Expert Impression

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I was reading an article offering marketing advice for 2014. The piece included tips and predictions for the upcoming year from 14 “marketing experts.”

Of these 14 people featured in the article, only six seem to have professionally produced business portraits. But only two of these photos are of good quality and only one looks recent.

The majority of these “marketing experts” are represented either by a poorly exposed, poorly focused snapshot of themselves or by a picture of a picture of themselves (which suggests that they don’t even have a headshot).

With such a disregard for their own business image and apparently no knowledge of the marketing value of photography, how much credibility would you extend to these “marketing experts”?

A marketing expert who doesn’t have a professional business headshot is like a plumber who doesn’t own a wrench, a chef who doesn’t have a knife or a photographer who doesn’t have a tripod.

A professional business portrait is the simplest, most common and most effective marketing tool for making a positive first impression, creating trust and building credibility.

 

More than meets the eye

Many photographers charge a minimum fee for their location work. This minimum might range from a couple hundred dollars to much higher, depending on the situation.

Before you scream “Unfair!”, keep in mind that most tradespeople and some other types of businesses also charge minimum fees.

Locksmiths, plumbers, electricians, furnace repair, moving companies, carpet cleaners, etc., all have minimum fees just for showing up at your front door. This minimum often goes up on evenings and weekends. My locksmith charges a minimum $90, my plumber has a $140 minimum. At a newspaper where I once worked, to get a technician to come service the film or print processor cost a minimum $600.

Businesses charge minimum fees to help cover the time and cost of travelling to the customer’s location, setting up equipment (if applicable) and providing at least a minimum amount of service.
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Are you just a price tag?

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While shopping for a pair of winter shoes recently, the ones that I liked most ranged from $99 to $199. All of these shoes looked good and all were comfortable. Which one to choose?

Most of these shoes had only a simple price tag attached. But one pair had a twelve-page booklet attached which described how the shoes were made. These were the shoes I bought (for $179).

When a customer asks something like, “What’s your price to do four business headshots?”, this is a good indication that the customer is shopping price. This is not the time for a photographer to act like a price tag. Instead the photographer should be a booklet of information.
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It’s The Principle

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Virgin’s Richard Branson once mentioned the importance of building a company based upon principles, not policies.

According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, a policy is a definite course of action. A principle is “a moral rule or belief that … influences your actions.”

Let’s put it this way: a policy explains “what” and a principle explains “why.”
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