Most businesses start from humble beginnings. Once you’ve decided to start a photo booth business, the focus immediately shifts to finding leads and getting your first clients. Here at the Booth Report, our mission is to help photo booth entrepreneurs grow their business; so we prepared a roadmap to guide you in this first phase (and exciting part!) of your photo booth business.
Start with your Family and Friends
Yes, it sounds cliché already but hear us out. Introducing your photo booth business to your family and friends is typically the easiest way to get your first client or to just simply put the word out there. They trust you to handle their event even though you are brand new because they know you. This makes it easier for them to also vouch for you to their friends.
Once you ride that initial wave that they bring your business, you can take those experiences and build out your portfolio. Now you have something to showcase new customers to prove that you know what you’re doing. This portfolio is also critical for the next steps involving the website and social media.
Build a Website
In this day and age, having a website is essential for any business, especially for photo booth businesses where visuals matter. It also helps in establishing your business with your prospects.
Any website for photo booth businesses should include information about your services and showcase your portfolio. Additionally, you should also include your contact information and a booking form so that potential clients can easily get in touch with you.
Here’s The Best Philly Photo Booth‘s homepage:
If you need help in building the best website for your photo booth rental, our friends at BoothWebsite can help you.
If you want to use a booking system to manage all your bookings, and even totally automate the process, check out our friends at BoothBook.
Social Media
Having an engaging presence on social media can also help propel your photo booth business. Make sure to feed your social media accounts with content from your photo booth events. From all the creative outputs you’ll come up with to showcasing people having a blast with your services, the opportunities to leverage social media to get more people to be aware of your photo booth business are endless.
We recommend focusing on…
TikTok (wider reach, location-tagging, jumping on trends)
@rashmeetsworld The perfect addition to a Sangeet #360 #videobooth #sangeet #indianwedding #varunsrashdecision ♬ original sound - Amsal Valliani
Instagram (portfolio, wider reach through Reels, engaging with clients’ photo booth posts)
and Facebook (most common social media)
Networking
Networking is one of the most effective ways to not only get clients but also to get to know your local boothers. You can always build your “photo booth network” before you even start operating, but we encourage you to double the effort once your business starts to pick up steam.
You may attend local events such as trade shows for weddings to meet your fellow event professionals and potential clients. You can also join local business groups and organizations to introduce yourself and make connections.
One common photo booth mistake is to not befriend other photo booth business owners within your target area as they are your competitors. While it may seem logical, establishing a great relationship with them could also benefit you in terms of sharing information, equipment, staff and sometimes—even sharing events that they cannot handle because they are overbooked. (This is known as “white labeling”.)
Facebook and Google Ads
You had your first clients from your peers. You now have a website, presence on social media, and even a network in the photo booth industry. If you are looking to take your business to the next level, consider investing in Facebook or Google Ads.
Target your location and the customer base you want to tap into. This is also the perfect opportunity to build brand awareness and authority.
If you are unsure where to start on Facebook or Google Ads, our peers at wisdra have produced online courses such as Facebook Ads for Photo Boothers and Google Ads for Photo Boothers. These courses were specifically made to guide boothers in maximizing these platforms to get more photo booth bookings.
Getting clients for your photo booth business can be a challenge at first, but with the right strategy and tactics, you can absolutely be successful. On top of these, top-notch handling of the event and customer service will surely make you remarkable (and referrable) to your clients.
