Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Nicole De Anda. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Hi Nicole, thanks for joining us today. One of the things we most admire about small businesses is their ability to diverge from the corporate/industry standard. Is there something that you or your brand do that differs from the industry standard? We’d love to hear about it as well as any stories you might have that illustrate how or why this difference matters.

I take pride in befriending my clients and providing the absolute best customer service! Not even for business purposes, but because I genuinely like meeting new people and learning about their stories. I enjoy making new friendships. I feel like in the wedding industry, or really any service industry, it’s easy to overlook the person that is providing you with your service.

I want people to know that when they inquire with me they should hire me for me as a person in ADDITION to the service I can provide for them.

My business has received over 140 5 star reviews and I know it’s because I provide good service. There have been times where i’ve done hair, fixed dresses, help set up chairs/tables, done boutonnieres for all the groomsmen etc. And I know it’s not part of my job description BUT if I can help the day go that much smoother and that less stressful for my couple I will help out where I can!

Most people just go do what they’re paid to do, nothing more and nothing less. I get that, but I also strive to provide the most I can for my clients to make sure they have the best day ever!

Nicole, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

My name is Nicole De Anda, I am 29 years old. Raised and lived in Whittier for the entirety of my life. I took a photo class my senior year of high school with a teacher named Mrs. Fox. She showed us how she had a photography business on the side, mainly specializing in seniors. I was completely mind blown that you could do photography as a profession and not just as a hobby. And that you could take photos of people outside of a photo studio. So, I worked really hard in that class, learned about film and digital. I asked for a DSLR for Christmas, and took it EVERYWHERE. I watched so many YouTube videos on posing, editing, getting your name out there. I was a sponge trying to soak up anything I could about portrait photography.

I started out photographing birthday parties, friends, and “IG models”. Since I was in college at the time I started to get more into it, I couldn’t focus on the “business” aspect of things. So it was a fun side project, and would help me earn a little cash on the side for fun.

Once I finished college, I started to take it more seriously. I had a full time job at this point working for the city of LA. I attended my first photo workshop and that genuinely changed my life. I stayed in a cabin with a group of girls that were all just starting their business as well. The instructors taught us about social media, emailing, posing clients in a more fun way and less stiff. They told me to quit my job, but I was terrified.

Fast forward a year later, the pandemic hit and I was so glad I didn’t end up quitting. But to my surprise that was the busiest I had ever been in my whole photo career. I decided to step things up, made my own business banking account, got a separate email address, paid money for branding and a new website. It got really hard trying to balance my two jobs. And by 2021 I was sure that I was finally ready to take the biggest leap of faith by quitting my full time job.

Now it’s 2023, I have made more money than I did working for the city. I’m able to support myself, pay my half of the bills. Yes, it is a little scary to know I don’t have a secure paycheck to fall back on. BUT it also helps motivate me to keep going.

I love what I do, and I hope to do this for as long as my body will let me.

Right now, I have since moved on from events and parties. I focus on couples and families. I have a photo studio where I now shoot boudoir. I’m extremely grateful for where i’m at right now.

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

I have a love/hate relationship with social media.

I’ve used it for as long as I can remember.. back in the MySpace/AIM days. I had a layout page, a scene alter-ego page, and my own personal page. I’ve always loved connecting with people online. I think it’s so much easier to talk to people online vs in person or even on the phone. (I always get nervous when someone asks to do a phone consult with me LOL)

BUT what helped me grow was networking. In the beginning of my IG days, I would follow people and hope they followed me back. And when they didn’t, I would unfollow them. And this grew me to about 4-5k ish and then after that I just kept posting and posting and using hashtags and was featured on bigger photo accounts. However, I do NOT recommend the follow/unfollow. That got me to about 6k and I was stagnant there for about… 3-4 years? No growth.

SO I made a new account. It’s been 6-7 months and I’m at 1.5k already. And my business is still thriving. Still getting inquiries, and getting even more engagement than on my old account.

I always tell people to just be yourself on social media. It’s hard sometimes because you think people will judge you. I get that!! BUT people that actually care about what you have to say will like you for being you.
I use my business page almost as a personal page as well. I post about my life, my husband, my dogs, my interests in my stories, but on my feed I keep it to just my work. I ask my clients to tag me so if any of THEIR friends see their photos they can click through and find me!

One key tip to get engagement is to always have your face at the beginning of your story everyday. When people click through stories they’re not paying attention to what account they’re watching. So if you start your story off with a photo of a sky you aren’t going to stand out at all. If there’s anything y’all can take away from this, it’s that you always record a video of yourself or take a photo of yourself with some text info to start your IG story each day!

Secondly, stay consistent!!! I find I get so much more inquiries and better engagement when I actually post everyday or even 2-3 times a day. When I post here and there, my engagement/inquiries drop down drastically!

Any thoughts, advice, or strategies you can share for fostering brand loyalty?

By being their friend, staying active on their social media by keeping up with their lives. And again, just being a good human! I’m always amazed at how many repeat clients I have.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.nicoledeanda.com
• Instagram: @nicoledeandaphoto