Archive for the ‘marketing’ Category
Do your business photos need a reality check?
The Do’s and Don’ts of Photographs for Your Business
Are you still using TIRED OLD STOCK PHOTOS on your website and marketing material? Or a profile photo from 1985? Are your images saying polished, professional and modern… or dated and corny?
Some common photo mistakes businesses make:
- Using American stock photos for an Australian market
- Using a very old profile picture that no longer looks like you
- Using a non-professional profile picture, such as you on holiday or on your wedding day (just because you looked nice)
- Using photos taken on an every day camera by someone on your staff (maybe it’s ok for Facebook but for your website and brochure?)
The above mistakes are common but they say you don’t pay attention to detail or think about your market’s needs. It’s important to make sure that the photos representing your business:
- Accurately represent your brand. Do you want to say polished and professional, fun and quirky, relaxed and approachable…? Whatever your message, you will always want to say ‘We pay attention to the details.’
- Appeal to your target market. Subtlety, creativity and clever humour works well in Australian markets.
- Are up to date. There’s nothing to put a prospect off balance like seeing a photo of you and then meeting someone who looks completely different in real life. Sure, you want to look good in your photo but you also should look like you. After all, there’s no-one quite like you!
- Are professionally taken. Did you know that product photography is a slow, fiddly and highly technical process? Slapping a product down on the table and taking a quick pic with your phone’s camera is NOT the same thing. Did you know that professional studio lights can make you look your absolute best? Or that certain expensive lenses are needed to create the effects you see in professional photos, like that lovely soft focus that blurs out a background?
Photographs are not just a record of something but also ‘say something’ about you and your business. The photos below were taken for Philipa the Virtual Personal Assistant. The colour image says her brand is quirky, fun and approachable. It gets your attention because it’s different and it has a high energy to it. She’s busy and she’s on the move. The black and white image says professional and creative. It is also an image with ‘punch’ that will get attention.
Professional photographers know how to create the mood and message you are wanting to project.
Photography for your website and marketing material need not be time-consuming or costly. New Work Photography provides a 30 minute CREATIVE CONSULTATION which includes an image health check for your website, profile picture and marketing materials and some great photo ideas to get you started. This in-person consultation is just $60 and it’s obligation-free, plus if you book your photography with us, your consultation fee is credited towards your photo shoot. Not only that, but if you are less than 30 minutes from Perth we’ll come to you.
To book or find out more visit www.newworkphotography.com
The new direct marketing: Clever or manipulative?
When does direct marketing to your networks cross the line from clever marketing to sneaky manipulation?
Occasionally I receive advertising in the form of an email or direct message from business people in the outer reaches of my network that I have not met. This doesn’t bother me too much as I know the importance of spreading the word about a product, service or event and the value of connecting with those around you.
Wow, just for me?
But I do get annoyed when I begin reading what looks like a personal note to find it’s just a sneaky form of advertising – more than that, it’s almost like the wording is trying to suck you in deeper and deeper. It’s paragraphs and paragraphs of introduction, dropping comments about how many people they’ve helped and how good they feel solving other people’s problems. It might even include some specifics about your own business, so that when you do get to the point (that they’re trying to sell you something generic that you actually don’t want and have heard of a million times before anyway), you have already wasted 5 precious minutes of your day and worse, fractured your focus on something more important.
The worst, the absolute worst, is when it appears the sender has thought about what it is you actually do, but then you find hasn’t bothered to really find out anything about you because they’re a little off the mark. In my case, the classic is assuming I do weddings or that I own a portrait studio because they see the word ‘photography’.
A twisted message
Ok, I know that advertising is about persuasion. I know you need to think about your target market and push their emotional buttons. And I know that I should be suspicious of what looks like a personal letter when it’s from someone I don’t recall meeting. I just wonder, isn’t there a way to be effective with your message without hiding it among layers of pretending-to-care? The ‘I really want to help you’s and the ‘I know how you feel but here is the answer’s just turn my stomach.
Isn’t there such thing as coming from a position of ACTUALLY wanting to solve someone’s problem or meet a need, WHILE clearly demonstrating something for sale? Isn’t that just win-win?
R-E-S-P-E-C-T… you know how it goes
Do we have to be sneaky and manipulative about it, and to our direct contacts too? Maybe it’s time to step away from the marketing books and just think for a minute… these strategies must be used carefully, sensitively, and with RESPECT.
I’m no marketing expert, I just believe people are smart and can see through manipulative tactics. You can spot a phoney person a mile away. If you and your product or service holds integrity, surely people will be attracted to that?
It’s a tough market but this business lady won’t be resorting to direct marketing that isn’t anything but ‘direct’!
What you see is what you get
In business, we live in a visual world (like it or not)
How much do you value the visual elements of your business or brand? Now, think about how much you judge other businesses by their ‘cover’.
The fast-paced world we now live in is highly competitive and highly visual. If you’re like most people, you will pay attention to your first, ‘visual’ impressions, fair or unfair. This might be the way a person dresses, their hairstyle, their body language and eye contact… or their website, office space, display books or marketing material.
I recently was shown a product designed as a gift people can buy, to raise money for a very worthy cause. My immediate impression was that the design let it down – it was dated, boring and a little daggy. I’m not suggesting people don’t buy fundraising products just for the value their money will bring to a charity, but I am saying that many, many more products might be sold if more attention was given to their visual appeal.
Looking ‘right’ in business becomes very important when it comes to using photographs of people or products. If the website or brochure design is fantastic but the photos clearly have come from an everyday camera or an unpractised hand, the value is immediately brought down. As mentioned in a previous article, Lighting is Everything, well… I’ve just said it. A professional with specialised equipment makes the shot work.
Designers and boutiques particularly need to pay close attention to the type of photographs they use. There are many examples of catwalk shots pinched from other websites and used by small businesses, or shots of wrinkled clothing snapped with a regular camera by someone who works there. The designers who make it to fashion festivals use professional models and fashion photographers to showcase their beautiful creations.
How much dollar value do you place on your look? How much more value could it be bringing in dollars, back to you?
Marketing experts, website designers and programmers, artists and photographers alike, are always trying to show people the importance of investing in a professional job. Some businesses get it, and it shows.
It’s not always easy to find the time and money to do it right, and I am personally doing it step by step. But having an awareness of how to do things right is a good start.
There are plenty of examples on our website of our work for our business and fashion clients… but you can always contact us to see more examples of the difference a professional photo makes.
Subscribe Me! Increasing your database
Increasing my list of loyal subscribers is something I’m learning about gradually. I’ve experienced the thrill of watching long lines of people scribble down their email addresses at parties where I’ve done Style Shoots, and I’ve felt the lows of seeing the ‘Such-and-such has unsubscribed’ message in my inbox every now and then. Here are some of the strategies I have found helpful in increasing my database. If you have any others, flick us an email info@newworkphotography.com.au
I’ve targeted key people asking them directly if I can add them to my mailing list, because I’ve really wanted to keep my business in their minds
I run competitions at events where if you sign up you are in the draw to win a free photo shoot
My next approach will be to run some online competitions, but I’m currently deciding on the best way to do this. One way will be to run them on my website
I’ve got signup buttons on my website, email signature and monthly newsletters. I still need to add this to my social media profiles
I tweet or post about my e-news articles on various social media sites. This includes a link to the newsletter or article, with a signup button, as well as share buttons
I try to send only quality material that is interesting to read, such as fashion and arts news, things to do around town and hints for budding photographers and business people. I also reward my subscribers with special offers and invitations
There are now businesses and software designed to create more awareness for your business and get you more subscribers. One example is www.vowcha.com.au. Make sure you choose your limits wisely and that the platform matches your brand
What’s working for you? Share it and help others. Oh… and if you want to subscribe to New Work’s newsletter and special offers, click the redcarpetcool button on the website www.newworkphotography.com 
