For many businesses, professional photography is sometimes seen as an unnecessary expense or too pricey. Why spend the money on a photographer when you or one of your employees can just take the photos yourself? Or why not utilize the millions of stock photos available online, that’s what they are there for right?
It doesn’t matter who your customers are or what products you offer, professional photography should be a heavily considered investment for your business. Creating high quality photography takes much more than having a nice camera and while stock photography can be great, in most cases there’s nothing that can compare to having a photographer really capture what makes your business stand out.
Here are 4 reasons why investing in photography is a great return on investment.
Positive or negative, first impressions are something that sticks with everyone. First impressions allow consumers to draw conclusions about something quickly in a day and age where everyone is overloaded with media no matter where they look. People are heavily drawn to images and when someone comes into contact with your business, whether it be on your website, social media, or print materials, your visual content will leave an almost immediate idea in their mind about your company.
If your business is being represented with low quality unprofessional images this is likely to convey a similar message about your company and services, and could result in lost sales. Hiring a professional photographer to create unique high quality content specifically for your business will help alleviate the worry of leaving a positive first impression.
Having high quality, personalized content to market your business is so important to standing out online. Photography is such an important versatile asset that makes your business more approachable, engaging, and professional. Your photos will play a huge role in your businesses marketing efforts and making sure they match the quality of your services is very important. Your photos can be used online to make your website unique and more inviting to your customers. Professional photos can also be used to enhance your brand on social media including Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest etc. You can also use your photographs in for hiring purposes on LinkedIn or other job listing sites so your potential hires can get a feel for your culture.
Having a modest bank of images at your disposal can be an invaluable asset as it allows you to easily & quickly send out high resolution images — like for new marketing and sales pieces or if a magazine or blog wants to feature your business. Plus, having fresh content on your website helps to increase SEO — which is a marketing perk itself. Great images are a long lasting asset that can be reused over time and repurposed for many different applications.
Poor quality images, outdated images, or obvious stock photography can hurt your business more than it helps. Having your own images to communicate your unique values, services, or products are invaluable. Also, if your competition has fantastic images, then you certainly need to catch up! A photo speaks a 1,000 words — good or bad — so ensuring your images are professional is one of the best ways to stand out.
