4 ways professional photos simplify small business marketing
I’ve come to believe that one of the best investments a small business can make, as well as one of the first investments they should make, is professional photography.
I did not always think this way, and if you’re reading this article there’s a chance you’re looking to be convinced as well. Earlier in my career, I might’ve told a client they could get away fine with stock images and iPhone photos.
But I’ve since seen again and again that high-quality photos of your business and your people truly make all the rest of your marketing both easier and more effective. Having a great set of images is simply a game-changer.
Here are a number of ways professional photos instantly improve marketing your small business.
1. They make your website more impactful and authentic
Designing an impressive website almost becomes easy when you’ve got a bunch of great photos to use.
For instance, we recently shot new photography for a local candle-making company, E&3 Apothecary. Click the gallery below to see what their homepage looked like after and before we added the new photography.
The original historic map on their homepage was nice, but isn’t nearly as arresting as this full-page photo, which also instantly conveys so much about the company without having to read anything. The full-screen photo does most of the work on its own, simultaneously showing the product in high resolution, with a background of downtown Haddonfield that conveys a sense of place, with a hand that subtly makes the site feel welcoming, personable and even quirky. There’s a reason for the phrase that pictures say a thousand words.
A nice bonus here is that there’s some search engine optimization (SEO) research showing that Google also looks favorably upon websites that show original photos vs. stock photography. The theory is that they represent unique, helpful content that will likely be more valuable to surface highly in search results, rather than the same purchased images hundreds of other sites are using.
Other tests of SEO impacts from original photos couldn’t prove an immediate effect, but they still emphasize the long list of other reasons that unique images are valuable for a website experience.
2. They make your advertising much more effective
The same photos you capture for your website can be easily plugged into all your advertising, whether it’s digital, print, or out-of-home (e.g. billboards, posters, signage, etc.).
Another client of ours, Benita Cooper Design, gets high-quality photos of pretty much every project they complete, putting up beautiful residential architecture and business design galleries on their website. That made it really easy for them to put together eye-grabbing ads, both in local print publications and on Facebook and Instagram. See an example below from Instagram Reels.
Is it possible to run local advertising without great photography? Sure. You probably see ads like that all the time, often using only a logo and text.
However, the outlets selling the ads will tell you to use original photos, because they know ads with eye-catching images perform better. I actually had two conversations recently that emphasized this point.
One was with the publisher of a series of locally focused magazines in South Jersey, who mentioned she often implores her advertisers for high-res photos so they can stand out as much as possible.
The other was with a representative who sells in-store advertising for supermarkets in the region, who echoed that he really wants local advertisers to at least include a photo of the business owner, having seen shoppers are more likely to remember and contact a business after seeing a face behind it.
In both cases, they want advertisers to be successful so they will continue advertising, so I would definitely take their word for it.
3. They add a polished spice to social media feeds
While it would be awesome to have your entire social media feed be professional photos, that might be pricey for most small businesses, and it’s nice to include a mix of more casual content anyway. Still, throwing in some really polished photos with what you’re posting can add variety to keep your followers interested.
See below a good example from another client, a local craft furniture manufacturer, Timber Forge Woodworks. This is a screenshot of their Instagram grid, which has a lovely mix of professional photos of their products, as well as more casual sneak-peek and behind-the-scenes photos and videos.
4. They make directory listings much more clickable
Even situations that wouldn’t seem to call for having premium imagery suddenly become great assets when you throw quality photos in the mix.
Take your Google Business Profile. There’s an area where you can upload photos to show Google searchers and entice them to contact you. Here’s an example below from yet another client of ours, Hightop Development, where there are a bunch of professional photos of their modern apartment building in Northern Liberties, Philadelphia, called The Weston.
See how you can immediately get a sense of how cool this building is before you even click through to the website? That makes it a lot more likely someone’s going to take the next step, whether it’s calling the number right from the results page, or click to visit the website and book a tour.
And again, like with your website, there are inherent SEO benefits to adding more content such as imagery to a Google Business Profile, both in terms of surfacing highly for results and getting more clicks on your profile, which in turn becomes a signal for ranking more highly.
Here’s what Miriam Ellis, a highly respected local SEO expert, said in an article on Moz.com about proven Google Business Profile ranking factors:
“The photo section of your listing deserves a ton of attention. Google will often swap out the profile photo on your listing to match changes in searcher intent, and as we now know from the Google API leaks, clicks and rankings are best friends. You want the public interacting in every possible, positive way with your listings, and by prioritizing high-value fields, you’ll be doing all you can to have the best GBP in the neighborhood!
This advice also applies to even less photogenic businesses, like professional services. Businesses like accounting firms, engineers, financial planners, law firms, etc., can also benefit by simply showing their people.
Research from local marketing consultancy Near Media has found in user testing - i.e. actually watching and recording what real people do when searching for local businesses - that even for seemingly mundane services like this, people like to click on images and see who they might be working with. It’s always nice to put a face to a name because it reminds you you’re working with an actual person, inspiring trust.
Case in point, we just took new photos of our longtime client Singley & Rinaldi, a general practice law firm in Gibbsboro, New Jersey, and updated their website, Facebook page, LinkedIn page, and Google Business Profile with the new photos.
I don’t know about you, but I’m much more likely to call a business with photos of their people instead of just a logo and a storefront image, like most law firms you see on Google.
How to find and work with a local photographer
So, hopefully you’re sold on the value of professional photos, but you might be wondering how much this costs and how to go about.
You’re in luck! As a full-service marketing agency focused on small businesses, we specialize in making this as affordable and turnkey for business owners as possible.
For a 2-hour photoshoot, we charge between $500-$700, and you’ll get 50-200 edited, high-resolution photos you can use in perpetuity. We can also then use those to update your website, Google Business Profile, and social media platforms, as well create local ad campaigns.
We’re currently partnering with a few very talented freelance photographers: Kari Richards of KarinEmily Photography, a Haddonfield-based photographer, and Helen Mersiowsky, a Haddon Heights-based photographer. (Kari shot the candle-making company above, and Helen shot the law firm.) I highly recommend you check out their websites and Instagram accounts to see everything they’re up to and capable of.
If you want to learn more and set something up, contact me directly at lee@mountwell.marketing, or schedule an intro call here.
And let me know in the comments if I missed any other benefits!