Photographers- Why You Should Be On Twitter

So what’s the deal with Twitter? Is it worth your time or not?

Having been active on Twitter for over a year now, I’m still a little surprised when I hear other photographers say they’ve never tweeted before. I realize that I live inside my own self-absorbed bubble (don’t we all?), but I’ve come to rely on Twitter. Not only have I been able to reach more people with my own work, I’ve also gained a tremendous amount of knowledge and inspiration, and I’ve gotten to know quite a number of other photographers.

I don’t tweet about what I ate for breakfast or how I’m out of milk or how much I love or hate Sarah Palin (I don’t even know who that is). Instead, I use Twitter nearly every single day to enhance both my marketing and my professional social interaction around the web. I’ve become aware of other photographers (even some who live in my own city), and I tweet relevant messages to those who are interested specifically in my business and what I have to offer. That’s how most of us roll in the Twitter Photography world. We pass on links to other people’s sites, our own sites, and we even talk to each other! Imagine that.

And then there are the referrals. I recently referred one of my Twitter friends to a professional client, and in turn, some of the introductions that I’ve gained through Twitter have turned into very profitable business relationships. They don’t call it social networking for nothing, because using Twitter is essentially networking, only it’s done online instead of in person. And believe me, it works.

Twitter has increased my blog and website traffic by leaps and bounds. It has connected me with new photographers, new clients, and even new friends. It has become an incredible source for photography tips, techniques and creative methods, and industry news. It also provides motivation that I use each day as I slug it out in this tough but wonderful profession.

So come on and join the fray. Start with us, the photography crew, and see where Twitter takes you. Start by following me (shameless plug) and The Photoletariat, then check out these two lists of other photography related sites that you should be following. Spend a few minutes every day tweeting from your mobile device. Get in the habit of posting a link whenever you upload new photos to your website or put up a new blog post. And when you’ve gotten a chance to poke around a little bit, read up on how you can use social media to its full potential.

Twitter is here to stay, so you might as well jump on board. Don’t worry about it becoming yet another time-wasting task in your already busy day. After all, you’re limited to only 140 characters, and those few minutes spent on Twitter are definitely worth what you can potentially get out of them.

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Dan Bailey is a professional adventure, outdoor and travel photographer based in Anchorage, Alaska. He just published his latest eBook, Making The Image- A Conceptual Guide to Creating Stronger Photographs. Follow his own blog at danbaileyphoto.com/blog, see his daily updates at facebook.com/danbaileyphoto and follow him on Twitter @Danbaileyphoto.