Candid Color Systems’ focus is different than most Pro Photo Labs. CCS has always been about marketing. We are one of the few professional labs that have a marketing department in house. We are also one of the few labs that operate a full blown retail operation which is also a marketing laboratory in which to test and refine our products and processes.

As the New Year begins, now is the time to create new resolutions to improve your business. Here are a couple of ideas that will help you achieve this goal.

So you’ve got a website for your photography business, it looks great and functions perfectly. But how do you know it’s getting visited by potential clients? Enter analytics…

Are you collecting email addresses at your events for email marketing? If so, do you monitor email activity from the email campaigns you send? Does the system you use for email marketing allow you to monitor your email campaigns? If not, you may be overlooking one aspect of email marketing that can cost you sales.

Just be yourself. It sounds like a cheap mannerism that girls tell guys when they ask for advice the day before they’re about to go on a date (and it’s actually pretty sound advice). But this is also very relevant when it comes to social media marketing. Having an engaging and unique brand voice is key to the success of your social marketing efforts.

Right about this time of year, most dance schools/studios are planning their summer hiatus trying to recover from the chaos and long hours that occur annually with Spring recitals. If you are seriously considering getting into the Dance school market, or are already reaping the rewards in this very lucrative market, there is no better time to make a sales effort and market your services than right now.

A few months ago I discovered a man by the name of Seth Godin. He’s a marketing guru who has written numerous books, countless papers and manifestos on all things marketing. It’s one of his ideas that I want to talk to you about today. When driving around, really any part of the country, you’re bound to run into a cow. It happens, they’re everywhere. But, when you drive by a cow your probably not going to stop to look and say “Wow, it’s a cow!” This is because cows are boring.

Proms, which used to be the golden goose of the Spring photo season, have now become a financial challenge for photographers in the digital age. Proms are still being held all over the country, and expensive tuxedoes and fancy dresses are still all the rage at these events; but pre-paid posed photographs have taken a serious hit.

Last week we discussed some of the reasons why you need to have your business on Facebook as well as discussed the first step in the Facebook marketing funnel. Today we’re going to finish that conversation with the last 3 steps that make Facebook marketing work.

By now, all of you should know the reasons why Facebook (and pretty much all social media) marketing is important and should be considered an integral part of your overall marketing strategy. But, just in case you missed reading my previous articles I’ll recap a few things for you.