Who are they
Rolf&Co Photography is a small, family-run photography business led by Jenny and Gavin Rolf. Alongside their creative work, their brand is deeply personal, often featuring their own dogs as part of their identity, which adds warmth and relatability to their business.
They specialise in high-quality photography products and services, positioning themselves at a premium price point. Like many small creative businesses, they run marketing, budgeting, and client acquisition initiatives alongside their craft.
Over the years, they’ve experimented with digital marketing, particularly paid social media advertising. Their journey reflects a common challenge: figuring out how to grow without overspending.
SPENDING ON ADS ISNT THE RISK
For Rolf&Co, marketing hasn’t always been straightforward. Despite investing in Meta Platforms, they’ve faced setbacks, including being banned from advertising at one point, which had a direct impact on their sales.
They estimate that this disruption in particular cost them around £10,000 in lost revenue.
THE VALUE OF PAID VISIBILITY
Paid advertising didn’t generate instant results. Like many businesses, they initially believed that consistently posting content alone would lead to bookings. Over time, however, they realised that in a crowded digital space, visibility doesn’t happen automatically.
Once they began investing consistently into paid ads, the difference was clear. The business started appearing in front of the right audience, increasing both visibility and engagement. Paid advertising also helped to strengthen their organic content by bringing more targeted visitors to their page.
BALANCING BUDGET
Their monthly marketing budget ranges from £600–£700 during busy periods. That’s a significant investment for a small business, especially when margins are tight and products are premium-priced.
They’re cautious: increasing marketing spend could mean raising prices, which might affect how competitive they can be within the industry. This creates a constant tension between growth and affordability, a challenge which many small businesses face.
THE ‘OUTSOURCING’ DILEMMA
Jenny and Gavin openly admit that marketing isn’t where their area of expertise lies. While they believe in paying professionals to do things properly, outsourcing isn’t always financially viable.
This leaves them in a middle ground, handling marketing themselves while knowing it may not be the most efficient or effective approach. It’s a trade-off between control, cost, and capability.
INSTAGRAM WINS
Through consistent effort, Gavin and Jenny have seen their most tangible results through Instagram. Though they have used TikTok, they have found that through their style of content and finding their ideal audience, Instagram works best.
Take Away: Finding the right channel and sticking with it has been key.
THE SOONER THE BETTER
When it comes to investing large amounts of money into paid ads, there’s often hesitation at the beginning, it feels risky when returns aren’t guaranteed. However, in most cases, earlier investment can accelerate growth and make early stages of business growth less of a struggle.
Take Away: Invest in ads earlier, reep the rewards sooner.
WHY IT WORKS
Even with challenges, Rolph&Co’s approach has worked for them because their strategy is grounded in learning, investing and adaptation.
Strengths
- Tracking the impact of disruptions, understanding real financial consequences and benefits of ad channels.
- Experimenting across platforms, rather than relying on one channel.
- Keeping marketing aligned with business sustainability.
- Embracing authenticity, building a relatable brand identity.
- Learning from hindsight, and refining their strategy over time.
What Businesses Can Learn From This
Rolf&Co’s. experience highlights that organic and paid social can help each other when used in tandem, and have the time invested in each.
Their journey shows that paid and organic advertising are about long-term visibility, it takes time to learn, optimise, and see consistent returns. But once it starts working, it can be an effective source of reach and leads for your business.
There’s also a lesson in timing. Waiting until you feel ready to spend on marketing can delay growth significantly. Early investments maximise the time it takes to identify your audiences preferences, language and content styles so that you can reach them more effectively.
Key Takeaways
Jenny and Gavin’s experience shows that paid and organic social media are most effective when they work together.
While organic content helps to build trust and showcase personality, paid advertising ensures that content reaches the right audience and continues to generate awareness and engagement.
Perhaps the biggest lesson is that waiting too long to invest in marketing can slow growth.
Early investment provides valuable insight into audience behaviour, messaging, and content preferences, helping businesses reach the right people sooner and build momentum more quickly.
