Social Media Photography Survey 2009

A Survey to Understand How & Why Photographers Use

Social Media

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About the Survey

General Info
Number of Participants: 548
Duration: Sept 23, 2009 to Oct 19, 2009
Promoted using: Twitter, Facebook, blog posts and links from industry
association websites

Who’s Behind It?

This survey was run independently with no sponsorship.
Jim Goldstein - Organizer & Survey Analysis (http://www.jmg-galleries.com)
Taylor Davidson - Survey Analysis (http://www.taylordavidson.com)

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 Length of Twitter Use
How Long Have You Used Twitter?

61% for LESS than 1 year

16% for MORE than 1 year

24% do not have a Twitter account

All 548 respondents. 3

“I joined Twitter because …”

General curiosity 45%

A friend urged me to 11%
Saw it mentioned on a forum or a blog 10%
Media hype 9%

All 548 respondents; remaining 35% submitted wide range of other reasons. 4
 Would People Recommend Twitter to Their
Friends?

78% would or already have recommended

Twitter to their friends

22% would not

% of people that have a Twitter account. 5

 Why Are People Using Twitter?
What is your motivation for Twitter & other Social Media participation?
Focusing on the top three responses,

Community
70%

12%

18% 16%

24%
Business Fun
58% 4%
10% 50%
6%

% of all responses. Respondents selected multiple responses.

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10% did not select any of the above.
 Quality Relationships, Not Quantity.
How many contacts on Twitter have you made, that you would not have made otherwise,
that have the ability to help further your photographic endeavors?

Less than 5 new contacts: 46%

5 to 24 new contacts: 38%
More than 25 new contacts: 16%

% of people that have a Twitter account. 7

 Ease of Access to People & Opportunities
What types of contacts have you made?

Other Photographers 84%

Friends 54%
Writers 20%
Editors 18%
Creative Directors 16%
Photo Buyers 16%
Workshop Attendees 8%
%s of respondents that have a Twitter account.
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Respondents were allowed to select multiple responses, %s will not add up to 100.
 Business Value
What value have you received by taking part on Twitter & other Social Media sites?

Info / Knowledge Sharing 78%

Socializing 64%
Establish New Business Contacts 43%
Developing Trust / Authority Status 32%
Developing New Clients 27%

%s of respondents that have a Twitter account.

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Respondents were allowed to select multiple responses, %s will not add up to 100.
 It’s Not About the Money (But the Potential Exists)
How much money have you made from direct sales or leads through social media in 2009?

Over $5,000 10%

$1,000 to $5,000 17%

$1,000 to $5,000 26%
Nada 48%
But the potential exists… 5 reported over $50k

9 reported $25K to $50K

Overall income from photography: 41% under $5,000; 23% from $5,000 to $25,000; 14% from $25,000 to $50,000; 23% over $50,000.
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Similar results from direct sales or leads through social media in 2008 and 2009.
 Survey Participants Professional Level
How would you classify your involvement in photography?

Professional 42%
Semi-Professional 31%
Amateur/Hobbyist 27%
Professional > 75% of income from photography; Semi-Professional 5 to 75%; Amateur / Hobbyist less than 5%. 11
 It’s Important to Participate in Multiple Places
Which of the following Social Media sites are you actively participating in?

Facebook 83%
Twitter 69%
Our own blogs / websites 62%
Flickr 57%
LinkedIn 57%
Other people’s blogs 41%
Photography Forums 30%
MySpace, Ning, Friendfeed, others all < 12%

Respondents were allowed to select multiple responses, %s will not add up to 100. 12
 Sites with Greatest Perceived Value
Personal web sites and blogs are perceived to create the most business value

4.2

2.0

Question: Based on your experience rank the following sites in terms of business value / revenue
generation: [rank 1 to 5]. Number reported is weighted average of responses. 13
 Where Are People Making Money From?
Can you tie past revenue opportunities to any of the following sites?
Focusing on top 4 sources

Personal website and blogging 43%

Facebook 28%
Flickr 22%
Twitter 15%

Respondents were allowed to select multiple responses, %s will not add up to 100.
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35% reported making no money from any social media sites.
Thoughts & Analysis: Social Media

“Where’s the Beef”?

This survey originated due to several contacts asking is social media participation worth
the time and where is the money to be made?

Return on Investment (ROI) v. Return on Engagement (ROE)

Social media offers value not just in traditional revenue, but in brand & reputation
management. What is the valuation of “word of mouth marketing” (i.e. referrals) and
the savings or extension that can provide to your limited marketing budget?

Product v. People
Marketing is about people not product. While marketers have always talked a good
game about this, it is now a reality. A reality driven by your audience who share control
of your brand through self-publishing on social media web sites.

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Thoughts & Analysis: Perceived Business Value

One of the more telling components of this survey has been the
nearly parallel alignment of perceived business value and sites
creating revenue opportunities.

While “photo hosting services” did not appear in the results of the
“Where are people making money from” slide, it is likely these sites
are seen as components of web sites or entire web sites unto
themselves thanks to improved integration features.

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Thoughts & Analysis: Sites Creating Revenue Opportunities

Personal Web Sites & Blogs

• The “Bomb Shelter”… the majority of these sites are safe and immune from the collapse of 3rd party
services.
• Personal web sites act as modern day business cards
• Photographers have 100% control of these sites with no to minimal dependence on software release
cycles
• Modular applications are available to fit personal needs in particular with blogs

Photo Hosting Services (Photoshelter, SmugMug, Flickr, etc.)

• Provide a path/mechanism to achieve revenue opportunity
• Turn Key solutions
• Services that have established trust & awareness online

Facebook
• Ability to mingle with in a huge audience: ~350 million users eclipse even the most popular
photography business web sites
• Is a gated community where existing networks can interact and new referrals can be made
• Trusted networks speed the spread of news & content to like minded individuals

Twitter
• Ease of accessibility with no middlemen between you and people you want to interact with
• Developing communication standard (an alternate to email, phone and postal mail)
• Twitter is a large pool of real-time data with a developing application layer enabling people to make
sense of user interest & behavior

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Jim Goldstein (@jimgoldstein)
Taylor Davidson (@tdavidson)

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