Is Facebook worth it?

[Alrik89]

Also, on facebook, how many more people are going to get to see your wedding photo's than if just an album was printed and put in someone's loft?

I think you underestimate the magic of print - and its reach.
In my opinion, the couples still want to share a special moment like their wedding personally. So they won't dare to satisfy their photo-hungry friends with a lame album in the internet. They invite all their friends to their house and take a look at the photos together - even if 90% of these guys are facebook addicts.

But to answer your question:
If the couple has 75 friends on their wedding and 75 friends on facebook - well, i think the amount of the people who will see the album and who will see the photos on facebook is basically the same.

And finally: what will leave a bigger impact at potential customers a.k.a. future wedding couples?
a) a facebook album
b) a nice printed photo album

It's not hard to find the answer.

Unlikely. I know many people who have hundreds or even thousands of "friends" on FB and I can guarantee you that the photos posted their will reach more people than the photos seen in their printed album after the wedding.

You have tons of friends on facebook, and they have tons of friends, too. Ask yourself: is it probably that these tons of people will see your post (or those of your friends) with your awesome pictures? Or is it probably that your post with your awesome pictures will simply be overlooked due to the fact that there are tons of posts from tons of people even if they are your friends?

 

[cayenne]

Also, on facebook, how many more people are going to get to see your wedding photo's than if just an album was printed and put in someone's loft?

I think you underestimate the magic of print - and its reach.
In my opinion, the couples still want to share a special moment like their wedding personally. So they won't dare to satisfy their photo-hungry friends with a lame album in the internet. They invite all their friends to their house and take a look at the photos together - even if 90% of these guys are facebook addicts.

But to answer your question:
If the couple has 75 friends on their wedding and 75 friends on facebook - well, i think the amount of the people who will see the album and who will see the photos on facebook is basically the same.

And finally: what will leave a bigger impact at potential customers a.k.a. future wedding couples?
a) a facebook album
b) a nice printed photo album

It's not hard to find the answer.

Unlikely. I know many people who have hundreds or even thousands of "friends" on FB and I can guarantee you that the photos posted their will reach more people than the photos seen in their printed album after the wedding. Personally, if I had to choose only one, I'd rather have a printed album simply because it has more meaning to me than digital files (barring the obvious convenience and longevity of the latter), much like how I'd rather have an actual book in my hands than a Kindle. But the discussion isn't about which one is better, which is almost always a relative notion. Why limit yourself to one or the other when both have their own merits and purposes? One doesn't create a business page on FB to make money directly, it is merely a tool for networking and as is generally conceded it can be a very effective tool indeed if done correctly.

Yep, like I mentioned earlier in this thread, most pundits I've been reading and listening too, that do make BIG $$$ in photography, take advantage of social media, but their main tenets are:

1. Keep it business, not personal on the business social media site. (If you must have a personal one, keep it separate and often best not to associate it at all or link it to the business site )

2. Do not use the social site (FB for instance) as your primary site, don't post a ton of your biggest best images, instead, use it as a method to send them to links directly to your real website. Use FB and twitter to generate traffic directly to your main website and/or blog.

It can be a powerful tool....but keep it all business, and use it to drive traffic where you really want it.

Like I said, I don't have FB and other social media accounts, due to privacy and security concerns. If business picks up and maybe I move more in this direction, then I'll definitely consider setting up FB and twitter and Instagram...etc (whatever social media flavor of the month is)....but only with business/corporate credentials, and drive them to my website I own and control.

cayenne

 

[bleephotography]

Also, on facebook, how many more people are going to get to see your wedding photo's than if just an album was printed and put in someone's loft?

I think you underestimate the magic of print - and its reach.
In my opinion, the couples still want to share a special moment like their wedding personally. So they won't dare to satisfy their photo-hungry friends with a lame album in the internet. They invite all their friends to their house and take a look at the photos together - even if 90% of these guys are facebook addicts.

But to answer your question:
If the couple has 75 friends on their wedding and 75 friends on facebook - well, i think the amount of the people who will see the album and who will see the photos on facebook is basically the same.

And finally: what will leave a bigger impact at potential customers a.k.a. future wedding couples?
a) a facebook album
b) a nice printed photo album

It's not hard to find the answer.

Unlikely. I know many people who have hundreds or even thousands of "friends" on FB and I can guarantee you that the photos posted their will reach more people than the photos seen in their printed album after the wedding.

You have tons of friends on facebook, and they have tons of friends, too. Ask yourself: is it probably that these tons of people will see your post (or those of your friends) with your awesome pictures? Or is it probably that your post with your awesome pictures will simply be overlooked due to the fact that there are tons of posts from tons of people even if they are your friends?

Perhaps both. Usually it is my real friends (and family) who actually see, comment and share my posts, whereas those acquaintances who have many more friends than I will often, but not always, pass over. However, when you post a picture on FB, especially a good one, it immediately stands out from the rest of the monotonous fodder and will thus likely attract more attention.

In fact, just the other day I had a relative ask for photographer recommendations on FB and she received five different responses referring five different photographers and all five responses linked to all five photographers' FB pages, which had some images from their portfolio but also linked to their actual websites (which, as cayenne mentions, is proper utilization of social media from a business standpoint).

 

[MrFotoFool]

Not sure if it matters, but perhaps I should clarify I am a fine art photographer and not a wedding or portrait photographer.

So, for those of you that are very familiar with Facebook's setup, let me ask this. If I create a personal page first (which I would not really use, but whatever), can I then create an artist page and not have the same problem of being unable to load the profile picture and getting the account disabled message? Also, does the profile picture have to be the same on my personal and business page? (I would think not, because certainly JC Penney does not have a photo of their IT person as their profile picture - they have their logo, which is what I want).

 

[bleephotography]

Not sure if it matters, but perhaps I should clarify I am a fine art photographer and not a wedding or portrait photographer.

So, for those of you that are very familiar with Facebook's setup, let me ask this. If I create a personal page first (which I would not really use, but whatever), can I then create an artist page and not have the same problem of being unable to load the profile picture and getting the account disabled message? Also, does the profile picture have to be the same on my personal and business page? (I would think not, because certainly JC Penney does not have a photo of their IT person as their profile picture - they have their logo, which is what I want).

Yes, that should resolve the problems you've been having and no, your profile pictures can be different

 

[MrFotoFool]

Yes, that should resolve the problems you've been having and no, your profile pictures can be different

Much thanks. Maybe I will give it another go. My next question is, should I use a different email than the one I already tried? Since the previous one is now listed as account disabled, I wonder if I would get the same message trying to create a personal profile with that same email?

 

[bleephotography]

Yes, that should resolve the problems you've been having and no, your profile pictures can be different

Much thanks. Maybe I will give it another go. My next question is, should I use a different email than the one I already tried? Since the previous one is now listed as account disabled, I wonder if I would get the same message trying to create a personal profile with that same email?

To be honest I'm not 100% sure, although it couldn't hurt and you can always change it after your new account is established.

 

[dstppy]

Is Facebook worth it?

"what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul?" Matthew 16:26

Sorry, had to do it. I await my disciplinary beating.

;D ;D ;D

 

[cayenne]

Hey...can anybody that uses FB for business needs, can you confirm or dispel the requirement to have a PERSONAL account on Facebook before you can open a business acct, and have to link them together??

 

[bleephotography]

Hey...can anybody that uses FB for business needs, can you confirm or dispel the requirement to have a PERSONAL account on Facebook before you can open a business acct, and have to link them together??

Unfortunately, I do not have a business page but I can confirm that you do need a personal account/timeline in order to create one: https://www.facebook.com/help/217671661585622

"Facebook Pages look similar to personal timelines, but they offer unique tools for connecting people to a topic you care about, like a business, brand, organization or celebrity. Pages are managed by admins who have personal timelines. Pages are not separate Facebook accounts and do not have separate login information from your timeline."

You don't, however, have to post anything on your timeline or refer others to it from your business page for it can be a separate entity as far as the public is concerned. Hope this helps.

 

[cayenne]

Hey...can anybody that uses FB for business needs, can you confirm or dispel the requirement to have a PERSONAL account on Facebook before you can open a business acct, and have to link them together??

Unfortunately, I do not have a business page but I can confirm that you do need a personal account/timeline in order to create one: https://www.facebook.com/help/217671661585622

"Facebook Pages look similar to personal timelines, but they offer unique tools for connecting people to a topic you care about, like a business, brand, organization or celebrity. Pages are managed by admins who have personal timelines. Pages are not separate Facebook accounts and do not have separate login information from your timeline."

You don't, however, have to post anything on your timeline or refer others to it from your business page for it can be a separate entity as far as the public is concerned. Hope this helps.

That blows.

I don't want to really put any personally identifiable information into FB's computers. I wonder how good they are at checking or verifying that that new user "Fred Flintstone" isn't really a real person....?

Do you think listing hometown as Bedrock would be too much of a giveaway and be caught by their filters?

 

[LewisShermer]

bloody hell, everyone is so damn paranoid... "They" are not out to get us. "They" couldn't organise a piss up in a brewery... as demonstrated by the (North) American government falling apart this week.

 

[sanj]

bloody hell, everyone is so damn paranoid... "They" are not out to get us. "They" couldn't organise a piss up in a brewery... as demonstrated by the (North) American government falling apart this week.

Absolutely! I have been on facebook for a long time now and am still alive! Friend me: Sanjay F. Gupta....

 

[dstppy]

bloody hell, everyone is so damn paranoid... "They" are not out to get us. "They" couldn't organise a piss up in a brewery... as demonstrated by the (North) American government falling apart this week.

Long ago, I was perfectly happy being paranoid. I knew it so I felt secure in the fact that it was probably just my imagination. Then a friend pointed out "Just because you're paranoid, doesn't mean people AREN'T out to get you"

Seriously though, I'm down on facebook/twitter for why most people use it and how it's used, not data wise.

If you want to worry about someone, worry about google; they track you multiple ways (they have a huge hash with mac addresses against searches). I found 'my' search history in my google account and it had searches from machines that pre-dated the actual google account. At first I was laughing, thinking "what a dork" that I was looking up, then I got the creepiness about it. I turned it off and 'deleted' my data, but it's there.

 

[cayenne]

bloody hell, everyone is so damn paranoid... "They" are not out to get us. "They" couldn't organise a piss up in a brewery... as demonstrated by the (North) American government falling apart this week.

Depends on your life needs.

It is not a great thing to have, if you need a security clearance, with much of that, it isn't so much YOU, but who you associate with, and with friends of friends of friends like people seem to gather on FB, you might get some bad apples that you didn't even directly link to, but it can hurt you.

Also, recent stories have come to light about credit ratings....they are going to social media, and looking to see how your friends are and if you have some deadbeat friends, they have it in their algorithms to lower your score with the assumption that you might be more of a credit risk if you associate with people that are credit risks.

I do databases, and information gathering for a living. Trust me, I *know* the value of aggregated data and what it can do to paint a picture for various uses on places, things and people.

Even if you're not concerned about govt. looking at this data....this information is being sold off to any corporation or private entity that has the money for whatever they want to do with it.

I dunno...I just grew up valuing my privacy. I've been on the internet and the web since about '92, and even back then in its infancy, people's mantra was to not give out too much personal info and stay as anonymous as possible.

I know it is almost impossible to have full privacy today unless you live in a shack in the mountains cut off from everyone else. But, I'll be d@mned if I'm going to voluntarily hand over everything there is to know about me to anyone or any company.

I'll put what I need out there for business, but I want to keep as much of my personal data off as many databases as I possibly can.

That's my $0.02,

C

 

[LewisShermer]

I post that much rubbish that anything worth anything to anyone gets lost in the matrix

 

[wsgroves]

Not sure if its related to the OP but I do know that you should watch what you post on FB.
A lot of companies now will try to gain entrance and have a look at what you post, which can definitely have an effect on whether you get that new job or not.
My wife posts a lot (pix) but I rarely do.