EDITOR’S LETTER
#WILDLIFE PHOTOGRAPHER
S
ocial media has become a central pillar
of pretty much every photographers’
marketing and profi le building mix. Of
course, it is also a wonderful social
circle
tool but it is critical to remember that
every time you tweet or post anything on
Facebook,Twitter or any of the other social platforms
it is like placing an avert for you and your brand
in front of a potentially global audience. How
much time, eff ortand thought would you expend
in designing, craftingand editing an advert for your
business or hobby? Half a day, two days, aweek? I’m not suggesting that we
need to ponder every tweet and post to the same extent but a miniaturised
version of the process we go through to create an advert should be in place on
social media activity, too. And don’t think if you private message someone you
can stray from that approach; a private message is only private if the other party
chooses to keep it that way. An inadvertent social media disaster can quickly
unfold, no matter what the size or geographical scope of your business. For
example, I’ve just received an email highlighting a Facebook posting exchange
between a band representative and a pub. The band representative politely
asked who they needed to contact to line up a gig. The pub responded with
a surly one-line rebuttal and the conversation deteriorated further from that
point on. The interchange has now started to take on a social media life of its
own. What was one person’s ill thought out initial reply to a simple question
is going viral and the pub’s reputation is suff ering. Online it is so easy to blur
the boundary between friends and clients, especially as most photographers use
one social media account for these two very diff erent aspects of their lives. The
world is more connected than ever, but just because we are pressing buttons on
a keyboard or smartphone instead of talking face to face does not excuse poor
communication skills. We never know who’s watching.
by
kesavan
APRIL 2014 Outdoor Photography
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