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This month we’re talking all about photography as an essential marketing tool for driving sales. So far we’ve covered, Why Photography Matters to your business and the 7 Virtues of Images that Sell. Now it’s time to take it to the mats, and get specific about exactly how and where you’re going to use imagery to do the one thing a business is meant to do: create value (aka MONEY!)
Once you’ve got great images (what makes an image great for marketing? check out 7 virtues article above) you need to actually USE them in ways that will help you stand out and will make people fall in love and give you their money. But how? Where? We’ll, I’m so glad you asked…
5 Places Photography Drives Sale
- Ads
- Website
- PR
- In Print
1. Instagram
As far as social media goes, basically all platforms are more effective with images, but the king daddy of free social media marketing for the vast majority of businesses (Pinterest is also a huge contender for some bloggers and/or product-based businesses). We explored all the aspects of How & Why to Instagram in last month’s theme…
2. Ads
We also did an entire theme on Advertising over here… but when it comes to images don’t be shy about going BIG. Don’t be shy about letting the photo tell the entire story in the ad. Of course you may have your ‘hero shot’ but as discussed in the Marketing Toy Box article, don’t discount photographs as backgrounds as well (as you can see in the ad above). Detail shots can add depth, and stimulate the senses in a way that’s really tricky to do in 2D.
3. Website
Images play a huge role in modern websites. From full-width sliders, to massive tone-setting backgrounds, big crisp 365 degree product shots and more, this is probably THE most important place for your photography game to be strong. The first image on your website could be helping or hurting your conversions (and SEO) in SERIOUS ways. Need help getting your website sorted from the photos up? Check out our Web theme:
4. PR
One of the sexiest (free) places your images can be working hard for you is in Press. If you have delicious, crisp, clean, aspirational, storytelling images (see again 7 virtues of images that sell) editors will LOVE YOU. They will include your images in their editorial features and you will benefit from this free exposurebut also the benefits of having editors know they can count on for solid imagery. Being the go-to resource for an editorial team may include all kinds of favorable treatment because you’re making their job easier and their magazine or blog prettier! This one alone is worth investing in a solid library of images like the type described in the ‘7 virtues’ article. Need more tips on how to meet and get in front of these editors? Check our our PR & Media Basics Masterchat.
5. In Print
Perhaps the most traditional use of big, badass imagery is in print. Environmental applications like your event or trade show booth, street-facing or shelf signage, packaging, point-of-sale displays and other attention-grabbing opportunities are likely to be much more effective with high-quality photography.
Second to big, eye-grabbing imagery meant to pull people from across aisles or sales floors, small takeaways like postcards, business cards, brochures and booklets although perhaps a bit ‘old school’ are still as effective as ever at giving someone a reason to remember you. Get it right, and they may even take that bit of marketing material home or pin it up on their actual bulletin board (or take pop up on their pinterest one – that’s the digital world we live in!) When they care enough to keep your sales materials in their space, you stand a good chance of getting a purchase or referral from them in the future!
Image Sizes
One of the most common I get when discussing imagery is what size everything should be. Below are a few handy guides for you (and a great infographic from Spredfast that I suggest you right-click, download and keep handy!)
The three most important things for you to know about images you’ll be using for print are these:
- What is the Resolution (DPI)
- What is color space
- File type
1. Resolution
Basically without exception, when you’re printing an image, it needs to be at least 300dpi (300 dots per inch). This means the image will look crisp and not pixelated when printed.
2. Color Space
Color space essentially describes the way the colors in your image will be interpreted for output. If you’re going to send something off to ‘press’ (business cards, postcards, signs) they will typically need to be in a CMYK color space. That means that the press printers will be able to reproduce all the colors in the document using the 4-color process (Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Black).
3. File Type
Usually when sending a design off to print you’ll be sending a PDF. Sometimes a jpg, eps or TIF will be appropriate, but nearly all print shops will want a PDF for anything containing graphic elements along with your photos.
Web
1. Resolution
Typically images online need to be 72dpi or 144dpi. Anything larger will most likely make your website or application very slow to load because the files are too big/
2. Color Space
Images online are most likely to be RGB. If you try to use an image that has a CYMK color space online it may give you an error or look SUPER funky.
3. File Type
The most common file types online are JPG and PNG. JPG file types are compressed, and will automatically have a white background. PNG file types are not compressed (making them better for images with quite a bit of text) which means they end up being larger file sizes.
- Recommend: Max. 600-800px width
- File Size: As small as possible without sacrificing quality
Email Signature
- Recommend: Max 650 width
- File Size: As small as possible without sacrificing quality
Website
Most to go full-width on most WordPress or Square Space website themes these days, you’re going to be in the neighborhood of 1920 pixels wide. Each theme is different, so you’ll need to find out for your own individual website, but images these days need to be bigger than you think! (Here is a guide for you Divi users).
Here is an article about how to optimize your images for WordPress. Key word is optimize (you want your file size to be as small as possible to keep your site moving quickly, while also being high enough quality to look great on everything from an ipad to a cinema monitor).
Social
https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/ultimate-guide-social-media-image-dimensions-infographic