Photographers are well acquainted with the need for an online presence. A domain is not only a name for your website – it is nowadays a key marketing element for success. However, domain names are often chosen in haste at the start of a photography business venture and are rarely revised.
Technology company 1&1, a global leader in web hosting, are releasing 1000 new Top-Level-Domains over the coming years, and photographers can now benefit from business specific domain endings, including .photography or .camera.
Newly created businesses often find their desired name has already been taken. But these new domains will allow start-ups unique and specific domain names.
Wedding Photographer Ben Bull is just one of many to have already successfully registered a .photography domain name. He said:
“After a career in sales, I decided to start my own business around four years ago. I’ve always been quite tech savvy and pretty up to date with the whole online world and domains. But it seems I was a little late off the mark. When it came to registering my domain I found the domain space was limited and the most relevant endings had already been taken.
“I first heard about the new domains from a 1&1 television advert. As soon as .photography came up I knew I had to jump to. I believe specific domain names is the way forward when it comes to the future online identity of businesses.”
There is nothing worse than having a beautiful website that no one can find. The new 1&1 domain names help photographers build an online identity in ways that a traditional .co.uk or .com cannot do for them, resulting in new potential for capturing traffic and developing digital branding. You should always have a site hosted on your own domain, even if your social media page is the main entry point to your business
In addition, 1&1 also offer ListLocal, a new way for small companies to be quickly found online by featuring their contact details instantly on up to 22 online directories, search engines, apps and map services.
The initial entry and all subsequent updates (such as changes to your location or opening hours) are performed only once from one, central dashboard. The entry status and customer feedback from each portal can be viewed within the platform as well. This data can be instrumental for both local advertising and as insight to advance a photographer’s own offerings. With a complete profile for each individual directory, a photography business will really profit from better visibility and search engine placement.
Consumer expectations for businesses on the web are increasing, placing evermore emphasis on engagement. But many firms are failing to recognise the power of social media in winning audiences. In fact, 73 per cent of adults who are online use social networks.
Recent research commissioned by 1&1 Internet, found that nearly half of consumers are more likely to buy from photography-based businesses who are adept at Facebook and Twitter. Some 30 per cent admit to having felt ‘too shy’ to physically enter a small business premises such as a photo studio in the past. Social media has comprised a paradigm shift in the way in which consumers wish to research and connect with small photography businesses. Data shows many businesses are failing to address the importance of this.
Time pressures often means that photographers have little time to establish and execute an effective social media strategy to meet modern consumer demands. The 1&1 Social Media Hub can really help. The tool contains two elements – Social Page Creator and Social Media Manager – which create and manage social media content from multiple channels.
Integrated into the 1&1 MyWebsite package, the Social Page Creator takes content and elements of your website to create a unique, business Facebook page. With tools such as the 1&1 Social Page Creator, it is easy to set up a social network page, with a built-in base of potential customers. There is a real business value to social media, and 1&1 offer a low-commitment way to have an active presence.
With just a few minutes each day, it has never been easier to get your beautiful photography out there for the world to see.
