In this post, we will cover 3 ways Photographers can use Twitter to help them with research, and even find new clients!

1. PollDaddy
PollDaddy, is a free online tool that allows you to create surveys and polls for your Twitter followers. This can be helpful for you to determine future blog post topics, what photography conventions to attend, etc… When you create a survey or poll with PollDaddy, they will provide you with a Direct URL to the poll. To help distribute this poll to your Twitter followers, copy that Direct URL and then visit TinyURL to create a short version of the URL.

TinyURL is not only great to use when conducting these type of surveys and polls, but is great to use in any situation when you would like to share a link that has a long URL.

2. Ask Questions
Sometimes instead of creating a formal survey or poll, it is easier to simply ask a question. For example, if you are in the market for a new camera, you might create a tweet that says “How many of you shoot with a Nikon D300?”. Twitter users can then reply to your tweet and a conversation can get started on the Nikon D300. This conversation may help you make a logical decision to purchase the camera or not.

3. Research
Ok, I have to let you in on a little secret… I saved the best for last. I realize that some people may have gotten bored with the beginning of this post and quit reading, but if you are reading this now – What I am about to share with you will blow your mind… Hahaha.

There is an Advanced Twitter Search option, and there are numerous ways that you can use this Search option to help you and your business. If you clicked on the link above, you’ll notice that there is an “All of these words” form field in the “Words” box, and “Near this place” and “Within this distance” form fields in the “Places” box. Depending on how you fill these out, you could potentially uncover new client opportunities.

For example, lets say I am a photographer in Las Vegas… I just typed in “photographer” in the “All of these words” form field, and typed “Las Vegas” and “25 miles” in the “Near this Place” and “Within this distance” form fields. I just scanned the first page of the results, and there were two people that tweeted how they needed a photographer… It would then make sense for me to write a tweet to them introducing myself.

The best part of this is that you can save the RSS Feed of the Search. So anytime in the future when someone “within 25 miles of Las Vegas” mentions “photographer” in a tweet, you will automatically be notified.

Here are some other searches that you might want to create and save: “Wedding Photographer”, “Wedding Photography”, “Just Got Engaged”, “Fiancee”, “Fiance”, “Photo Shoot”, and “Photography Shoot”.

Granted, I am not saying to use this as your only means of prospecting for new clients – But it doesn’t hurt to have potential leads sent right to your RSS Feed Reader.

Alright, congrats on making it though the post! Hopefully you found it helpful. In the next part of Introduction to Twitter for Photographers, we will be discussing how to use Twitter to Showcase Your Portfolio.

Until next time, feel free to share this blog post with your friends and add me on Twitter: @darkroomRYAN

Twitter (www.twitter.com) is soooooooo much more than simply answering that question. So I thought I would help out my photography friends and take you through a crash-course on how to get the most out of Twitter.

This series will cover the following five reasons why Photographers should use Twitter:

I. Network with other Photographers and those in the Photography industry
II. Extend your Photography Brand
III. Research and Surveys (Yes, this relates to Photographers!)
IV. Showcase your portfolio to potential clients
V. Keep up with current trends in the Photography industry

I. Network with other Photographers and those in the Photography industry

So you joined Twitter and have no idea on how to find your photography friends, or interesting people to follow – for example: Ryan Swigert (cough, cough). No worries! Here are three ways to find photographers and other friends on Twitter:

1. Twitter > Find People

Simply log into Twitter. Then in the upper right corner, you will see “Find People”. Once you click on “Find People”, you will see the following four options:
1. Find on Twitter: This allows you to type in a person’s name to see if they are already on Twitter. You can also type in industry and job titles, such as “photography”, and “photographer” in the form field.
2. Find on other networks: This allows you to see if any of your contacts from Gmail, Yahoo, AOL, Hotmail, or MSN are already on Twitter.
3. Invite by email: This allows you to invite friends via email address to join Twitter.
4. Suggested users: This options shows you some popular Twitter accounts, i.e. JetBlue Airways, Al Gore, and Tony Robbins. Granted, these are not related to photography, but you might find these accounts interesting to follow.

2. Twitter Directories

Here are a couple of Twitter directories that you can use to search for fellow Photographers:
Twellow
Just Tweet It
Note: You may also find it beneficial to add yourself to these directories so that other Photographers can find you.

3. Mr. Tweet

I could have put Mr. Tweet in the Twitter Directories section, but I think it warrants its own category. Mr. Tweet is a website and service that finds Twitter users for you. They customize the list they provide based on your interests and the people that you are already following.

I know this is a ton to take in all at once, but I’m always here to help you. If you have any questions or feel overwhelmed, simply contact me and we’ll get through it together! There is so much more that I will be sharing with you in regards to how Twitter can help you and your Photography business. In the meantime, start finding people to follow on Twitter using the above methods.

The next part in this series will cover how to use Twitter to Extend Your Photography Brand.

PS Please follow me on Twitter: @darkroomRYAN