It’s day 51 of lockdown in Sydney. Things are looking gloomy. There has been no improvement in the number of Covid cases, in fact it’s worse.
What are many of us spending some of our time doing? We’re looking at tons of images of food and drinks and products on our TVs, phones, tablets and computers. And we’re buying - based on how appealing the images are.
No matter how large or small your business, whether it’s a side hustle, a lady start up or a full-blown international brand, quality product photography is a must.
Below are my 7 reasons for investing in high-quality product photography
1. grab consumers’ attention
Obvious, right? The product images you have on your website, social media and print media are the images that your potential customers will see. You want them to capture your potential customers’ attention, right? And I’m guessing that you also want that first impression to be a standout. And how much time do you have to grab the attention of your potential client?
Just. A. Few. Seconds.
It’s a no-brainer that good quality images can do exactly that! Your images have to stand out.
Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.
2. highlight your brand identity
So you’ve made a few first impressions - that’s awesome! The next step is to increase consumer awareness, by highlighting your brand identity in order to build recognition, familiarity and trust. The images that you put out there help your potential customer understand your brand and what your product is, which is a vital part of your brand identity.
Do it often, then do it again and keep uploading quality imagery to create an emotional connection to your brand and help your customer visualise how the product will fit into their everyday life. The marketing rule of 7 states that a consumer needs to see your product at least 7 times before they’ll take action to buy that product or service. Since the rule was written well before the internet, today that number is more likely to hover around 77. The important thing in the rule of 7 is not the number, but its meaning. Your customer will need to see your product many MANY times before they decide to buy from you.
3. increase online presence
We all know that having a substantial digital presence is crucial.
Images can help you get found online. An image search can drive traffic to your website. Images can be used strategically for performing better in the search engine ranking results. Quality images can also keep your consumers on your site for longer.
One way to increase your online presence and get your product to reach a big audience is to make your audience WANT to share your content! Visual content is a gazillion times (sorry for the slight exaggeration here) more likely to get shared across social media than other content. And scroll-stopping images and fun stop-motions are also more likely to get shared as they can show a fun side to your product.
4. increase sale conversions
The quality of your product photos gives the perception of the quality of your product to consumers. High quality images give the perception of a high-quality product. Shared on social media, they draw potential customers to your product listing page. That’s what we want, right?
Once the consumer is on your product page, high-quality product images can absolutely engage them further, instill a sense of confidence and influence their purchasing decision. Your website visitors will always be drawn to an image before they read the text on the pageResearch suggests that consumers consider the quality of product images to be ‘very important’ when making online purchase decisions.
Let’s face it, we’re time poor. Often when we’re shopping online we have little patience to go through all the product descriptions. Here’s where the images shout out, “Hold my beer!”
5. cater to mobile audiences
Increasingly, people are shopping on their mobile devices and many of them are browsing when they’re on-the-go like during their daily work commute (not so much in NSW at the moment!), waiting in line, grabbing a few minutes during their lunch break.
Product photography quickly communicates what you’re selling. Nothing is as fast to digest as a photograph. The image sends messages easier than words.
6. set direct expectations
Sometimes products are returned because the item does not look similar to the pictures you’ve seen. You get what I’m saying here? Have you ever returned the product because the colour wasn’t what you thought it would be or the details were somewhat different? Good quality images of your products that look exactly like your product in real life, are super important.
7. push your competitors away
I know it may be hard to believe, but there are tons of products out there that are similar or even the same as yours. How do you set your product apart from the rest? You know how, don’t you?
Quality product photography that tells your brand story is the key. The way to push away from your competitors, differentiate yourself, and gain a following is to let your images do the talking. Your images should highlight the special attributes of your product and how they better solve your customer’s problems.