Tips on advertising to High School Seniors for senior portraits?

[ChrisAdval]

Now I know working with anyone under legal age is very difficult and very risky, just advertising to them may or may not be as risky as well... not sure? Anyone here offer services to high school seniors for senior portraits? If so, how do you advertise to them? To parents in the local area? or/and to school administrators (to the school itself) to pass along the information to the students? no clue at all, but I see in my local area this is the best market I can work on because we only have a handful or less of photographers in my local town and have 6,000 high school students in the area. So, the market is there and with my prices I'm sure I'm the cheapest because I'm the youngest and least experienced compared to the competition (who's around 30-60 years old).

[mshockley]

High school seniors are a huge portion of my business. I live in a rather small community, and here it's all about word of mouth. I didn't really market to them, but I do offer specials periodically. For example, I did a 2-for-1 deal. Two kids for one session price.

I also use a special biz card with some of the senior images I've done on it, and ask the kids to leave them wherever they want, or give to their friends. I order these in small batches so I can change the pictures often.

You do need to remember that in the end it kind of goes like this: the senior has to want you to take the pictures, but the parent is the one who's footing the bill. You've got to market to both and somehow figure out how your going to keep both of them happy.

[NicoleScraps]

I actually did a webinar on marketing to HS seniors a while back. It was very useful.
Let me see what I can remember off the top of my head.

1. Create a rep or ambassador program. Get a few seniors, do their photo shoot for free and have them earn free prints by getting you referral clients. Make them up a set of rep cards to hand out, they should have one of their pics on them and all of your info, possibly a discount as well.

2. You need for these reps to be the popular/outgoing kids. Not the quiet mouse who is going to be intimidated by handing out the cards and encouraging his/her friends to use you.

3. School usually will not let you advertise or hand out information because they most time have a contract with their own photographer for the "headshot" drape/suit photos that go in the yearbook, so you need to make your contacts outside of the school.

4. Make that you have several pricing tiers available. Most time boys don't care and it is the parent who want the photos. So have a basic/value plan for them. Maybe 1/2 hour to 1 hour with 2 or 3 outfit changes. Girls like to go all out, so have a middle and a high plan available for them. Maybe one where you spend 2 hours, maybe another that you devote a big portion of the day and travel to multiple locations.


If I think of anymore, I will add them here.

[ChrisAdval]

Originally Posted by mshockley

High school seniors are a huge portion of my business. I live in a rather small community, and here it's all about word of mouth. I didn't really market to them, but I do offer specials periodically. For example, I did a 2-for-1 deal. Two kids for one session price.

I also use a special biz card with some of the senior images I've done on it, and ask the kids to leave them wherever they want, or give to their friends. I order these in small batches so I can change the pictures often.

You do need to remember that in the end it kind of goes like this: the senior has to want you to take the pictures, but the parent is the one who's footing the bill. You've got to market to both and somehow figure out how your going to keep both of them happy.

Originally Posted by NicoleScraps

I actually did a webinar on marketing to HS seniors a while back. It was very useful.
Let me see what I can remember off the top of my head.

1. Create a rep or ambassador program. Get a few seniors, do their photo shoot for free and have them earn free prints by getting you referral clients. Make them up a set of rep cards to hand out, they should have one of their pics on them and all of your info, possibly a discount as well.

2. You need for these reps to be the popular/outgoing kids. Not the quiet mouse who is going to be intimidated by handing out the cards and encouraging his/her friends to use you.

3. School usually will not let you advertise or hand out information because they most time have a contract with their own photographer for the "headshot" drape/suit photos that go in the yearbook, so you need to make your contacts outside of the school.

4. Make that you have several pricing tiers available. Most time boys don't care and it is the parent who want the photos. So have a basic/value plan for them. Maybe 1/2 hour to 1 hour with 2 or 3 outfit changes. Girls like to go all out, so have a middle and a high plan available for them. Maybe one where you spend 2 hours, maybe another that you devote a big portion of the day and travel to multiple locations.


If I think of anymore, I will add them here.

Thanks a lot guys I'll be studying these tips heavily!

Originally Posted by NicoleScraps

2. You need for these reps to be the popular/outgoing kids. Not the quiet mouse who is going to be intimidated by handing out the cards and encouraging his/her friends to use you.
.

Nothing like piggy-backing off the popularity of other kids, smarter, stronger and generally better looking than you, eh?