Five top ways to improve your company image

Image, brand, perception, reputation; these elements are all tied up together. Of course, nothing is more important than what you actually do and deliver every day. But conveying what you do powerfully and positively is what will drive interest from potential customers.

Now as a commercial photographer, when I think ‘image’ I think picture. Not just picture - style, brand, artistic interpretation, position and subject. And it just so happens that the quality of the images you use for your business can impact directly on your overall business image. Therefore it also affects appeal, engagement and ultimately sales.

So when I refer to company images, what do I mean? You may believe that they aren’t relevant for your type of company. But actually, it’s hard to think these days of any business where the images you use aren’t important. Do you have a website? Do you do advertising? Do you have a LinkedIn profile? Do you hold company events? Do you do PR and social media? If the answer to any of these questions is yes, then images are indeed important.

1. LinkedIn profiles

If you’re a company director or owner, the chances are you have a Linkedin profile, and this will be important to your professional image and networking opportunities. The days of amateurish shots taken on a phone being acceptable are gone; if you want to be perceived as a successful professional, your profile picture needs to look the business. Potential colleagues, recruits, suppliers and customers all need to be able to see a personable, comfortable, approachable professional with whom they would be happy to work.

1. Website images

When potential customers or clients look at your website, it may be the first impression they have of your business. That homepage, or landing page, needs to hook them in within seconds. With people scanning websites and content at great speed on their tablets and phones, an attention grabbing image; something that reflects the right creative feel and brand of your company can say volumes within the precious few seconds you have to engage people. Poor quality images or overused, dated, cheesy stockshots could easily put people off. But interesting, relevant, bespoke well thought out and on-brand photography is likely to inspire a potential customer to find out more.

1. Product photography

It is quite amazing how many websites carry poor quality images of their products. It simply makes no commercial sense not to invest in good photography when an image and basic description is all a customer has to go on for their decision to buy or not to buy. Poorly lit backgrounds, shadows, lack of detail on the image is just a recipe for disaster and likely to result in high levels of returns, or even worse, complaints. Great quality product photography will literally show off your products in the best possible light. Enabling the textures and details to come through and setting products off in an appealing way, is the online equivalent of beautifully presented products in a high end store.

1. Brand and audience engagement

Who is your audience? Under 18s? Over 60s? High end affluent shopper? Busy mums? Corporate professionals?

Different audiences will be attracted to different creative styles and looks. Through investing in bespoke commercial photography you can pinpoint your audience and target them effectively, as the production and editing part of the process has unlimited scope for delivering the right look and feel for your business. You may want to bring out certain colours, focus on a certain style of photography e.g. retro, or quirky, or abstract, or traditional and subtle differences in how the images are edited can deliver this perfectly.

1. Event photography

If you’re investing in a night to remember for staff and clients, you’ll want it to be remembered forever. Don’t waste this valuable PR opportunity by hoping an internal staff member with their phone will remember to snap away as the event goes on. A professional photographer will ensure a fantastic suite of photographs can be used for PR purposes well after the event. The editing and production will ensure staff, clients, and company directors are looking their best, positioned properly with the right lighting and setting. If it’s an awards do, there’s a real opportunity to boost your organisation’s internal brand and image among your staff. So it’s even more important to make sure the atmosphere is captured, and the recipients of the awards have some photographs of which they can be proud.

So if you’re looking to improve your company image, don’t underestimate the role of the photographic image. It can make every difference to the effectiveness of your internal and external marketing and communications.

If you would like to find out more about commercial photography services, please contact me for a no obligation chat on 07767 776839.