How To Get The Most Out Of Your Brand Photos

How To Get The Most Out Of Your Brand Photos

Ever get the feeling that, no matter which strategies you try to use, you need to make the impact you want with your brand photos? You've likely spent some money on a photoshoot for your brand that's left you with many eye-catching images you're excited to use for your marketing efforts. But even though you've got this great collection of photos, you need help figuring out your next steps.

So, whether you're interested in promoting and selling your brands' products and services or are trying to snag a shiny new paid partnership, it's essential to be aware of the most effective ways to use your brand photos as part of your marketing strategy. To that end, let's dive into how to get the most out of your new photos and how to use them.

Brand Photos – What Are They, Anyway?

Before we get into the weeds regarding using your brand photos in your marketing strategy, let's talk about what they are. Your branding photos are, essentially, pictures that your business can use to tell a story about itself in a way it sees fit. They're images that carefully align with your brand's visual identity and use colours, backdrops, and tones to cultivate a memorable visual aesthetic.

A great example of meticulously and thoughtfully putting together a visual brand identity that balances creativity and consistency can be found in the luxury car industry. Luxury car companies will often take photos of their cars that they'll use for their product photos. Although these companies, admittedly, have a lot of staying power in the luxury car industry, their levels of recognition wouldn't be what they are today if they hadn't first crafted a consistent and cohesive visual brand identity.

Your brand photos represent your company and establish recognisable visual identities that you can associate with your various marketing artefacts (and campaigns). Your brand photos may be images of your products, headshots of your different team members, and even images taken from your social media accounts.

You still need to ensure you get the most out of your photos. While they can be powerful assets to any marketing strategy when used properly, brand photos that need to be more effectively used can represent a wasted investment that will haunt you.

Top 6 Ways To Use Your Brand Photos In Your Marketing

Although we do lament the fact that the word ‘brand' is often used as a buzzword these days, we also see this as an opportunity to talk about why it's so crucial that you use your branding photos to establish a visual identity; everyone, after all, will have their definition of your brand when you start chatting them up about it.

So, speaking of using your brand visuals to create a memorable visual identity for your business, let's talk about the top six ways to use your brand photos in your marketing!

1 – Stand Out On Social Media As Your Brand's Founder

As you might've guessed by the section's title, this tip is primarily for business owners. Whether you're going it alone as a solopreneur or have crafted your own company with your blood, sweat, and tears, there's something to be said for showing your face across your different social platforms.

Yes, it's tempting to want to use stock photos or hide behind your screen, but the fact of the matter is that your customers want to know who's behind your brand. Snazzy yet simple logo designs do go a long way toward prompting your users to think of your brand. That is, of course, if you've already established a memorable visual identity.

As you may have already surmised, your brand is much more than just your logo, particularly if it's still creating its own visual identity. People want to know what the face behind your brand looks like, which is easy to believe, considering that images that include a face when posted on Instagram tend to perform nearly 40% better. The same is true with LinkedIn, where posts that use pictures have a comment rate twice as high compared to posts with no images.

One key thing to remember if you're a company founder or solopreneur who wants to stand out on social media is to take (and use) the best photos possible. Your goal is to reinforce your brand identity with authentic and professional visuals, so the last thing you want to do is take and use blurry or low-quality selfies.

Your best bet here is to connect with a well-rated and reputable personal branding photographer who can leave you with high-quality photos you can use online. Going with a professional branding photographer also means you'll have plenty of high-quality images you can repurpose later on by using them on mediums other than social media.

You'll also want to ensure you're using a combination of headshots and pictures promoting your lifestyle. By all means, consider making a great first impression by using selfies that show off your smile and demeanour — remember that you also want to encourage your audience to enter and enjoy your world, which you can do by using photos that show you engaging with some of your customers, working on your computer, or even giving a presentation before a crowd on stage.

Remember that you should also dress appropriately in your photos, so ensure that whatever you wear matches your brand. This is an easy-to-overlook factor when you're planning an upcoming photoshoot. Never throw on an outfit that's random or comes as an afterthought; instead, wear something that you feel will reinforce your brand's visual identity and set the type of tone that you think will impact your viewers.

2 – Use your photos to tell a story on your site

You've probably heard plenty of people tell you that if you're getting ready to launch a new site or are considering rebranding, you need to get your hands on some new brand photos. Let's clarify: you don't need to contact a professional photographer and get professionally taken pictures to update your website. This is especially true if you've only recently started your business or are working with a limited budget.

However, you need to use visuals on your website that stand out, are high-quality, and craft a straightforward narrative around your brand's mission, objectives, and how it gets things done. The photos you use on your website should make it evident to your audience what types of clients your brand services and what it can offer them with its products and services.

But, again, you don't need to go all out and hire a pro. You can even get some great-looking brand photos by simply taking a few pictures with your smartphone (again, this is particularly true if your business is new and you lack the budget to work with a professional branding photographer). Don't let your budget or company age get in the way of taking photos that help you tell a story on your site. See what you can come up with on your own and post brand photos you're satisfied with on your home page, About Us page, product and services pages, and contact page.

We recommend creating a “link in bio” page if you don't already have one on your website. Doing this is way better than using a third-party website with multiple links to direct visitors toward your current promotion on social media. A ‘link in' bio page is what you need if you want to generate links that directly take your visitors to your offers (it's also handy for SEO purposes). Suppose you're running a digital shop or have dedicated multiple site sections to selling your products. In that case, it's also essential to include some of your photos that can establish a connection with your customers.

3 – Use your pictures in Pinterest graphics

Pinterest in 2023 is more than just a platform that helps people save ideas for home decor. It's a social media platform that boasts plenty of sharing capabilities, and it lets its users search for things relevant to them with its search engine functionality. Having eye-catching imagery on Pinterest is crucial in building a Pinterest marketing strategy. It is guaranteed to grab you more clicks, re-pins, and more traffic coming through on your site.

We highly recommend using your branding photos on this robust social media platform, a search engine (like Google). Pinterest, in case you don't already know, is that it delivers images instead of textual results. Pinterest pins will make connecting with prospective customers and displaying your products and services easier. They'll also be helpful if you're interested in generating more traffic to your website and its blog.

Promoting your brand's content on Pinterest is simple enough, provided you have high-quality images that you can use. High-quality photos and videos, specifically, are what you'll need to grab people's attention and encourage them to click on resources that direct them toward your products and services. Brands with whom you want to collaborate may also end up clicking on links to your products and services if you take advantage of Pinterest with great visual content.

4 – Engage in on-brand blogging

Even if you're new to blogging for your brand, you must use images that craft a straightforward narrative and story around your brand. On-brand blogging that uses photos that tell a story can be incredibly effective at establishing your brand as the single best source your customers should be going to find the types of products and services that you offer.

Using brand photos for your blogging is straightforward; one popular way of using your images is by adding them to your blog post covers and in the content of your blog posts to maximise your brand recognition. If your blog uses a sidebar, we recommend including some eye-catching images and providing links that direct your readers toward your ‘About Us' page. Doing so allows people to learn about your brand and its story without much effort.

Remember to avoid using stock photos as much as possible for the best on-brand blogging. Including free stock photos in your blog content is accessible and SEO-friendly. However, using on-brand pictures is much more effective at ensuring that your visual content stands out by seeming unique. Avoiding free stock photos and opting for on-brand images also gives your blog content a level of consistency and freshness it needs to keep your readers interested in coming back to view your blog posts in the future.

If you are available, consider brainstorming some ideas for blog posts if you have an upcoming photoshoot with a professional branding photographer. Doing so lets your photographer know what ideas you're tinkering with, making it easy for them to create images that seamlessly align with the blog content you're considering publishing.

5 – Invest in email marketing

If you've only recently launched a brand or are in the middle of rebranding, you may have yet to invest in email for your company. However, if you still need to leverage email for your brand, now's a good time to start. Creating consistent communication with your customer base is much easier when you invest in email marketing, and it's essential to driving a higher rate of conversions (the average email marketing ROI is almost 40x the amount you spend on it).

It's easy to assume that social media is the only tool that's worthwhile to leverage when you're building your brand. Still, email is also powerful enough to help you establish connections with your audience and clients that are direct and highly personal. We highly recommend including your brand images in different sections of your emails, specifically your headers and body content. If someone decides to buy one of your products, you can shoot them a confirmation or welcome message that includes a picture of you in the body content to nurture back-and-forth communications.

You must also use your photos when sending messages to people who may not be ready to transact with you or those you may want to upsell. Or, if you're in the middle of working on a new lead capture, using your photos on your initial and follow-up messages can be highly effective. Remember that people tend to subscribe to many different newsletters, so adding a personal touch that fosters brand recognition never hurts.

A recent survey found that 86% of respondents stated that they would remain loyal to businesses offering continuous support after their first purchase. Continuing to provide support and engagement via email newsletters is one way to keep your existing customers and clients loyal. Remember that both you and your target audience get hundreds of emails in a single day.

That's why sending emails to your clients that only include engaging text isn't cut it if you're building your brand. Invest in ways to make your email newsletters more lively. For instance, you can use photos you have that show off some behind-the-scenes action of you working or that give people a peek into how you create your products to grab people's attention instantly. Doing so increases the chances that people will instinctively open and read the emails you send them if they can count on your content being consistently cool.

6 – Consider creating and selling digital products

Brands ready to grow their audience and generate more passive income should be creating and selling digital products, mainly if their business is already service-based. Creating and selling digital products goes a long way toward cultivating lasting connections with a more significant number of audience members, which can, in turn, grant your company a greater level of stability.

Suppose you love talking about personal style and enjoy one-on-one interactions with clients local to your area, for example. In that case, consider developing a guide or e-book that breaks down your brand's style for people different from your business's area. A real estate agent, for instance, may be working regularly with multiple customers who are local to their area and would consider investing in something like a handy guide for real estate agents who are new to the industry or people who are getting ready to purchase their first home.

Please use your brand's images inside digital products, such as your guides or e-books, to associate yourself with your readers and remind them that you're the go-to source for the topic of your digital products.

Conclusion

Branding photos are photos companies use to tell their brand's story how they want it to be said. They are a suite of images representing the company and forming clear visual identities for different marketing materials (and campaigns). Brand photos include product, team headshots, and social media or blog images. Since your company invested in a brand photoshoot, you want to get the most out of your brand photos. Brand photos can be a powerful asset to any marketing strategy if they're used effectively.

Although you can use your brand photos in your marketing in dozens of ways, a few strategies stand out. Arguably most important is standing out on social media if you're a company founder or solopreneur trying to reinforce your brand's identity with authentic and professional visuals. Additionally, you must be using brand photos on your website that craft a straightforward narrative behind your brand and its mission, using pictures in your Pinterest graphics, engaging in consistently on-brand blogging, investing in email marketing to create direct and personal communications and drive a more significant number of conversions, and creating and selling digital products that can establish you as a go-to expert in your field.

We encourage you to try the abovementioned strategies to see how well they fit into your marketing strategy. Although some of these tips may be more effective for some brands than others, we feel confident that you'll still have a much easier time establishing a visual identity for your brand and nurturing a more significant number of meaningful and long-lasting customer relationships. Let us know which of these strategies you found most valuable, and feel free to mention some ways to get the most out of your brand photos that we may have yet to include in this article.