Solved: Paid Media Strategy for Amateur Photographer Target

Hi there,

Thanks for reaching out, I'm happy to give you some initial thoughts and guidance on your paid advertising strategy. It sounds like you're at a really interesting point with your high-end camera business, pivoting from professionals to serious amateur photographers. It's definitely worth taking the time to consider a proper plan for your ads as you transition as the new demographic you're targeting likely acts very differently than your previous customer base.

We'll need to look at who the target audience is...

First off, I'd say really nail down who these "serious amateur photographers" are. What are their interests beyond photography? What other brands do they like? What publications do they read? Where do they hang out online? The more specific you can get, the better your targeting will be.

I remember one client who was really struggling to reach their target audience of vintage motorcycle enthusiasts. They were trying broad targeting and just weren't getting anywhere. We dug deep and realised this audience was really into specific sub-genres of music and certain types of clothing. We used this info to refine the targeting, and their ad performance went through the roof.

Think about the different types of "serious amateur photographers" out there. You may have different audience segments. - Are they into landscape photography? - Portrait photography? - Street photography? Tailor your ads to each segment, innit?

I'd say you probably should look at Facebook & Instagram for testing

Facebook and Instagram are great for initial testing because you can reach a massive audience and experiment with different ad formats and messaging. You can start by creating lookalike audiences based on your existing customer base (the professionals). This way, you're targeting people who share similar characteristics to those who are already buying your cameras. Just make sure the professional photographers were actually profitable customers (e.g. they bought a camera at full price) and not mostly people who received a free camera to promote it.

However, remember that what worked for professionals might not work for amateur photographers. Amateurs are likely looking for different things in a camera. Professionals need reliability, durability, and high performance, but amateurs may prioritise ease of use, creative features, or affordability. You'll want to use completely different marketing material than you did for professional photographers.

Test different ad copy and images. Try highlighting the camera's ease of use or creative features, rather than its technical specifications. The goal here is to see what resonates with this new audience. If your cost per lead is too high or your click-through rates are really low, your ad copy/images probably aren't a good fit for the audience.

You probably should also consider Youtube

YouTube is a bit different. It's less about direct sales and more about building brand awareness and demonstrating the camera's capabilities. You could try creating short tutorials showing amateur photographers how to use the camera to achieve specific effects, but you will need a good video editor for that and lots of expertise, otherwise, don't bother. Or you could partner with established photography YouTubers to create sponsored content. Make sure the YouTuber's style aligns with your brand and the content feels authentic. You don't want some random tech reviewer who usually reviews phones and laptops.

Remember to track your results closely. It's easy to blow your budget on YouTube without seeing a return. Pay attention to your view-through rate, watch time, and cost per view. If people are dropping off your videos quickly, that's a sign your content isn't engaging or you're targeting the wrong audience. I'd say you really need to be careful when it comes to keeping track of the metrics, a lot of people just assume that "views" equals success without understanding what a view means.

You'll need to carefully allocate your budget

Given your concerns about blowing your budget, I'd recommend starting with a test budget and gradually increasing it as you find what works. Maybe start with £500-£1000 per week across all three platforms. It's hard to give an exact number without knowing your specific goals and target audience, but this should be enough to gather some initial data.

As for allocating your budget across the platforms, I'd suggest starting with a 50/50 split between Facebook/Instagram and YouTube. Once you have enough data, you can adjust your budget based on which platform is delivering the best results. Keep a close eye on your cost per acquisition (CPA) on each platform. This will tell you how much you're paying to acquire a customer. If your CPA is too high on one platform, it may be a sign that it's not a good fit for your business.

For example, I recall a campaign we ran for a maps and navigation eCommerce business, we generated $71k in revenue at an 8x return using Meta Ads. Of course, past performance isn't a guarantee of future results. You may have an entirely different experience.

Here's an overview with my recommended actionable solution for you to implement:

Hope these initial thoughts are helpful! I know it can be a lot to take in, and paid advertising can be tricky, especially when you're targeting a new audience. It might be worth working with someone with expertise in scaling campaigns. For instance, I remember a campaign we worked on for a medical job matching software company where we reduced their Cost Per User Acquisition from £100 to £7 using Meta Ads and Google Ads.

Anyway, I'm happy to help more if you'd like to book in a free consultation, where we can discuss your needs and what a potential strategy might look like.

Regards,
Team @ Lukas Holschuh