What is Brand Photography?
So what is this ‘Brand Photography’ then?
It’s 2020 and the world just went mad. We’re in lockdown; we’re out of lockdown; we’re meeting in 30s, 10s, 6s, not at all; indoors, outdoors. Customers have radically changed their behaviour in the most rapid change in human history these last 6 months. People who thought they would never go online much are now Zoom aficionados in order that they can see their grandchildren. Consumers who’d never bought anything on the internet are now regularly shopping online to stay socially distanced. Businesses are having to change the way they operate - and fast. Whole industries that once looked safe are changing radically. I recently heard a story about airline pilots in New Zealand retraining as tractor drivers! Of course, some of these changes had already started, but the crisis this year has simply amplified them and sped them up. Instead of taking five years, it’s taken six months!
It’s clear that against such a tidal wave of change, and the seismic shift online, that businesses simply cannot expect to do the ‘same old. same old’ and expect to stay afloat, let alone move forward!
One of the biggest trends in business has been the move towards personalisation and authenticity. Customers don’t want bland, medium-sized services or offerings such as Woolworths, C&A, HMV, or Debenhams and Arcadia’s brands - Topshop etc. anymore. They either want hyper-convenience and/or low price - think Primark / Amazon, OR on the other side, they demand bespoke, personalised service offerings. The offerings in the ‘mediocre middle’ are clearly disappearing. Customers want to connect with the companies they buy from.
The offerings in the ‘mediocre middle’ are disappearing.
If you’re a local shop or producer simply ‘going-online’ is not the answer - this puts you in competition with the likes of Amazon. Eeekkk! Good news though is that when customers buy from small businesses offering great services or products it’s so often because they want to buy into the personality of the company - the brand. They care about what it stands for, how it treats them, how they feel when I buy from them?
It surprising how may companies still really haven’t grasped any of this though. I spoke to a small confectioner in my hometown about a year ago as part of a business survey and the owners made it clear that they weren’t at all, and wouldn’t EVER be at all interested in going online. Their business was only about the chocolate and they didn’t want to reveal anything about themselves, how the chocolate was produced etc. Within a year that shop is no more.
I truly love supporting local business, like lots of us I like to spend my money with owner operators but sadly from our experience some shops on the high street don’t treat their customer like they are at all bothered about their custom!! Both Kevin and I went into a bakery in our town when we first moved - and on a number of separate occasions we had such consistently atrocious customer service we decided never to go back!
Small businesses have to offer a great experience or people will go to supermarkets, or larger providers of whatever service they offer where its cheaper or easier to shop.
If you’re offering an exceptional customer experience you must share that with the world - a big part of that is making sure that you and your staff get engaged in telling your unique story. No-one else is going to do it for you.
Small businesses have to offer a great experience or people will go to supermarkets, or larger providers of whatever service they offer, rather than theirs.
This is where Facebook and Instagram etc. come in. This is where your audience is right now and many businesses are sharing their stories. We do get it - it can be really rather overwhelming. Most people try for a couple of weeks, then run out of things to say and they don’t have very good images to share. They also tend to focus on the products they sell (if they are in retail) rather than tell great stories that lead customers to buy into them and their personality - their brand.
Just imagine if you had a bank of 150+ images (like these!), ready to use for media coverage, your website, social media posts, which properly reflect your brand. Imagine having help deciding exactly what kind of stories you share with your audience and how to capture the essence of those stories.
That’s where a brand photography expert can help - they can guide you through what images will connect with your ideal customer. They can advise how to really stand out in your market. You need a professional who can put you at ease in front of the camera to the point where you actually enjoy the experience (yes really!).
You’ll walk away from a Brand Photography session with not only a clear idea of how to connect with your audience, but you’ll also have the tools to do it and - importantly, a renewed sense of confidence to reach out to your ideal customers and make 2021 a roaring success after the pain of 2020.
If you’re looking to connect afresh with your audience and especially if you’re in overwhelm mode with how to do that ‘online’ or on social media, then do drop me a message or schedule a 15min chat with me and lets talk about how we could work together to properly accelerate your business in 2021!