I want my ASMP Video….

For as long as I have been on the ASMP board, first as Education chair and now as President, I have heard from members and chapter presidents that we need to know more about video / motion, that we should use video for our education programming and that video should be utilized on our ASMP website.

During the SB2 seminars we utilized video both in the live seminars and later to capture some of the key presentations. They are available on our SB blog as well as a free download at iTunes Podcasts; see link to the right or search ASMP at the iTunes Store.

I have been researching possible solutions for both video podcast and live streaming meeting options. I discovered one possible solution literally below my studio, Vivolive, a local Pittsburgh startup, had just launched a consumer / soho live streaming service at the Consumer Electronic Show. I have been experimenting with the service for a few months now and ASMP will use the service to broadcast for the first time, our ASMP Annual Meeting to members, wherever they are. Members will receive an e-mail link to attend this meeting online.

The broadcast will include a segment featuring ASMP’s Executive Director, Eugene Mopsik, discussing our current education and advocacy efforts. I will speak about some ASMP policy initiatives moving to the future. We will then invite ASMP member Jack Hollingsworth for our Keynote presentation, “Leveraging Social Media for Your Business.”

This ASMP Member Meeting Live Stream is a good test for a very affordable and simple solution for ASMP and our chapters who desire to broadcast their meetings.

One of the initiatives that I will be discussing at the Annual Member Meeting is the creation of a “Motion Study Group” to look at the business practices that we may need to address regarding the business side of Motion Production, as well how ASMP can use video more effectively in our communications and education platforms.

Social Media – One Step at a Time

[By Jack Hollingsworth]

A lot of photographers seem to focus more on the risks of change. But I would argue that the risk of not making-over your business is far, far greater.

The rules have changed. Almost overnight. A totally different mind set to shooting and selling photography is required. Whether it’s assignment or stock, advertising or editorial, portraiture or wedding – it doesn’t really matter.  Those that are nimble and agile enough to make these changes…will flourish. Those that don’t, won’t, or can’t…flirt with obsolescence.

And while this industry metamorphosizes, at break-neck speed, retooling and redefining your brand and business will not and should not happen as rapidly.

Take a deep breath. One step at a time here.

Make a goal to set aside one hour a day for your social media makeover. Dive in. Join a few online forums. RSS feed a few sites. Read a few books. Set up profile pages in FaceBook, LinkeIn, Flickr, Twitter. Develop multiple online personas.  Join the conversation that is going on all around you.

I think you will be surprised at not only how easy it is, but how exhilarting it is as well. The process itself could be enough to kick start your thinking in a whole new direction, as it has done for me. Doing things in the same old way, will generally net you the same old results. Change your tune. Walk to the beat of a new drummer.

Using Social Media for your Photographer Makeover

Most of you know me as a stock guy.  And rightly so.  Since that’s where I’ve spent the last couple of decades.  Shooting commercial, travel and lifestyle imagery for every major stock house in the business.  I saw record highs in 2005-2006.  Then record lows in the beginning of 2007 to the present.  Because of this decline in return-per-image (better known as RPI), I began exploring other potential revenue streams.  To not just survive…but thrive.  Enter social media.

I’m flat out making my business more web 2.0 centric.  For me, that means migrating my role from photographer to publisher. From production to education. From stills-only to multi-media content.  From word-of-mouth to word-of-mouse.  From narrow marketing to viewing the world as my oyster. From stock-only income to a wide range of products and services – including photo tours, international shootouts, webinars, blogsites, eBooks, and consulting.  All geared to this new connected generation of customers: photographers, producers and storytellers.

The amazing thing about virally making-over your core business is, while painstakingly tedious, once in place, it will allow you the luxury of focusing on what you’re best at.  And perhaps shooting the sort of pictures that brought you to the dance in the first place.

Plunging into a photographic makeover of your business, so it’s more web 2.0 saavy and compliant, means taking all of those experiences, brand equity, good will, personas that you have painstakingly, over time, developed offline and creating the same – online.

I’m starting to be convinced that survivability no longer depends on ‘offline’ value only. You need both. Off and online equity and value. Working in concert with each other.

Invest the time now and the rewards will not only be immediate, but potentially lucratiave. It’s time for photographers to make-over their brand and business.

My Greatest Hits for Understanding Social Media, Recession Marketing and Branding

Here are a few books that I’ve read and re-read.  None of them specifically address the photography industry, per se. But it shouldn’t be too hard to connect the dots.  They serve as an excellent starting point for understanding the migration happening in social media, recession marketing and branding.

Small is the New Big
by Seth Godin

Tribes
by Seth Godin

Reality Check
by Guy Kawasaki

Social Media Marketing: An Hour a Day
by Dave Evans and Susan Bratton

Groundswell
by Charlene Li and Josh Bernoff

The Open Brand
by Kelly Mooney & Nita Rollins

The Brand Called You
by Peter Montoya

Book Yourself Solid
by Michael Port & Tim Sanders

Twitter Power
Joel Comm