For better or worse, we’re a visual culture. Images and video can make or break your business.
By Roy Harryman
“Kids these days.”
We’ve been complaining about youth culture ever since there were youth and culture.
Today’s complaint is often that Johnny can’t read, but Johnny can watch videos and play games. As a lifelong writer, I take no pleasure in the demise of readers and reading. It breeds ignorance. However, as a marketer I must understand my audience. And it’s an audience that resonates with images.
But get this: It’s not just tweens, teens and young adults who are drawn to YouTube, Instagram and other visually-oriented social media. It’s nearly every demographic.
A comprehensive study on this subject reports that:
47% of Americans age 30-49 use Instagram
43% of all American women use Instagram
87% of Americans age 30-49 use YouTube
73% of all Americans use YouTube
This is just a highlight of the findings. There’s much more here.
In addition, nearly all social networks have become increasingly visual and support the uploading of photos and video. Consumers pay shocking amounts for phones, in part, because of their sophisticated camera features.
But images don’t stop at social media. Traditional advertising, websites and email marketing are built around pictures and design. Words are still absolutely essential. And the more expensive the product (say a $150,000 mobile maintenance vehicle vs. a handbag), the more words are needed.
How times have changed. The New York Times used to be nicknamed “the old Gray Lady.” Columns and columns of text co-existed with a spare number of black-and-white photos. It wasn’t until 1993 that color appeared in the paper. Now, in addition to having a hard time finding a newspaper, it’s hard to find one without color.
Digital media, from the start, has been a canvas of pixels splashed with hues from across the spectrum.
Tell me something I don’t know
Yes, you’ve noticed we live in a visual culture. But when it comes to marketing your small business, you must embrace it. I didn’t say you have to like it. But you have to incorporate it into your approach.
It’s likely you’re already doing this. But simply having photos and videos is not the same as having good photos and videos.
Every image should have a business objective. It needs to exist for a reason. And it needs to reflect the excellence that is embodied in your business.
In the past, a photographer was defined as someone with expensive equipment and an elite set of skills. The democratization and digitalization of media has turned anyone with a cell phone into a photographer. But that doesn’t mean their end product is good.
You may have a never-ending supply of photos of kids, grand kids, pets and vacations. But when it comes to a business, the cupboard is often empty or contains only a few spoiled crusts. That means it’s time to start taking photos. Or at least to have someone do it for you.
Here’s business photography 101 to get you started.
What to avoid:
Low-resolution, pixelated photos
Blurry photos
Photos with too much light (overexposed) or too much darkness (shadows)
Photo without a clear subject. Yes, that’s a nice picture of a large room, but what is the eye supposed to be drawn to? A picture of everything is a picture of nothing.
Staff photos that look like they are police mugshots
Stock photography (whether purchased or pirated) of customers and workers who are not your customers and workers
What to strive for:
High-resolution, clear photos without visible pixels (dots and grain)
Photos with sufficient lighting to highlight the subject
Photos with a clear subject. The viewer’s eye should be drawn to a particular part of the image.
Staff photos that feature employees in front of a warm backdrop, smiling and with a consistent level of quality.
Pictures of real products and services, featuring real employees and real customers.
Why not stock photos?
Capturing photos and video, and doing it consistently, takes work. Which is why it’s rarely done. When confronted with a need for photos, many immediately turn to stock photography. Stock photos are images available for purchase from large media corporations or individuals. Note: Just because an image exists on the Internet does not mean it’s available for commercial (or even personal) use. You must gain the consent of the image owner. If you don’t, you may face legal action.
This is what makes stock photos convenient: Paying for them gives you a license to use them.
However …
I recommend using these sparingly. The fault of these images is that they are too perfect. Examples:
Women smiling and laughing at salad (who does this?)
Telemarketers with perfect teeth and glowing smiles who walked right out of a modeling agency and into a call center
People at an office meeting having the time of their lives
Every mom, child and dad is a model (because they really are).
Consumers are intelligent. They know these aren’t your customers and employees. They know you phoned it in and settled for artificial sweetener instead of the real deal.
The demand of today’s consumers is increasingly toward reality and authenticity. Show your personality. Show you’re human. Show it’s OK not to be a model (unless you are one). Just smile. Do your job. People are interested in people, not slick, manufactured corporate entities. Don’t be “fake news.”
The other kick in the pants with stock images is there’s nothing to stop anyone from buying and using the same image you did to promote their products. You and a competitor could both end up with the same fake telemarketer picture!
Video rules
The magic of video is that it offers a three-dimensional perspective that tugs at our senses and emotions. But for that to work, video has to be excellent. This doesn’t mean it must be shot by a professional. But whoever shoots the video, it must incorporate a few practices of professionals. You can also get by without an extraordinarily expensive camera. Many high quality, high definition videos have been recorded on simple cell phones. The ultimate arbiter of what recording device you use will be your intention. If the video will be viewed on cell phones, there’s room for error. If it will be shown on a 10-foot-tall screen, then you’ll need quality from corner to corner.
Here are some best practices to strive for and mistakes to avoid:
Hold the camera still.
Shaky video is impossible to watch, makes people literally sick and ruins your message. For stability, set the phone down while it records or place it on a tripod. You can also use software to stabilize a shaky video after it’s recorded.Let light work for you, not against you.
It may seem creative to sit an interview subject in front of window with the sun in the background. Don’t do it. If the light is behind the subject, the subject will be in the dark. Always put the light in front of the person or image you’re filming.Mind the audio
According to Steve Stockman, author of “How to Shoot Video That Doesn’t Stuck,” studies have shown people are often willing to put up with shaky, poorly lit video, but they draw the line at audio. If the consumer needs to hear the audio and can’t, she’ll bail.Now, getting good audio is not an easy thing. In fact, it takes planning. Background noises, such as a refrigerator or bugs chirping in unison, can destroy your audio. Guess how I know this? Even distant ambient sounds, such as a highway, can invade a quiet space. Guess how I know this? Choose your location carefully.
Second, you should always put your interview subject on a microphone – meaning a mic with a wire or signal. Don’t use the built-in microphone on your phone or camera. Many different types of mic will work. And yes, you need one even if you are recording via phone. The less space between your subject and the recording device, the better off you’ll be. And have a backup plan. It’s always wise to have two sources of audio in case one blows up (and they do).
In addition, a relatively new phenomenon is people watching videos with the sound off (usually via phone). If audio is critical to the success of the video, then you’ll need to incorporate subtitles so the message gets through.
Be an archivist
Once you invest time or money in quality photos and videos, take good care of them. They can serve you for years to come – unless you pay no attention to where they end up and don’t name or label them. What a tragic waste of time!
Take the forethought to carefully name photos and videos so you can retrieve them when necessary. Otherwise it’s a needle-in-haystack search every time you need a piece of media. Finally, back up your photos and videos. Your hard drive will crash and die. If it’s the only home of valuable marketing materials, you’ll need a funeral for all the work you lost.
Images for impact
Sharing your videos and photos on social media and your website can create a great impact for your business. But they can also result in helping people find your business online.
YouTube, Vimeo, Animoto and other video hosts provide ample opportunity for text descriptions and tags that allow people to discover your videos and therefore your business. Flickr and other image hosts (including your website) do the same thing.
In other words, if people search for “Cotton Candy in Carlisle, Illinois” and your cotton candy images are uploaded and labeled to multiple locations, search engines are likely to find them and redirect people to your website. A picture is worth a thousand … bucks.
One last thing
Although there is no law prohibiting you from taking photos of customers and employees, your safest bet is to have them sign a waiver. You are seeking to make money from the use of their image. For that, you need their consent to have a strong legal standing in the unlikely event you are sued. You don’t have to pay them. You just need their written consent.
Of course, anyone can sue you for anything in the good ole’ USA. But we are still a nation of laws and laws protect us. So be on the right side. In order to make the most of consent forms, you may need to stage a photo instead of getting a truly candid image. But I would venture most business photos are staged. And that’s perfectly fine.
Get your phone out and … go!
There you have it. You live in a visual culture. Get your phone out. Photograph your storefront, the store dog, the warehouse cat, forklifts, customers, receptions, employees, customers. And use it all to tell your story.
And remember: Show and tell, don’t merely sell.
Roy Harryman is the principal of Roy Harryman Marketing Communications and loves traversing a backwoods path, community festival or urban square with cameras strung around his neck and a cell phone in hand. He takes too many pictures.