Visuals The second installment of Brand Basics, for SMEs. This month I’m focusing on something obviously very close to my own heart and a discipline that’s been a part of my professional life for over 20 years… I’ll try not to be biased.
Photography, Video, and all things visual are tools that, if used effectively, have the power to elevate the status and notoriety of a brand faster and to a wider audience than any other practice. Yet, astonishingly the vast majority of small and medium-sized business owners are unable to recognize the importance of professional-looking visuals in their marketing efforts.
The fact is that just about every super-successful business built its big brand presence using strong, easily recognizable visuals. Visuals that speak for themselves without the need for long-winded sales pitches. And they (the Brand giants) do so at every possible opportunity, visually documenting and showcasing their business in the best possible light.
Don’t just take my word for it though, visit the websites, and social pages of the top brands in the world and judge for yourself. Then compare their visuals with the local SME’s you deal with and perhaps your own business….(take your time)
If you did that… I bet you’re now looking at those cell phone portraits of your team on your website thinking WTF! And you’d be right to be embarrassed. it’s unacceptable in an era of advanced digital photography to display imagery that’s below par.
Before digital, even semi-decent professional photography was incredibly expensive so only the large corporates could afford the constant supply of visuals for their ad campaigns and corporate identity needs. Times have changed, professional photography is relatively inexpensive nowadays. In most cases, it’s even possible to achieve at least some of the visual quality you require in-house.
Here’s my list of tips to improve the overall quality of visual content your business requires:
- Choose a few key elements that capture your best work or key assets and team members and get a professional photographer/videographer to capture the best possible content. Your website and any printed brochures need great professional images, however social posts can be done in-house with reasonable results. But you must follow some basic photography rules!
- Encourage your staff to capture great content by sending them on a basic photography or design course.
- Create and stick to a theme for all your content, if it’s black and white images, then stick to that throughout. Perhaps you prefer bold colors? Then stick to colors that compliment your brand and keep the theme consistent.
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