Photographers: Do You Know Your Target Audience?

by Skip Cohen

​It's Marketing Monday, and before we get too far into the new year, here's the big question - Do you know who your customers are? 

Sadly, too many photographers think demographics is one of those words that only apply to big companies. From the readership of your blog and posts to your website and all of your marketing, you need to understand who your customers are. And you especially need to know who's your target audience.
 
A quick trip to Google and "demographics" is defined as the statistical characteristics of human populations (such as age or income) used especially to identify markets...  For photographers, it's essential to know everything you can about your target audience.

Demographics
 
Time to go back to Google. As an example, I put in "Demographics for Sarasota County, Florida." That took me to a US Census Bureau page where I could sort by various characteristics. 

In the dropdown box, I chose age and sex for a start. Sarasota County has one of the oldest average age per person of any county in the US. So, this wouldn't be the best fit for a maternity photographer to open a business if there were a number of photographers already covering that specialty. On the other hand, it's a great area for a Legacy program.

I used to use an example in past programs of a children's photographer opening a studio in a retirement community like Sun City, Arizona. Again, the demographics don't fit the profile of the target for the business!

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It’s All About Mom
 
Women make 98% of the purchase decisions to hire a professional photographer in the portrait/social caategories. This is out of a Kodak study over thirty years ago, but I'm betting it hasn't changed even one percent. For most of you, that includes family and children portraiture, pets, seniors, weddings, engagements, and events.  
 
It's rare you get a call from a man saying, "We're overdue for an updated family portrait." Dad's a critical player in the decision process and often the key recipient of the final portrait, but he rarely makes the call to hire you. So, you've got to make sure you're reaching Mom.
 
Every Specialty Has Its Own Target and Resources
 
For you wedding shooters, here's another resource. Check out TheWeddingReport.com. It's not free, but if I were a full-time wedding photographer, I'd want every detail I could find about my audience. Once on their site, click on sample data - it's all for "Limestone, TX," but it's worth a look to understand the level of detail available, starting with how much people are spending on weddings. The numbers below include the number of weddings each year, the average all-inclusive amount spent, and the total dollars in the category. The data goes back to 2008 and is forecasted forward to 2025.

Partnerships

You'll find so much great information here, including ideas on businesses you might consider partnering with. In addition, it's loaded with great statistics and an opportunity to not only give you data on what's being spent on every aspect of weddings in an area, but you'll also find the list helpful in thinking about promotional and networking partners.
 
For example, if you scroll to page 10 of their Limestone, TX report check the money spent on other wedding areas like hair, makeup, entertainment, photography, flowers, limo service, gowns, honeymoons, spas, and caterers. There are at least 40-50 line items showing the amount being spent. Each category represents another potential partner who should be in your network.

This is Part I of what will probably be a 2-3 part post. No one post can do it all - but here's the most critical point: If you don't have the skill set to meet the expectations of your audience, then all the marketing in the world isn't going to help. With more live workshops, conferences, and conventions coming back into play, make sure you've got the technical skills to over-deliver and exceed expectations! ​