Christmas Card Portraits | Alpharetta Family Photographer

It's so hard to wait until Christmas to post some of the wonderful portraits I've done through the year, but I don't want to ruin the surprise! Here are some of my favorites from a session this year:

And their Christmas Card Design:

Merry Christmas! | Walk through of our Christmas Card Design and Composite Photography Illustration

 Merry Christmas everyone! I've made a behind-the-scenes/walk-through video of my editing and illustration process for this card. Many thanks to Richard Sturdevant who taught me at the Georgia School of Professional Photography this summer. If you can't get the link to work, try it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gFRLdDNYNPk

Enjoy!

Pssst... I'm teaching some photography and a Photoshop class this January. Check it out.

Making a Weekly Social Media Plan

Atlanta GA Small Business Tips from Social Media Expert, Tamay Shannon

A note from Marchet: Tamay is my new guest blogger and a small business social media strategist. As a small business owner myself, and a photographer of other small business owners, I know her expertise is going to be valuable to me and you. We are so lucky to have her on the blog. Check it her first post!

Social media works best when planned and scheduled. But how do you know what to plan and when to post? This post will explain how to create a social media schedule for your business.

Why schedule your posts?

Creating a plan for when you post on social media is an important business step. Scheduling social media:

• Keeps your social media presence consistent
• Supports business goals
• Maximizes your time

Social media is only beneficial when you keep a consistent presence. If you put out great content at random, people stop looking for your posts and updates. Then, you have to win them back. This means you’re doing double duty for the same audience. By posting consistently, people get to know who you are. Your brand becomes something they trust. And when people trust you they are more likely to hire you and recommend you to others.

So plan and schedule your social media posts. This ensures that you are not scrambling at the last minute to “get something out there.” Planning allows time to create great content.

How do you create a schedule? 

Here is the process to create your weekly schedule.

• Add events that you are participating in/that your clients care about
• Add promotions you have planned and consider how long they last
• Incorporate the business goals you currently have
• Incorporate pop culture and how it influences your business

Events. First, consider any events that your business is having or that are important for your client. For example, if you run a fashion boutique, an important event for you and your client would be the spring fashion season.

Promotions. Then, add in your promotions. A promotion is telling people about sales, webinars, newsletters, or other events you are participating in. Understand what promotions you are having and how long they last allows you to plan the social media posts to support them.

Business Goals. Next, you want to consider posts that support your business. Maybe the focus of your first quarter is to grow your newsletter. If you know this, then you can plan posts that support that business goal.

Pop Culture. Finally, consider pop culture. This isn't something you can completely plan - but keep an ear out for things that happen in the news that relate to your business. For example, every year Pantone releases a color of the year. This is an opportunity to share about the great outfits you have that match that color. While this is not something you can completely plan out, it keeps your social media fresh and lets people know you are paying attention.

Here is a sample Social Media Weekly Calendar. Let's take Monday for example. You'll notice I've included a morning and afternoon post for Facebook and Twitter. I've also repurposed content from my Facebook post for other platforms: LinkedIn, Pinterest, and Instagram.

Tips for Success

• Your plan is meant to change. So don’t worry! It’s just a guideline to keep you on track. In fact, if this document doesn’t change, you aren;t looking at it enough. Just as you create a plan for your business that changes every year, so to will this document.
• This document is also a great place to check in when big world events happen. Sometimes an ill-timed post can cause more harm than good. Understanding what you have scheduled to go out can help avoid this.
• Don't forget to use a CTA (Call to Action) to support your posts. Tell people if you want them to click, download, or comment. By telling people the next action to take, they are more likely to take it.

Using your weekly planner will ensure that you are on your way to social media success. And remember you are not here to be good at social media. You are here to be good at your business and use social media to support that.

Need more help? Click here for more resources. 

	Tamay Shannon is a small business social media strategist and owner of Where 2 Start Marketing. You can read more about her and her role on the Butler Family Photography blog here.

Meet Tamay | Guest Blogger

Tamay Shannon joins the Butler Family Photography Blog

Meet Tamay -- and Cocoa! I've asked Tamay to join the Butler Family Photography blog to share her expertise for those of you in the business world. Tamay is an experienced social media strategist and works to help entrepreneurs realize their dreams. Her agency, Where 2 Start Marketing, helps business owners develop a thriving and active social media community that supports their business. Her free eBook walks business owners through making their social media profitable. Get it here. 

Why Family Portraits | Alpharetta GA Family Photographer

I'm  busy, busy, busy getting family portraits orders done for Christmas! Here's a quick look of what I've done recently.

And their Christmas cards . . . (a nice combination of their ordered portraits on a flat 5x7 card)