How to market when clients request privacy
Image by: @jakubzerdzicki
Don't throw current clients under the marketing bus for future (yet unknown) clients:
Social media of today is not the social media of even a few months ago. Our relationship with it evolves almost as quickly as the technology itself advances and there are new features or new platforms in the blink of an eye. I recall when Facebook was just somewhere to share a status with friends and family, and now it is a robust and even complex tool for both business and personal (love it or hate it). We have come far enough with media to start to see its negative underbelly, with movies such as the Social Dilemma warning us of addiction and manipulation, and increasing fakery and comparison being called out. We are coming into seeing layers and dimensionality and trying to wade our way through awareness, responsible use and consequence.
Marketing evolution on social media
Marketing on social media is a recent development in the history of marketing. Given that it is (mostly) free and far-reaching, it exploded as a means for small and artistic businesses to be more visible and to have easier and less expensive reach than traditional marketing methods. For genres like wedding photographers, platforms like Instagram were the perfect place to share imagery with larger audiences to help bookings. Many “regular” people — meaning non-models — loved being shown off in professional imagery — their own celebrity moments. Many approved images for social media use freely and it was appreciated by photographers because we had abundant content for portfolio and promotional use.
With any new technology, I feel that we first are excited and push boundaries, experimenting and loving what the new tech allows us to do. As the dust settles and we acclimatize, we start seeing some negatives emerge. Then comes a pull back, where people modify their behaviour to be more intentional and more careful. I believe this is where we are now — at least the start.
I find this happening with increasing frequency with family photography, where parents are especially protective of their children’s likeness online and requesting privacy. As we have enjoyed a real heyday of being able to post all of our sessions, photographers are running into requests for privacy and creating a dilemma for photographers reliant on this marketing strategy.
Photography clients do not owe us their likeness
Photographers who started their business in the height of greater freedom in sharing on social media and who came to rely on social media heavily in their marketing may now be feeling upset when clients request privacy. Many will seek advice in Facebook groups and the argument usually goes something like this: my client has requested privacy, but aren’t I allowed to do what I want with the images because I own copyright? It’s usually followed by lamenting that they need content to build a portfolio. Or they love the photos so much that’s it’s painful to never have them see the light of day.
We rely on photos of clients to find clients for photos. The caveat is that clients do not owe us anything with regards to our marketing. They have paid for service, and paying customers have every right to request privacy. They are not signing up to be marketing vehicles for us; they are hiring us to have personal photos taken. This is an issue we will run into more frequently as our relationship to social media continues to evolve, and we need to be prepared to handle with empathy for our clients and be ready to adapt.
What is important for us to understand is how we see and prioritize prospects versus clients. Someone who is giving us their money is the most important person at this moment. More important that any prospect because they’ve already converted from a prospect to a paid client. Money in hand beats money not yet materialized. We cannot throw them or their needs under our metaphorical marketing bus by not respecting their privacy wishes, in order to use their imagery to gain a future prospect that hasn’t yet appeared or paid.
That said, photographers who need portfolio content are highly focussed on their own needs, and it can cause them to be upset with the paying client requesting privacy because they wanted to use their photos to find new clients. If we are able to free ourselves from our needs for a moment and focus on the needs of the client and respect their wishes happily, we will see that this move can be a good one for our business. A client whose wishes have been respected sees you in a good light and can become a great advocate for you. A warm referral and potential repeat client is a stronger marketing opportunity for you than the noisy and vast social media landscape where unknown persons have yet even to make any appearance as a prospect with your business.
What to do when clients request privacy for their images
While social media is the primary go-to for many photographers, it is not the only marketing avenue nor might it even be the best one. We must first understand that just because media is easily accessible and inexpensive, those factors are not the only ones we need to consider for our marketing. Our main preoccupation is to get our message to our ideal clients. In the sea of cat videos and millions of other distractions, the gargantuan social media landscape is noisier than many other marketing channels. As it grows — and it’s already a beast — you need to be able to cut through noise and that become increasingly more difficult. Let’s keep some things in mind as we look at our best methods of marketing when dealing with limited permissions for image use:
Re-purpose what you have
A small but targeted, strong and cohesive portfolio can be much more powerful than a larger, less cohesive one. If we go back to how photographers marketed before social media, they weren’t feeding a system that constantly required new work. They sought commercial permission or did a styled session for a few iconic, signature images that represented their brand and were strong photos, and those would go into sample albums, magazine advertising, display windows and walls of their studios, in their brochure/ direct marketing. When things were printed, photographers had to use what they had or spend a lot of money in printing new assets, so often they kept the same items until they were too dated, or they ran out.
The Internet, combined with the ability to shoot hundreds and even thousands of photos at sessions has brought with it a mindset that we need to post dozens of photos from every single photo session we shoot and that all of our content and advertising needs new imagery. Instead, let’s look at the body of work that we have permissions for, and use it strategically. Often in advertising, the same or similar images are used over again. And with the never-ending churn and vastness of the Internet, it’s unlikely anyone notices if you posted a photo before. You can re-use imagery in a new context, format or platform and it’s a marketing gift that can keep giving.
Add layers of permissions
Most model releases are formatted as an all or nothing option but it doesn’t have to be that cut and dry. Years ago when I already brushed up against privacy requests with some clients in high-profile careers, I created a tiered release that I still use today. There is full release, website only, website & social media, private portfolio or full privacy. Often people are ok with website (which includes blog) use because a website is a professional entity for your business and doesn’t carry the same toxic associations that are being revealed with social media. Being that social media is a lower priority strategy for me overall anyways, receiving permission for website/ blog use works very well for me. It just took to separate social media out of it to have many more agree to this limited use. I’ve also had clients who didn’t want their children shown anywhere, but were ok with their couple photos. Have a conversation with your clients to find middle ground.
Get creative with the type of content
Whether you have a request for privacy or not, get into the habit of photographing locations, details, and unrecognizable people images. These items fall outside of a release (but make sure the people are truly unrecognizable). This way you have content to share even if you can’t share actual likeness. Baby feet and fingers, nursery details for newborn sessions. Locations, landscapes and details for weddings. Couples walking away from the camera, or doing the blurry thing and photographing the couple in the distance but focussing on the foreground (or vice-versa). Closeups of holding hands, or hugs.
Use privacy as the strategy
Combined with the alternate content, I have created a strategy around privacy. This is part of recognizing the needs of clients and adapting to market rather than trying to force adaptation to a release. Some photographers place the release directly into the contract and make it a non-negotiable and others will charge privacy fees. While you can do what works for your business, there is always opportunity where there are pain points. If the release is a pain point, solve it by promoting privacy. Sounds counter-intuitive, but hear me out. There are clients out there who wish discretion and privacy. If it’s a non-negotiable for them, a promise of privacy with no questions asked by a photographer in their marketing can draw this client in. And if they have a good experience, they will refer and return. I have several clients who request privacy, and they come back because they know they can trust that I will maintain that privacy promise.
I therefore promote this in my business. I do so in my Statement of Excellence, positioning me as a trustworthy and reputable option. I also promote it when using the alternative content I shoot at sessions. I have made blogs and posts about family pets, nursery decor and details, baby toes and can play up the fact that I can’t show more than that because my customers wish for privacy, but to still offer a visual captured from one or more sessions.
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