In the last month, I’ve come to know Larry Hamill and Pamela Willits through interactions on LinkedIn, email, their blog and in person. Larry does some really interesting work with calendars as a marketing item. I have two hanging in my office right now.
Both Larry and Pam are artists working in Columbus, right down the street from Social Business Strategies at Qwirk Co-Working in German Village. Larry creates art through images. I’m grateful that Larry has agreed to let me use his work as the new header image on NateRiggs.com. You’ll see more that over the next few weeks.
Pam, however, is a different kind of artist. She’s a human artist, working to leverage social web tools to create content art that inspires relationships. Here aresome of the things she and Larry are working on today.
Larry Hamill Photography is a good example of where most small and mid-sized businesses are, in terms of building a social media strategy. They’ve invested in building the outposts, but are searching for ideas on what to do with them. Here are a few ideas that hopefully Larry and Pam (and you) can use to move the needle on your own.
Telling Stories via Toobla Folders
In the video, Larry mentions stringing multiple images together on the blog and Facebook Fan page to tell a story. Because content streams move so fast, I recommend they try using Toobla (another Columbus start up) to build folders of images that tell the story and then embed them on the blog. Bryan Huber does a nice job of executing this idea on his blog.
Connect One to Many Using LinkedIn Answers
You might try using LinkedIn answers to ask earnest questions related to photography. If you execute effectively, using this tactic will allow you to connect one-on-one with each person who submits a response. The people who do respond typically will have some interest and expertise in the subject matter. (Perry Maughmer came up with this one, folks…)
Getting More from Trips Using LinkedIn and TripIt
Later in the video, Larry mentions traveling to other cities to distribute portfolios and calendars. That’s a good move. To make those trips more efficient, you might try looking into using the TripIt Application on LinkedIn to tap into members of your existing network, who live near the areas you are visiting. Once you identify them, use LinkedIn to connect and schedule a short get-together. People are always up for coffee or lunch.
People Heart Desktop Art
Most photographers have terabytes of images sitting in storage. Consumers, on the other hand, are always looking for interesting desktop images for their computers. You might consider selecting a new image each week, placing a watermark with your signature, blog and contact info in the corner and making those images available for download via Scribbed. You can do everything from embedding Scribbed documents into blog posts to sharing links on your Facebook page. Either way, give enough work away for free and eventually karma will come full-circle.
Fan Base Advertising
On your Facebook Fan page, spend a little budget each month to run PPC “Become a Fan” advertisements. Sync Creative has hit some home runs using this idea.
Exchange Social Capital with Bloggers
Us bloggers and social media types are always in need of new headshots. Why not pick a day in the spring, reach out to a targeted list of local Columbus bloggers (Cheryl Harrison’s list) and offer to snap a few headshots for them in Schiller Park? I’m willing to bet that they would be appreciative enough to link to your blog and maybe even show off some of your work, in return for the exchange of social capital.
Now, it’s your turn. What other ideas do you have? How would you design a strategy for using social media tools?
Join The Discussion!