Business Breakthroughs for Photographers: Part XVI

At the end it’s not about what you have or even what you’ve accomplished.
It’s about who you’ve lifted up, who you’ve made better.
It’s about what you’ve given back.
Denzel Washington

by Skip Cohen

In any business today, you need to stay focused on everything you can do to break through the noise and chaos in everyone's lives. One of the best ways to stay on your target audience's radar is to be involved in your community.

Jay Conrad Levinson, better known as the father of Guerrilla Marketing, in a presentation I attended many years ago, listed "being involved in your community" as one of the top 100 things guerrilla marketers needed to do, and for a good reason. Simply put, people like to do business with companies they perceive as giving back. If you want your community to be good to you, you have to be good to your community.

Spring seasonality is coming to a close next month, but that doesn't mean there aren't plenty of business opportunities all summer and right into year-end. But you need to keep being noticed as more than just a talented artist. You want to be perceived as somebody who gives back to the community. 

From local events to national nonprofits, every community has an organization that needs help! The best thing about help is that it can be defined in so many different ways—from financial support to your skills to just jumping in as a "worker-bee."

• Get involved with a local fund-raiser. Whether it involves your camera or not doesn't matter. You need to be involved, and your community needs to know you're not just another retailer or service provider but an active supporter.
• Look for local events: For example, what's coming up in your community that's a fund-raising event?  
• Get to know the president of the PTA for any of the schools. How about portraits instead of a bake sale to raise money this year? What events are they sponsoring that might need to be documented?
• Every high school sports team, band, yearbook, and chorus is looking for new ways to raise money, and you've got the gear and the know-how.  How about working with them to create a new idea for fund-raising beyond hot dog sales at the games?
• Not every show of support needs to involve photography. Even if you're just helping the Boosters Club at a refreshment stand selling hotdogs, the key is to be out there in the community.
• Visit your local Chamber of Commerce and find out what's happening in the community. There's always a United Way Campaign in the fall, but what other events occur as we head into the summer, fall and winter months?
• Sometimes, helping to raise money directly is about using your skill set as a photojournalist to boost awareness. Document various events in the community, and then provide the management of those events, the local paper, and websites with your images. Remember, nobody can do it better than you!
• Use your blog and social media presence. With every event there's an opportunity to share the experience and increase awareness for far more than just your involvement. Tell the story of the organization and their events.  Include links back to their home page. It's great content and helps to demonstrate your commitment. Whether you blog or, for example, post on a Facebook page, by sharing information about various nonprofits, you're becoming an ambassador for that organization. 
• Publish an event calendar. This is an easy way to become a community clearinghouse for nonprofits in the area, and it shows your commitment.
• I have at least three favorite organizations I work with, and they're national in their reach. First, I've written about my involvement in support of Alzheimer's research, and especially Alzheimer's Walks, which are taking place nationwide. Check out Alz.org, Second, on a very local level, are the Senior Friendship Centers in Sarasota. I've been involved in so many different ways, from fund-raising to managing their blog and doing a podcast series to being on their Board for many years. Third, Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep is always looking for more photographers and support. While it takes a very special artist to get involved in helping a family who's just lost a child, every photographer I've ever met has described being a part of such an intimate and emotional event as life-changing.​

None of what I'm sharing today is a new topic to share on the SCU blog. No act of support is too small—the key is being involved. I'm not sure there's anything more rewarding or powerful in building your brand. You want to be recognized in your community as a person/company who believes in giving back and can walk the talk!

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