How do you work with Social Media Sites - Flickr/FB/Twitter/G+

WhiteLight

Senior Member
I've always been away from any Social Media sites..
Just have an inactive account from FB (i just saw a few friend requests from folks here.. huge apologies, I've never been on it till last night from the last 3-4 years), a Flickr free account (had a paid one for 3 months, didn't do anything on it so didn't renew) and nothing on G+ or Twitter.

Obviously in today's world Social Media is the way to go to get noticed & to make some headway professionally.
a) Do most of you use all of the above sites and any others?
b) If you have a website as well, are all of them updated together?
c) Are these SM sites in your business name or personal name?
d) Getting more granular, how you update on these SM sites? Do you have sets/posts on each of the sites when you update your website or randomly?
e) For Flickr, do you have separate galleries for each session, or is it just a 'stream' of photos in no category?

If I am just starting out, about to get my website done up, what would you advise?

Thanks!
 
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Even a personal FaceBook account can be an asset. Good way to share information and contacts. I am friends with several Nikonites on my Facebook page and besides getting to know these people better I have been able to have more one on one learning sessions with some very talented people. I have only recently gotten into Google+ and the benefit there is totally different. For me it is more for sharing my photos and also seeing many other great photos that interest me. I am a member of a community that is just for D5100 shooters, One for The Nic Collection that is more research and learning and there is also a group from a City near here that I met on a worldwide photo walk which is more personal interaction and local photos.

I then have a paid site that I use strictly for the few jobs I do. Those are hidden from public but I do have a few collections on there but really do need to add a few more.
 

Krs_2007

Senior Member
Shared Facebook with my wife for sharing a few pictures with friends and family. Just recently moved from Flickr to smugmug for my sports pictures, but it's only shared with team members and not public.

pretty leery of just throwing all of my pictures out to the public. I know they are not the quality of those here, but still leery.
 

fotojack

Senior Member
To be honest, I just use Facebook to keep in touch with family and friends, who are scattered all over the globe. I add the odd photo now and then. Some of the funny stuff on Facebook is priceless, too. :) I have a Flickr account, but rarely go there. I spend most of my non productive time on Nikonites.
 
I use facebook to keep up on friends and family that use it a lot more than I do. I post a limited number of photos there. I have a friend from over 40 years ago that I went to school with. We were never really friends then although we knew each other. Last year he sent me a message saying that one of the main reasons he stays on FB is to see my photos. Reason enough for me to stay.

Even though Flickr now offers huge storage I still keep my photostream select and don't fill it with junk as many do. I'm fairly proud of most of the photos there but don't send many people to see them. I was pleasantly surprised when a local TV station came across my stream and asked me if they could use a few for a weekend getaway show. A good enough reason not to have visitors wade through junk.
 

Alan

Senior Member
I use FB as everyone does to keep up with family and friends. I post the occasional photo there that I think most people would like. As Rancher said, I have had people tell me they look forward to seeing my pictures. I also belong to various specialized FB pages including the Air Museums I go to who's pics I have also posted here. This week a local newspaper contacted me about using some of those photos as they could not get a photographer out to the Pumpkin Drop. They are going to credit me including my Business Info (not photography related) in exchange for the photos. Next best thing to selling them.

I have a Flicker account that I just post my better bird shots on. I use this to share with local birders and photographers I know in the area and it is in my signature line here. I also can use the flicker app on my phone to show people I meet while shooting that would like to see some of them. I use Dropbox to share private photos with family and friends.
 

Jonathan

Senior Member
I use Twitter and LinkedIn for professional purposes. I have a free Flickr account, on which I have a number of sets and a single photostream. I take photos to share so I occasionally Tweet a link to my Flickr account. That's one of the reasons I love having found this site - what's the point in taking photos if no-one sees them? I have two FB accounts, but neither in my name. They are different personas I use to wind-up friends and colleagues. I don't believe in sharing my personal details in public (this is the first time I have shared my personal details online, but I didn't see how I could get recognition for my photography if I used a pseudonym). I don't post any photos that could identify anyone close to me other than me (and there's only one of me on Flickr, taken by my son).
 
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Browncoat

Senior Member
I have used social media quite a bit to promote my business.

Facebook is by far the most effective way to do it, at least for portrait work. These people are all friends, and friends of friends. They're usually local, and potential customers. I have my own fan page that I post client shoots on, and occasionally I'll put up some personal projects or links to blog posts about photography. If you really want to reap the rewards, promote your posts. You'd be surprised how much further your stuff goes just by spending $5.

I also share via Pinterest. It generates some traffic to my site, though few are local enough to become customers. A lot of my clients use Pinterest to send me ideas on what they'd like for their shoot.

I don't use Flickr. It's just not worth it.
 
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