We all know first impressions are important and you only have a couple of seconds at your disposal, whether you’re meeting someone new or showing them your website. As the hard core of modern marketing business, it’s vital that your website makes at least a good first, second, and third impression. It’s where your audience can analyze you and you get the chance to create a professional image for your business.
The photography used on your website, styled stock photography preferred, is one of the most important aspects, no matter your profession. While the visuals of your website might have been once something you could skip over, gone are those days.
Visuals are the first vector of sales.
Use Professional Styled Stock Photography to Promote Your Business.
Here are some reasons why photography and photos are the key to a professional-looking website:
Styled Photography Helps Reinforce Your Brand
Crafting your company’s brand identity is a huge part of building a business today. A business can’t afford to concentrate exclusively on the service it provides, they need to stand for something and have a set of ethics behind them. There are a number of ways to build a brand, and how you use photography and visuals is paramount.
Along with the work you do on your social media accounts, your brand identity will be defined on your website. This is where a user is most likely to go after seeing your business advertised or finding your social media. At this point it’s likely you’ve sparked some interest in the user, next they’ll be looking for a clearer picture of your brand.
High-quality imagery is the way to build that picture. In terms of brand building, imagery is about creating a stylized view of your business. Photography can tell your company’s history and modern-day story without making your visitors read pages of copy.
Source: Youtube
If you insert on your website the imagery of company events, award ceremonies and shots of staff working you’ll not only provide the visitors with a clearer picture of who you are, but confirm what you stand for and how the company operates. All these factors come together to create the image of a professional business.
Some of the fastest rising online businesses are Instagram influencers. Their entire brand is built on great photography, mostly flat lay photography and styled photography. The rise of the influencers highlights the power imagery has in making something look professional. It has radically transformed common, everyday people with smartphones into worldwide celebrities. Look to replicate this idea on your website to control the narrative around your brand.
Photography Makes Your Website Trustworthy
One question all business owners should ask themselves about their website is “does it make my business look trustworthy?” If you’re trying to convince visitors you’re worth working with or trusting with their money it helps to at least look like a professional.
Building trust is essential for any business, but it’s a huge factor in determining whether one succeeds online or not. High profile cases of data and personal information theft have made people more aware than ever of what can occur when they trust the wrong websites.
Most people have developed an internal vetting process they conduct when they land on a website for the first time. While trust seals and testimonials are a great way to convince people you’re legitimate, they will automatically put a lot on appearance when it comes to make a decision about whether or not to trust you.
This is where photography comes in.
Source: YouTube
If your website uses free stock photography present everywhere, it can make people question whether or not there is even a business behind the website for them to trust. At best you’ll be considered lazy, and at worst free stock photos make you look like you’re trying to cover something up.
Photography should reflect the trustworthiness of your business. While product photography is essential for your website, if there is no evidence of people working behind the scenes it can make you seem lifeless, unprofessional and even guilty. Lots of brands now invest in pulling back the curtain of their business to help build up a sense of trust.
The quality of visuals and photos goes a long way toward building a positive and trustful perception. If your product imagery is poorly shot it will make customers question if what they’re seeing is really what would turn up at their door. It should always look legitimate and reflect the product correctly. As more and more businesses find unique ways to present their products with photography, don’t take a step back by using blurry cut-outs.
Top notch product photography is the very first step towards the sale.
The value of trust cannot be understated online. The trust-building element of customer service is difficult to reflect with a website. You have limited options and chances to build trust, so make sure your visual presentation styled stock is both professional and reflective of what you do.
Styled Stock Photography Shows You Care About Your Products and Services
All businesses face a harsh competition online, but particularly retailers. You’re not just looking to get your business noticed, you’re trying to convince people you’re the top of the market for your product. While customers are looking for a bargain, they’re also willing to buy from the best if they think they’re purchasing from an expert and receiving a more knowledgeable level of customer service. They want the best value for their money.
Photography helps to build this sense of professionalism and shows a passion for your products and services. If you used free stock photos or poorly shot photos you won’t convince customers you are experts who actually work with those products every day and have taken the time to consider the best way to present them in a unique manner.
If your budget won’t stretch to a professional photographer and you’re useless with a camera, there are a number of brilliant editing tools suitable for beginners, so you have no excuse for poor website photography and visuals. Conversions are often driven by product photography alone, with few users reading any product copy, so it’s vital you invest in either taking or editing high quality photographs of your products.
This doesn’t just apply to product imagery. Imagery shows passion for your products and services. For freelancers, coaches and other solopreneurs high-quality images of themselves crafting their work are just as alluring and important at building a sense of professionalism. For the visitors of your website, top notch quality imagery creates a sense of high-quality service. There’s the belief that if you take the time to present yourself correctly, you must be worth shopping with.
Styled Visuals Meet the Expectations Set by Social Media
Social media has managed to set the zeitgeist for the rest of online presentations. With everyone having access to a good camera and posting great images to carefully cultivated social media accounts, the idea of what we perceive as good quality photography has changed. There‘s no room for amateurs anymore. Everyone from major brands to random Instagram users are making it a priority.
Social media has transformed how businesses present themselves online. If anyone can have a delicately crafted social media account full of well-shot photography, then a business should too. Not only should they have it on their Instagram, but on their website, too.
A professional website needs to go above and beyond in this direction, offering an enhanced presence of your business on social media and guiding the peoples’ perceptions of what great enterprises look like. So, much of social media is visual, and by having a high-quality visual experience on your website you’re attracting them with their favorite feature. Count on what people enjoy and expect to see online.
Optimized Imagery Backs up Professional Operations
High-quality imagery doesn’t mean just well-shot photography, it means photos that fit into the configuration of your website. Throughout your website you’ll have backgrounds, banners, featured images and more, which all have their own specific size and place within the website.
Beyond your photography being optimized for Google, it should look professional by fitting into these boundaries in a way that builds the overall presentation. A photograph may capture what you do perfectly, but it’s worthless if you can’t get that across with poor placement.
Great web design is vital for making that first impression on a visitor, and imagery plays a huge role in web design. Professional businesses find out through research how users react to their websites and what draws them in.
A new user will notice if an image is poorly cropped, misused or squashed into a space it doesn’t fit in. If the resolution of your imagery is poor you will look like an unprofessional outfit. Every element of photography from building the set to uploading to your CMS is part of crafting a professional perception.
Striking Visuals and Styled Stock Photography Prevent the Page from Being Oversaturated with Text
If a visitor is greeted on your website by loads of text, they can become instantly bored and get a bad vibe about you. The story of your business, brand, and service should be able to be told through snappy headlines and excellent photography without a need for long descriptions.
People enjoy reading through visuals because they’re easy to digest. Let the overall presentation of your website tell visitors what you’re about, particularly via photography. A lot can be inferred about the business from a simple photograph, so take images that show what you do and did to get to this point, use top quality styled stock photos. It will resonate better with your audience and avoid overwhelming them.
Photography has developed so much in the past few decades that there’s no excuse for letting poor images sneak onto your website. If your website is struggling then take a look at the imagery, it will completely change the game and how professionals perceive you.
Invited Guest Writer: Kayleigh Alexandra
Kayleigh Alexandra is a writer for MicroStartups, a website dedicated to helping charities and microbusinesses. After years of working in the sustainability, marketing and creative industries, Kayleigh now loves to devote her time to supporting other businesses to grow and thrive. Visit her blog or follow her on Twitter @getmicrostarted for the latest news, tips and advice for startups and solopreneurs.
