The Importance of Good Photography within your Brand or Business’s Website and Social Media
Have you ever been browsing a business’s website or maybe a Facebook page and had a little subconscious ting that you didn’t trust them or maybe thought their products/services were low quality?
It’s probably because they didn’t have strong photos.
Yes, even if your brand has a strong logo and branding, your photography can make or break the connection with your customers/viewers.
Photos are the one thing a customer can relate to, put themselves in, and see the humanity in your brand. They also use your photos to indirectly judge the quality of your product or service.
I’ve judged a business/brand by its images and I KNOW you know you have to! (and they say don’t judge a book by its cover…)
But photography is growing more and more important for brands to tell their story and connect with their customers and followers.
Here are nine reasons why you should care about your brand’s photography
1. Photography is the first impression anyone will get from your brand
People form a first impression in 50 milliseconds. That’s all you have. You have a fraction of a second to wow someone and pull them in. Consistent and professional photography will capture potential clients in a flash because they’ll see that you appreciate the attention to detail, presentation, high-quality content, and great aesthetics. If something is presented well, that almost always sells it right away.
2. Attention spans are short
In the age of content overload, we don’t have the time to spend too long on anything. Short-form content has taken over thanks to apps like Tik Tok. We can gather all the information we need about a brand within seconds. Rather than spending time reading about them, we form our impressions of a brand through the look and feel of photography (or video). 81 percent of people only skim the content they read online (I know I do!). Text is great, but images are quicker.
Don’t even make me say “an image is worth a thousand words,” because we just learned that’s true!
3. Photography increases engagement
Here are a few statistics for you:
- 32% of marketers say visual images are the most important form of content for their business, with blogging in second (27%).
- When people hear information, they’re likely to remember only 10% of that information three days later. However, if a relevant image is paired with that same information, people retained 65% of the information three days later.
- Facebook posts with images see 2.3X more engagement than those without images.
- Tweets with images receive 150% more retweets than tweets without images.
4. Original photography is authentically you
The images you use to promote your brand should show people what they can expect when doing business with you. Whether they can see themselves in or using your product, using your services, or visiting your space.
5. Photographs convey an emotion
Photos have the ability to convey the emotions you want your customers to feel about your business. Good photography can convey the happiness you want your customers to feel, the healthy lifestyles you want your customers to live, the sense of community you want your customers to have, and more.
Buying is often an emotional decision rather than a practical one. Most of the time you don’t need the products you’re buying, you buy them for the way you want them to make you feel. Photography is the first step to evoking those emotions in the hearts of your prospective consumers. Captivating photographs drive these emotional responses.
6. Photography can add value, but can also take it away
Having the right photos to support your brand can take your business to the next level. Great photography is highly regarded and can do a lot to boost your brand image.
On the other hand, if you use low-quality photography, it can have the opposite effect. That’s not to say that you NEED expensive photography equipment to produce quality photography.
Smartphone cameras have become advanced enough that, with the right lighting situation, editing, and composition, you can still produce images that boost your brand. There will always be limits to shooting with a smartphone, though, and the quality that comes from a professional camera is unrivaled.
7. Like your brand, it helps customers recognize you
Like building trust between you and your customers through consistent branding – photography is a component of a brand just like typography and a logo are.
If you are consistent across your images and use the same editing, colors, mood, etc., customers can start to recognize your brand from just an image.
Your photography style should evolve from your brand and have a similar look and feel. In the branding process, come up with adjectives to describe your brand. What kind of person would your brand be? Where would they hang out? How do they look? How do they feel? Make your photography reflect that.
8. Makes your brand feel more relatable and human
People buy from people, not companies. Customers are put off when a company seems too robotic and inauthentic. Photography is a great tool to tell your story with visuals. Use its strengths in your favor.
9. Stock photos work to blend in, not stand out
While there may be some good alternatives for stock photos, they probably won’t be quite on-brand and chances are a hundred other brands are using the same images. This doesn’t work to help your brand stand out. Stock images have their time and place, but the goal should be to have your own, unique set of perfectly on-brand photos.
If you take photos that are personal to your brand, you can showcase elements that are personal to YOU and no one else. No one will be able to copy that exact photo because it came from you.
Sources:
Industry Report 2018
How To Massively Boost Your Blog Traffic With These 5 Awesome Image Stats
How Twitter’s Expanded Images Increase Clicks, Retweets and Favorites
Co-written with Jessica Teaford
