When it comes to the quality of the photos and videos you use in your marketing campaigns, are you giving it the attention it deserves? In today’s age of social media and relatively low attention spans, a quality picture or video will win over a potential customer’s interest that would otherwise drift with a scroll of their thumb.
We all know you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover – but when your customers are looking for a business to solve their problems, that is, unfortunately, exactly what they do. When a customer reaches your website or social media page or sees your advertisement, do they see a boring, generic screen with stock photos or experience a genuine connection?
That’s the difference professional photos and videos can make for a business and advertising campaign - cultivating interactions between customers, businesses, and employees that ultimately bring success. Read on for a few reasons why you need professional photos and videos for successful marketing.
What it Means to Use Professional Photos and Videos for Marketing
Customers are seeking a genuine, personal connection with the product or service they trust to make a part of their life. Nothing screams impersonal more, however than the use of stock photos. Generic content that is available for anyone to use as they please says nothing about your specific business and the people that are a part of it - this is not only partially deceptive to your potential customers regarding their expectations of your products and services, but it is also disingenuous to your employees that are unique, special, and, in many ways, family.
Creating your own content is the way to go, but how do you make it? Giving it the “old college try” with your smartphone might just feel rushed, unprofessional, and cheap - even though your intention is genuine, this type of reaction from customers is not what you’re looking for, and the chances are high that these misconceptions will be passed along to your product or service.
The best path forward is to use professional photos and videos for marketing. It is the best way to capture the attention of your potential customers while simultaneously demonstrating what makes your company unique and special.
1. Establish Brand Identity
Posting imagery instantly recognized as part of your brand will help build your brand’s identity. The key is to keep it consistent across various marketing campaigns and customer-company interfaces, whether your website, advertisements, or social media channels. People who see similar colors, patterns, or imagery anywhere else will think of your brand. In marketing, we call this brand association. Using professional photos and videos ensures this brand association is one of quality, trust, professionalism, and aesthetic enjoyment.
2. First Impressions Matter
We’ve heard this since grade school, but always put your best foot forward! Imagery is indispensable to your brand and how your business communicates to the public. Is your business creative, casual, elegant, or silly? Professional photos and videos give your company a chance to showcase its personality.
This first impression drives any individual to click on your website, social media page, or advertisement in the first place, and it’ll be the best way to ensure they even remember your message among the hundreds of other brands they interact with daily. In a study by Dr. John Medina at the University of Washington School of Medicine, it has been found that we only remember 10% of what we hear after three days, but we will remember 65% if a picture accompanies it!
3. Don’t Waste an Effective Marketing Campaign
A lot of hard work and financial investment goes into creating an effective marketing campaign. Without a landing page that feels authentic and personal, you're dooming those resources to failure. Whether a company decides to use stock photos or unprofessional videos and photography, the result will only appear inauthentic, deterring customers from wanting to do business with you.
4. Cultivate Authentic Customer Relationships
Businesses will be judged by their reputation. Therefore, consumers want to buy from a professional and quality company. High-quality photography is the key to giving your business the image of a professional business that sells quality products or services.
On the other hand, people connect with people, so using photos and videos of your actual staff, office, and business gives customers a chance to form a connection with you before they’ve even met. This cannot be overlooked, especially in the professional services industries such as finance and medicine, where trust and connection are important to retain customers. Ten times out of ten, people are far more likely to do business with someone they can trust and feel like they know.
5. Get a Distinct Competitive Edge
High-quality images stand out from the crowd and make your business unique and professional, which can be the difference between someone engaging with your company and deciding to continue scrolling instead. The benefits include more social media engagement and followers, more customers landing on your website, and a more successful business.
Furthermore, professional-quality photos and videos are incomparable to anything you can achieve with amateur equipment. Quality tools, lighting, and years of experience will shine through, making your company stand out.
Optimize Your Photo and Video Marketing
It’s never too late to evolve your business using professional-level photos and videos in marketing campaigns. We have seen time and again with countless clients that their businesses are more confident in demonstrating their high-quality services and products and, in turn, receive high-quality customers - who doesn’t want that?
If you’re ready to get started with a refreshed and renewed aesthetic to your marketing campaign, don’t hesitate to contact the friendly professionals at Beyond Blue Media today!
