Don’t Miss Father’s Day!

If you missed promoting your services and products for Mother’s Day and graduation, crank up the volume and aggressively go after Father’s Day. This is the last “race” in the seasonality trifecta.

Think about it—most dads are missing an updated family portrait. Even more apparent is the target buyer—it’s MOM! Women make 98% of the purchase decisions to hire a professional photographer in the portrait/social category. Plus, for most families with young children, Mom makes the choice regarding “What should we get Dad for Father’s Day?”

You’re already past the deadline, with Father’s Day less than two weeks away, but that doesn’t mean you can’t hit your target audience hard with a few well-placed phone calls along with taking full advantage of your social media reach.

Best of all, you don’t need to capture and present an finished family portrait. Remember, a well-designed certificate or gift card can still lock in a future portrait session on location or in your studio.

• Social Media: I’m a fan of direct mail, but you have to weave a web around your target, and reaching Mom, who’s usually active in social media needs to recognize your presence. Facebook is a great resource for reaching moms, but you have to be selective and find the forums where moms hang out.
• Cross-promotions: Look for partnerships in your community to cross-promote and share the cost of direct mail and social media. For example, how about a partnership between a sporting goods store and a photographer or a restaurant or event venue and a photographer? 
• Regular Promotions: This is well beyond the impact for Father’s Day, but so important to have going forward for the year. Many years ago, children’s photographer Vicki Taufer used to do an annual calendar with a different portrait theme every month. As a working pro today, regardless of your specialty, there’s no excuse not to put together a new promotion for at least each quarter of the year. Each one doesn’t have to be a show-stopper, but it does have to be strong enough to get the attention of your target audience.
• Direct Mail:​ The clock has pretty much ticked down on time for a direct mail piece now, but think about it as a summer project with a vacation portrait theme. More active than ever, snail mail is back with a vengeance. Think about how much email you toss, never even bothering to take a look at what it was. A well-designed postcard, especially if you bring in 1-2 additional partners, is cost-efficient and expands your reach…and it gets through the noise better than social media.

​Here’s the bottom line today – This year has enormous potential, even in these bizarre times, and you’re in a service minimally impacted by tariffs and politics.