Professional brand photography is often an item on the expendable list when it comes to business expenses. Whether you are a new business building your website for the first time or a well-established company revamping your online presence, the cost of professional brand photography may make you wonder if you might be able to get by without it.
You could just take pictures yourself, after all. Or worst-case scenario, the good old stock photos will always be there. There are other more important things the company can spend money on other than professional brand photography, right?
Wrong.
The reality is every business will benefit from having personalized brand photography on its website and social media, no matter what the industry or size of the company. Regardless of who your client is or what you sell, high-quality photography is a valuable asset that will lead to the success of your branding. Professional photography should be at the top of the list when it comes to business expenditures that are absolutely worth it!
But first, what is Brand Photography?
Brand photography is a collection of professional pictures that visually reflect your business and match your visual identity by using colours, font, props, sets and more. These may include photos of you, your employees, your products, your operation and services, as well as your space and other things that make your company unique.
To build trust with your clients and set the best impression, you'll want a collection of well-crafted images that keep your company looking professional across all your marketing materials and online channels.
5 Reasons why Professional Brand Photography is crucial to the success of your business
There are so many benefits to having professional, personalized photos on your website:
1. High-quality brand photography helps you set a fabulous first impression
Let's face it. The first impression counts. Imagine visiting a website for the first time and seeing low-quality, generic images compared to seeing another site with creative, personalized and professionally taken pictures. Which one leaves you with a better first impression? Which one are you going to trust more? Which one are you more willing to do business with?
You get the point.
People form the first impression in just 50 milliseconds, and you only have one chance at wowing your visitors for the first time, so make it count!
2. Brand Photography helps customers relate to your business better
A lot of businesses choose stock photos as an alternative when they believe a photo shoot with a professional agency is too costly. Although stock photography is undoubtedly useful in some instances, it is not the best way to showcase your brand. Why? Because they're not personal and relatable. They're not unique. Any other business can use the same photos and videos you're using. Stock photos don't make you stand out, and they are certainly not creative.
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When people visit your website, they want to get to know you and what makes your brand unique and different from hundreds of other companies out there! Stock imagery doesn't help them do that – and it might give people a false impression of what you've got to offer. Even when stock photos are useful when you're just starting out, the best way to get to know your business for potential customers is by showing them real images of your company, members of your staff as well as creative photos of the products and services you offer. It's the first step in building a connection with your clients.
3. Brand Photography increases brand consistency
You might have consistent logos, colours and fonts in place for your brand, but you'll in trouble if your photos don't match up. It's essential to have all of your visual elements work together cohesively to maintain brand consistency. Brands that are consistently presented are 3 to 4 times more likely to experience brand recognition, and 90% of consumers expect their experience to be consistent across all platforms and devices used to interact with brands.
Brands that are consistently presented are 3 to 4 times more likely to experience brand recognition.
It's hard or nearly impossible to find stock images that match up precisely with the look and feel of your brand, so for the best result, it's good to invest in a highly skilled and experienced photographer and agency to help you create an unforgettable visual experience for your clients.
4. Brand Photography increases the chance of your business being discovered on the web
Images can help you get found on the web. You've probably heard of search engine optimization or SEO for short. There are numerous elements when it comes to ranking high on search engines: from the built structure of your website, the written content to metadata and tags, but one key component of SEO most business owners overlook is images.
Optimized images will help websites rank higher in image results such as Google Images and improve the overall ranking of the site organically. These can also help attract and keep customers on your platform for longer, or enable them to choose you over a rival.
5. You can use and reuse the media as much as you need to
Once the production is finished, you may wonder what you can do with all of the branded images you received. Here is a few ideas for how you can use those pictures once you have them:
- Social media posts and stories
- On your website (in all applicable pages)
- In your blog posts
- In your email marketing campaigns
- In your marketing material (business cards, brochures, standees, banners, etc.)
- In your social media paid ads
- And more
You can use and reuse these images as much and for as long as you want to. Also, keep in mind that for the best result, you'd want to update your site/ blog/ social media with new content and images frequently. A professional shoot can give you lots of pictures and videos to keep and publish in the future, so the investment is totally worth it in the long run.
