You know what your product looks like, but do your customers? Or, perhaps more importantly, do they know how they’ll feel when they use your product or after your service has helped them? No? Then there’s no better way to tell them than with great photography.
It can be tempting to go the stock photo route, but never underestimate the power of a stellar, beautiful photograph of your product (or your location or your team or anything else that gets your message across). And there’s a lot that goes into a great photo:
- Lighting
- Studio space
- A photographer who knows what he or she’s doing. The right lens, the right angle, the right timing, it all matters in getting a gorgeous shot
- Styling. From clothes to food, there are all sorts of tricks of the trade visual masters use to great exactly the shot they’re looking for
- Model casting, if applicable. The right model using or wearing your product can make all the difference in the world. Don’t be afraid to look to your own customers or staff as models, too—authenticity can go a long way.
- Digital editing. From adjusting the lighting to giving a model a full body makeover, every picture needs a little wizardry at the end, even if it’s just a quick crop
So when you add all those factors up, you wind up with a big expense. But don’t skimp on this critical part of your marketing. Pictures can be multipurposed in so many ways: On your website, on social networking sites, as part of a direct mail campaign, on a billboard, as a still in a TV commercial, and the list goes on and on.
Don’t forget the importance of including people in your photography. While a product shot is great, it’s far better to show someone using, enjoying, consuming or being helped by your product or service whenever possible. The tactic allows people to envision themselves using the product in just the same way. Plus, the use of faces in advertisements is more likely to make customers trust you, more willing to buy from you and more likely to spend more money. That’s a win-win.
So don’t forget to have your photo library restocked on a regular basis. Those photos are worth their weight in gold.
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