How important is good photography in today’s marketing world?
The saying that a picture is worth a thousand words might seem like just another adage that has lost its touch over the years. However, taking a closer look at the successful marketing campaigns of various businesses in recent years will prove just how applicable the saying really is. In the past few years, photography has become more crucial to businesses than it has ever been, largely due to the rise of social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and others, where millions of digital pictures are uploaded and shared every day.
Web Design and Photography: The importance of high quality photos
According to an ROI research study conducted in 2012, about 40% of internet users are more likely to engage with brands on social media if they use pictures. The findings of this study can be explained by the fact that human beings are extremely visual creatures, and tend to react more positively when visual stimuli is involved. Also, the human brain decodes an image instantly, while speech and text take more time to decipher due to linear and sequential processing. With the digital world moving faster and getting more crowded every day, strong imagery is essential in both your web and digital marketing strategy.
Stellar photography can drive your business in the following ways:
1) Increase website traffic
Using good photography on your website can help increase the appeal of your website, which will help to attract more visitors to your website. The visual stimuli created by pictures is also very captivating, and will entice the visitors to stay on your website longer. This will in turn help to increase the conversion rate and the return on investment of your website. Your website will also perform better in the search rankings as visitor engagement is part of the ranking algorithm that search engines use.
2) Make your brand more memorable
Since people tend to remember images more than text, using good imagery on your website can help to make your brand more recognized and acknowledged. By using good imagery on your website, you can help your customers to identify with your brand more easily. The apple logo is a good example of how images can make a brand more distinguished, as the bitten apple inspires all kinds of thoughts and feelings just based off this simple but moving icon.
3) Persuade visitors to take a desired action
Photos such as those of animals, kids, happy people, and beautiful landscapes are more appealing to people, and can lead to various human emotions such as happiness, strength, independence, love, and the like. These emotions hold strong persuasive power, and will help convince your website visitors to take intended actions. Consider pairing your imagery with the desired goal for a web page or digital strategy, such as using smiling children if you’re a non-profit organization that helps kids and is trying to raise money online.
Images like this one can inspire deep emotions about overcoming obstacles and defying the odds.
4) Build credibility for your website
According to studies, customers are more likely to stay on your website longer or make a purchase if your website uses good imagery. This is because good visual content helps showcase the authenticity and professionalism of your website, building strong trust among consumers.
This leads us to the next chapter–how to get great pictures for your website.
There are three main ways you can acquire pictures for your website:
1) Do-it-yourself photography
2) Stock photography
3) Hiring a professional photographer
Let’s look at each of the methods, their advantages, and their shortcomings:
1) Do-it-yourself photography
One of the easiest ways of acquiring pictures for your website is to capture them yourself. It is also the cheapest method, as all you need is a camera and knowledge of how to take pictures. DIY photography can be of great benefit to your website, as the photographs you capture will be unique and more personal. Keep in mind that the quality of the pictures might be an issue, especially if you are not great with cameras. However, camera phones are becoming extremely capable these days, and you’d be surprised how many businesses are utilizing a great visual strategy with nothing more than cell phone pictures.
2) Stock photography
Stock photography refers to professional photographs that can be bought online and used for commercial design purposes. There are several stock photography sites on the internet, where you can find any type of photo, including pictures of people, places, landscapes, animals, and so on. The great thing about stock photography is that you get professional photographs at an affordable price. However, since the images can be bought and used by anyone, there is a chance that you might end up using the same images as your competitors, which can make your brand appear unoriginal.
3) Professional photography
Hiring a professional photographer will give you high quality photographs, which will highlight the authenticity and uniqueness of your brand both on your website and in all your other marketing efforts. The great thing about professional photography is that it maintains the uniqueness of your brand, and at the same time provides you with high resolution imagery. This does come with a price though, but that price may be easily worth it depending on the nature of your business. For example, when you’re selling a home, spending a few bucks to show off your home in all its glory will usually pay for itself time and time again.
Web Design and Photography: Wrapping Up
So how important is good photography on your website? Very! Using great pictures helps increase the appeal and effectiveness of your website, making it more attractive to the users. Pictures are also a great way of promoting your brand among social media networks. Lastly, pictures are generally a stronger marketing tool than words and using them well will drive stronger conversion rates and will lead to a higher ROI within your business.
