Branding is so much more than just logos, colors, and fonts. Your business’s visual identity consists of many different elements, from photography to social media. But what is brand photography, and why is it such a big deal? More importantly, do you really need it?
Most business owners have worked hard to develop our brands and business into what they are today. It would be a shame to see an entrepreneur’s reach fall short for something as simple as using the wrong photos.
Since picking up my first camera years ago, I’ve seen firsthand how much purposeful and personalized images can propel a brand. Your personality gives your business an edge that sets it apart from everybody else. That’s why your photography should capture your unique essence.
If you’re ready to elevate your brand, it’s time to upgrade your photos to match.
What is Your Brand?
Let’s start at the beginning. According to the American Marketing Association, a brand is a name, term, design, symbol, or any other feature that identifies one seller’s goods or services as distinct from those from other sellers.
A brand is the idea or image consumers have in mind when thinking of specific products, services, or activities of a company, both in a practical (ex. “this sneaker is light-weight”) and emotional way (ex. “this sneaker makes me feel unstoppable”).
Your brand is what influences the feelings that your consumers develop towards your business. Emotional cues are triggered when people are exposed to the name, logo, visual identity, or even the message of your enterprise.
While other players in your market can copy a product, a brand will always be unique. For instance, Pepsi and Coca-Cola taste very similar. Regardless, some people feel more connected to Coca-Cola, others to Pepsi.
In a nutshell, your brand is how potential and longstanding consumers perceive your business. More importantly, your branding is what distinguishes you from everyone else!
What is Brand Photography?
A brand creates a person’s gut feeling about your specific business. Brands increase or decrease in popularity based on how consumers think of them.
Brand photography consists of a suite of professional images that visually represent your business. Good brand photography will fit with your visual identity through the use of color, setting, tone, props, and more. Brand photos can include images of you, your team, your products, your process, your space, and anything else that makes your business one-of-a-kind.
Maybe you’ve had great headshots taken in the past for your LinkedIn profile or your website’s about page. While a professional headshot is essential, it’s only one piece of the branding puzzle. To make your business look its best, you will want a range of consistent, well-crafted photos. These will keep your business looking coherent, trustworthy, and sharp across all of your marketing materials over time.
Why is Brand Photography So Important?
In addition to making your brand more relatable, brand photography significantly increases engagement and trust for your business.
Between Instagram and Facebook, we all know visual content goes a long way. Images have much higher engagement than text-only content. In fact, 65% of marketing executives believe that photos, videos, and infographics are the key to communicating your brand’s story. Facebook posts from brands who included images earned 87% of all engagements. It’s no surprise that 51% of B2B marketers prioritize creating visual assets as a vital part of their marketing strategies. Here’s a fun one: did you know that articles with images every 75-100 words typically receive twice the social media shares as those with fewer images?
Your business needs images, and more importantly, you need good quality, on-brand images.
Employing visual elements that all work together is crucial for maintaining brand consistency. Brands that are consistently presented are three to four times more likely to experience brand visibility than their counterparts. However, it’s also important to remember that 90% of all consumers expect their experience with your brand to be consistent across all devices and channels used to interact with businesses.
Stock imagery is useful when you’re first starting out, but your eventual goal should be to have unique and on-brand photos to use instead. While you may be able to find some decent stock images that kind of work, chances are they aren’t entirely on-brand. Even when they are, thousands of other people are already using those exact same photos in their business, which makes you blend in where you deserve to stand out.
How Do I Get Started?
Before you start taking any photos, you’ll want to know who you are and the heart of your brand’s story. To get going, start asking yourself what you want your audience to think of and feel when they see your business.
Are you fun and whimsical? Inspirational and strong? Smart and no-nonsense?
Whoever you are and whatever story you’d like to tell, it should be clear to you before you get your photos taken. This ensures that you don’t waste any time, effort, or money on something that doesn’t quite fit your business.
Now that you know what story you’d like you and your business to tell, it’s time to start reaching out to photographers. Make sure you find the right professional photographer for you with our recent blog!
If you don’t have a photographer in mind yet, make sure to have a look around and find someone who does brand photography. The most important thing is to work with someone who makes you feel comfortable. This will help you present your best self in front of the camera and your clients!
If you’re ready to book some time to chat more about brand photography, please get in touch. I’d love to hear from you!