See How These Photographers Booked More Clients with Facebook Video

Though they can seem intimidating at first, Facebook and Instagram ads aren’t as complicated as they seem. And with a little knowledge and a couple bucks, a photographer can turn those ads into bookings. Want proof? Take a look at how senior photographer Teri Fode and headshot photographer Kristina Houser made back their money and then some with $100 and a Facebook video ad, created with Animoto.

A few bookings add up

With senior photography season coming up, Teri decided to experiment with using video in a Facebook ad. She spent $50 to reach seniors and $50 to reach their parents in her area, creating an ad for both that featured her best images, but was still was quick, with easy-to-read mobile-friendly text.

Marketing Video Style: Bold
Song: “Shake This Party Up” by Curious

The video brought in 3 new bookings, and those bookings amounted to $9,500, meaning by narrowly targeting her audience, she was able to find the right clients for her and make a huge return on her $100 investment.

What made this video a success?

• Storytelling. Teri’s video tells the story in a way that appeals to parents and seniors.
• Text. The video’s text is easy to read and helps Teri tell her story, whether or not the sound is on.
• Ad targeting. By focusing on a tight geographic area, and specifying teens between 16 and 18 and their parents as the targets of her ads, she was able to reach her audience and just her audience, meaning her money went where she wanted it to go.

Get more eyes on your work

For her ad, Kristina created a video featuring her headshots. While she shoots a variety of types of photos, she hoped the lower entry cost of headshots would bring in clients who might later book her for family or wedding photos.

Marketing Video Style: Blank Slate
Song: “Anger is a Bush” by Oshmusik

Once the video hit her Facebook business page and was promoted through Facebook Ads Manager, Kristina’s business began to see results. The month the Facebook video ad ran, Kristina booked 16 headshots — more than one and a half times her usual business, and 7 of those bookings came from the Facebook video.

And that’s just the initial wave — on the day her ad ran, Kristina’s website saw 27 times its average number of daily visitors, increasing the number of people who know about her business and may remember her brand for the future.

What made this video a success?

• Text. Like Teri, Kristina has bold text that sells her message when her videos are played silently.
• Varied format. Kristina varied her video with different collages that created a more dynamic presentation.
• Low barrier for entry. Instead of focusing on her higher-end products, Kristina started with headshots, which cost less, but which might get more people to book. Then, once they’ve seen what she can do, headshot clients may consider Kristina when they need family or wedding photography in the future.

Encouraged by the attention the ad brought her business, Kristina is working on more Facebook ads for the future. She shared, “I can’t wait to make marketing videos for all genres that we shoot.”

You can find out more about Kristina’s story, and the experiences of other businesses succeeding with video on our Success Stories page. Or if you have a success story of your own, post it in the comments below, or reach out on Facebook or Twitter to share how you’ve been improving your business with video.