Why Quality Photography Is Essential To Branding

Photography, like other forms of art, is subjective. However, there are some very fundamental aspects of photographs that make them high quality. You might be wondering if investing some of your marketing budget into photography is a worthy cause… I'm here to tell you why quality photography is essential to branding and marketing your company.

In the day and age of social media, visual communication is vital to marketing, building a brand, and business as a whole. We spend so much time on our devices and are inundated with content every single day. So, you want to ensure that the content your business is putting into the world is the best representation of your brand.

Photography is vital to visual communication. The first thing you see is an image - the text, links, and description are all secondary. That first impression is often what will capture the attention of your potential client or customer. Marketing is all about communicating the value of what you have to offer. Unfortunately, many businesses don't understand the importance of high-quality marketing photos. If you have consistent imagery, it can help convey quality, successfully tell your company story, and create alignment across your brand.

Quality is Crucial

You believe in the quality of the product or services that you provide; the photography should reflect that same level of quality. It shows that you believe in your business as a whole, and that you're willing to invest in quality. Customers and clients see that kind of investment and are at an increased likelihood to reciprocate that investment back into your company. Quality photography can set you apart from the competition.

You can get versatile use of high-quality photos, from using them on your social media platforms, to your company site - there are all kinds of locations (both digitally and print) that you can use photography. Use them to your advantage!

Statistics for High-Quality Photography

Check out some of the recent statistics around imagery and audience engagement… According to Deposit Photos.

• Articles with relevant images average 94% more total views than articles without images.
• A press release with photos gets nearly 15% more online views than a text-only press release.
  
• 60% of consumers who use online searches say they prefer to contact a business whose listing includes an image.
  
• Nearly 70% of e-commerce shoppers say the product image is very important when making their purchase decision
  

Organic imagery - stock photos are a great start to social media posting. However, customers want to get to know you and your business. Having organic images of you, your staff, your office, product, etc. will better showcase your unique brand. What sets you apart? You can demonstrate that through organic photos.

Grabbing attention…

If a potential client or customer is looking through their options online, you want your imagery to GRAB their attention. If your site is able to grab their attention above that of your competitor, you will be the one to profit! Not only do high-quality images capture the attention of clients and customers, but they also speak to what your brand represents. You have control over that through the use of organic images.

As the old saying goes, a picture is worth a thousand words, with really quality photography that exemplifies exactly what you and your business represent - you can convey so much more than the ordinary business. Photos enable you to show your clients what you can offer rather than telling them. Social media has made this increasingly accessible, which means photos and videos of your business are more valuable than ever. This goes back to the concept of quality. In a world that is oversaturated in social media, you want to see quality posts. It is less about quantity and more about quality, with the right high-quality image can say convey more than twenty low quality images.

In our blog about How To Make Your LinkedIn Profile Stand Out, we talked about how important it is to have a profile photo that shows who you are and what you're about. A modern, clean, and approachable feeling picture will not only increase the likelihood of someone wanting to connect with you but, also creates a more reliable face associated with your brand. Your headshot is typically the very first thing people see when they connect with you, put your very best foot forward.

Get Recognized

Recognizability is an important goal of marketing, and photography plays a huge role in that. Using a photographer for your business that has a cohesive style of editing, will result in all of your images having similar coloring and features that will become recognizable. If your clients and customers can instantly know that they are seeing a post of yours, just by the image - you're using high-quality photography. A cohesive look that is associated with your brand adds credibility as well. Organic, high-quality photography adds credibility to your brand. If you see a company that is using pixelated stock images, you are more likely to question their credibility. The goal of branding is to represent the best version of your business, using professional high-quality images you can achieve that. Once you are credible online, recognizability comes next. Accomplish this by putting out consistently high-quality images.

Imagery has the power to capture a response. Outside of numerical statistics, photography can be emotional, fascinating, confusing, and a million other things. It is a powerful tool and to neglect it as a tool to promote your business is doing yourself a disservice. When you look back on a photograph of a fond memory, it brings back a flood of feelings. Or when you see a photograph of a tragedy, it can make you feel sympathetic. That is the power of quality photography. Imagine that kind of power being put behind your business.

Engagement with Quality Photography

How many times have you clicked on a post or an ad because you were drawn in by the photo you saw? Whether it incited an emotional response, piqued your interest, or just made you want to learn more - you clicked because of what you saw. I know that I've done it, and I bet you have, too! Engagement is a vital part of online marketing. If you're really trying to step up your online presence and engagement. If you want to get clicks, impressions, and engagement, start with a high-quality image.

Many of you have probably heard of search engine optimization or SEO. SEO strategically optimizes various elements of your website in order to help it perform better when it is searched within various search engines. Images are just one element of SEO… Images that are optimized can help your website get found in the image results like Google Images and perform better in the overall search results! This also encourages clients to stay on your site longer and learn more about you and what you do!

Investing in quality photography is crucial to making sure that your brand is clearly and cohesively represented. It is essentially an investment in the growth and credibility of your business. You believe in the quality of services you provide, demonstrate that to your customers and clients. High-quality photography can set your business apart from your competition. Do some research, find a great local photographer, and invest in your brand!

Feel as though you don't have enough high quality images for your business? That's why we're here - the social media experts! We want to help your business grow! We offer photography services, as well as digital advertising and custom content creation. Schedule a consultation with us today to learn more about what we can do for you!