There’s nothing more important to your business’s marketing campaign than your brand. So why leave your photographer selection to a tool like Yelp’s ‘best photographers near me’? No matter how you represent your brand you want to make sure it’s handled by a professional, and not one who was served up by an algorithm. Yelp is decent for a lot of things (like finding a restaurant with great service) but it’s not your one-stop-shop for every service. Here’s why online review sites can’t be your primary way of choosing a branding photography studio, Tampa Bay!
“Who are the best photographers near me?”
If you’ve been searching ‘Who are the best photographers near me?’, you’ve probably seen Yelp come up pretty high in your search results. That’s because Yelp offers insight into all kinds of vendors, shopkeepers and contractors near you. Yelp is known for helping people pick out all kinds of services, but revolutionized how we select restaurants in Tampa Bay.
The company began as an email “inner circle” started by an entrepreneur who realized that finding a good doctor online wasn’t as easy at it should be. However, it remains to be seen if the company has kept its small brand values and commitment to Yelping, I mean helping people (that’s where the name Yelp comes from ‘Help’), as it expands into new territories. If you’re keen on Google searching for quality, take a quick gander at the keyphrase ‘fake Yelp reviews’.
Moreover, companies have struggled to reclaim damages from fake reviews, as Yelp’s extensive legal team is well prepared to protect the platform. The platform is not liable for bad third party reviews, even if they are fake. However, they will help businesses remove negative reviews under certain conditions.
The bottom line: Yelp is helpful for somethings, but reviews can be misleading.
‘The best photographers near me’ may not give a full picture
Yelp!’s best photographers near me is a useful tool for assessing your options and seeing some opinions, but as explained above, it doesn’t present a full picture. What else can you expect from Yelp’s local photography recommendations? Keep reading to find out:
Reviews might be scarce
In addition to weeding through reviews that are inauthentic, you may run into the issue that there aren’t a lot of reviews for photographers. When you think about Yelp, you think of restaurants, but photographers may not spring to mind, and that’s certainly the trend in Tampa Bay. The most reviewed photographer in Plant City, for instance, has 8 reviews. You might think, “Well, that’s Plant City, I’m in St. Pete!” Guess how many reviews the top St. Petersburg Photographer has? 9.
Some photographers aren’t on Yelp
There are many photography studios in Tampa Bay that simply aren’t on Yelp. Small business owners must invest where their client base is, and as long as Yelp continues to be a tool used mostly for other services, photographers will save their resources for other platforms like Instagram, TikTok and Pinterest.
Many photographers travel
Yelp is a great tool for finding things closest to you. Case and point, it lets you narrow your search by physical distance. However, most photographers aren’t especially limited by physical distance. That’s to say, a South Tampa photographer can travel to Hernando for a gig, and a Miami photographer could shoot in Gainesville. There’s no reason for a photography studio, Tampa or otherwise, to be limited by a small radius from your house.
Photography Studio Tampa: Kristina Maness
At Kristina Maness photography, I provide high-quality branding photography with your needs in mind. That’s why I always go through a consultation and brand evaluation that includes surveys, Pinterest boards and meetings to get your input. You can always reach me on my phone and send me tidbits about your brand. When you work with me, you get, well, me! My passion, my expertise and your vision 100% of the time. Call me today to schedule a virtual coffee talk and learn how I can help your brand soar.