Art Marketing Buzz

I have three new podcasts in the can ready to be edited!  I have Rod Evans, Bruce Dorn and Jeremy Sutton.  These interviews are awesome.  Not only do we get some insight from who these folks are as artists and an insiders view of their childhood, we also get some information specific to a host of topics.  Social media marketing, corel painter, fashion photography, commercial photography,  tips on grabbing business in the senior market, and a bunch of other goodies you will not want to miss.  Stay tuned!  The first part starts Monday June 23!

Kenny Kim has always been fascinated by the visual arts – and especially the connection between art & photography. His passion ?rst led to the study of graphic design at the University of Illinois, where he also became a skilled web designer and eventually opened up his own design studio in 2003. It was during this period, he began to realize that the greatest outlet for his artistic expression and technical skills would be through his passion for photography. Incorporating his own vision into the technical elements of photography, Kenny’s goal with each photo he takes is to present each moment he captures with a subtle artistry that enhances the feel of the moment. With the launch of Kenny Kim Photography in 2005, Kenny’s vision for a photographer’s work instantly resonated with his audience and within a short period of time, Kenny Kim Photography has now grown into a nationally recognized studio. In just 3 short years, Kenny has been commissioned for over 100 weddings in locations throughout the United States and the Caribbean. He was also retained to shoot for the University of Illinois Men?s Basketball & Tennis teams along with various celebrity events featuring David Foster, Andrea Bocelli, John Legend, Three Doors Down, Chris Tomlin, Michael W. Smith, and many others. Kenny currently resides in Chicago, Illinois. He is thankful to call his passion in life, his profession as well.

Kenny has made incredibly quick inroads to success in a very competitive area.  Find out about Kenny when we podcast…maybe we can pry some of the secrets out of him. Get his views on social media marketing, social networking, digital painting and a host of other fun questions.  If you have specific questions for any of our podcast interviews you can leave a comment with the question and we will get them answered. We will publish his interview in 7-12 days. Coming up next will be Marilyn Sholin on Thurs or Friday next week.

Ok check it out. As a business geek I am usually fairly aware of the pulse of the market. As I have mentioned before I am a research-a-holic. So when I continuously hear the talking heads in the financial press screaming chicken little I have to laugh. I mean check out all the “bad stuff” going on in the 1980’s (this chart and information is from Oppenheimer Funds “Pulse of the Market” Brochure), Reagan Shot, Us becomes a debtor nation, Challenger disaster, Insider Trading Scandal, S&L bail-out, yada yada…Black Monday. The market dropped 200 points in a single day, oh my. I do remember because I was a kid then, just out of the military from a combat camera group, I was trying to sell mutual funds to earn my way through art school. I was a licensed rep. Yea, that was fun. Oh by the way with the S&L bailout in the late 80’s, over 600 US institutions bit it. But ok lets look at the 1990’s. Gulf war, Riot’s, Orange County Default, OKlahoma city bombing, Government shutdown, Asian Economic crisis, Impeachment trial, El Nino, Russian Bond Default. Right. Look at the market. Still ups and downs but a continual climb. Alright here we are in this decade we have the dot-com crash, war in Iraq, 9-11, oil prices over 130.00 a barrel. the point is we have serious volatility…almost always. There is a always something. The press would have us believe we are going down the tubes. You know to date only 3 US Banks have closed because of the sub-prime fiasco? You see that little blip with the circle around it on the chart? That is Black Monday. In retrospect it is barely visable. I mean we had a 200 point drop just this week… And a rise of equal or more. Sure I get it, the market was only what 800 back then so it was a higher percentage drop than the 200 today by a long shot. I know. it just proves my point even further. The market will continue to grow just as it has. If you would have put 10,000 in the market (based on S&P) in 1980 it would be over 277,000 as of march 08. Ok, so we hear recession screamed from the rooftops. Really, by definition recession is 2 consecutive quarters where the GNP is down by 25 basis points (.25%). We have not even had one quarter down yet let alone two. So talking heads….shush. I am gonna keep making and selling art.

Social Networking or attraction marketing has been getting some press from several art related organizations and publications. The May 2008 issue of Professional Photographer, the official publication of PPA (Professional Photographers of America) did a short article on page 40. The article is appropriately in the Joy of Marketing Area. Sara Petty did a nice job. She ties it in with photographer Scott Crosby and shows how he uses social marketing with real world to create a buzz for his senior photography.

Then in PPA’s online version a short article by Christel Aprigliano, Member Services Manager and Dana Groves, Marketing & Communications Director starts with the following. “Are you LinkedIn? Do you Twitter, Flickr or YouTube? Do you have profiles on MySpace, Facebook, Bebo or Zanga? Is your studio listed on Spoke, Ryze, Jigsaw or ZoomInfo? Will you get a Second Life in 2008?” then the next paragraph on networking, “One of the best ways to find new customers is to network. Get involved in the groups and activities that attract the kind of customers you’re trying to reach; go where they go. Networking today includes active participation on social networking Web sites. And if social networking concepts aren’t on your radar, you are ignoring a dynamic trend that could have a profound impact on your business.”

Rangefinder magazine has a blurb in the May issue on page 78, “The Importance of Sharing, The Latest Technologies Build Community”. It is an excellent article profiling Professional Wedding Photographer Dane Sanders and his experience with new technology.

Wired has an published just last week, “Bands Embrace Social Networking”, David Cohn, “In the absence of radio play, garage bands all across America are establishing a presence on MySpace, a social-networking site popular with young adults.”

Do we have a common theme here? If you are new to social networking or still wondering what is it all about, cruise this site and we will try to help you become familiar with some of the methodology to hook up with other artist, photographers and most importantly prospects through social networking. It is a process. Much like learning Photoshop, Corel Painter, Illustrator or any other large software program learning to be effective in web 2.0 will take some time.

Hello All! What a busy couple of weeks we have had. Wowza. This is crazy. Well, first I wanted to get a short plug for the podcast that is coming soon. We have a few already recorded and edited just waiting be published. Then I have a great line-up of very gifted and generous digital painters that are going to talk with us on the podcast. Starting the hit list will be Marylin Sholin. Many of you know Marilyn through the Digital Painting Forum. Marilyn has been on the forefront of the social marketing and web 2.0 wave. In addition to her many awesome tutorials and brushes, she has encouraged and taught (along with Chris Price) the benefits of blogging. We will be doing an interview so you can hear first hand her thoughts on the value of social marketing. You also can see a short intro and a cool animated video at Art Marketing Buzz Squidoo lens. If you are not up on social marketing yet just subscribe to our newsletter, and get your password for the free content page. Then go to that page and download the FREE ebook “Beginners Guide to Web 2.0″ I know the cover is hideous but the content is good.

In the coming months we will have several guest artists including: Darrell Chitty, Jeremy Sutton, Rod Evans, John Derry, Criag Kienast. If you have questions you would like to ask Marilyn send them to tim@artmarketingbuzz.com and we will try to get them in the podcast. Have a great day!!!