5 Off-season photo product marketing campaign ideas

It’s no small secret that photo product sales are highly seasonal in nature, with huge spikes occurring during the holiday period. After this, there is a period where people have already purchased Christmas gifts for families, equipped themselves with a calendar for 2019 and have even given something special to their Valentines. So, your photo product store needs to prepare for a calmer season and find some new ways to encourage sales.

We’ve already discussed the subject of off-season sales in this article last year, including tips on how to increase them. This time around, we’re offering five ideas for particular marketing campaigns that you may wish to try for your business.

1. Take advantage of birthdays & anniversaries

Don’t just focus on specific events that happen once a year. There are plenty of special occasions that happen every day and often require a gift, such as birthdays or anniversaries.

People tend to search for these gifts throughout the year, so consider running Adwords ads dedicated to these events. You can either run a dedicated campaign throughout the year or, alternatively, add related keywords such as “birthday gifts”, “gifts for anniversary” and “birthday gift ideas” to your existing campaigns.

Source: Google Trends.

When it comes to anniversaries, you may also want to try Facebook as well. Many users share important life events here, such as getting married or starting a new relationship, which means it is easy to target them at key events, such as when their anniversary is coming up in the next 30 days.

With this in mind, create some ads that showcase your beautiful photo books and canvases, featuring images of couples, and use the text to persuade users that a personalized gift is the way to please their partners.

2. Get into home decor

While photo products commonly act as gifts, they can also make fantastic inclusions when it comes to home decor. Modern technology allows images to be printed on various surfaces and, as a result, you can create wall art matching a wide variety of apartment styles.

This can include traditional designs, such as classic canvas wraps and frames, or a sharp, modern print on an aluminium surface. All of these make for fantastic decor items – especially when personalized with unique imagery.

Try advertising your canvas products like home decor elements, rather than just gifts, and highlight the personal touch that they can bring to a home. On Facebook, try targeting people interest in canvas prints, interior design, home decor and even various magazines & websites focused on these interests, as well as any large brands that also offer similar services.

For Adwords campaigns, you can try advertising on keywords such as “canvas print”, “wall art” and “personalized decor”. Use the ads to communicate the value of personalized decoration and how much they can add to any interior space.

3. Take interest in hobbyist photographers

As has been often said, the biggest audience for personalized products is young adults and parents of young children. Yet these are far from the only people interested in capturing their photographs in printed products. As research from InfoTrends states:

While only 32% of snapshot photographers and 45% of family memory-keeper photographers in the entire survey population had ordered any kind of photo merchandise product in the last year, those percentages rose to 57% for hobbyist photographers and 71% for advanced hobbyist photographers.

Arguably, this is because amateur photographs are often very creative and enjoy displaying their best images in photo books, or even printed on their walls. Usually, they also make more photo prints than the average family and snapshot photographer.

When it comes to advertising, you can turn once again to Facebook. Try targeting by interests relating to photography, professional cameras and the various brands of equipment that they might be using. For the ads themselves, be sure to feature key products such as photo books, canvases and prints predominantly, alongside a clean, simple design.

4. Try selling B2B

If you’re able to handle large orders, it may very well be worth taking a shot at B2B sales. Such promotional products represent a large market and your ability to offer greater customization can give you a competitive edge. With a good photo product editor, you can offer clients more than just the option to include their logo on your items. Instead, they will be able to create exactly what they want.

Just be sure to create a separate landing page for your B2B campaign, including all the necessary information they need, such as the advantages over a traditional promotional product service. If you direct your B2B ads to your main page, this will confuse any clients who are looking for specific business-orientated offers.

5. Prepare for the wedding season

Although it’s hard to imagine with all the snow outside, the wedding season is only about three months away and preparations are already about to start – so you should, too!

It doesn’t take long to prepare Adwords or Facebook campaigns but, when it comes to weddings, you may also want to consider partnering with wedding photographers. Not everyone will take the time to think about photo books or canvases after a wedding, but you can guarantee photographers will be involved.

By partnering with professional wedding photographers, you can create a referral program that offers them a small percentage of any sales you make from clients recommended to you.

So, there you have it! As you can see, there are many ways to ensure the quiet season doesn’t stay so quiet. With some creative advertising, there are plenty of opportunities for your photo products business to thrive!