Happy 2023.
Let me introduce myself, my name is Molly McGuinness and I run ‘Molly McGuinness Media’. As a small business myself, I’m passionate about working with other small businesses and helping them grow whilst keeping true to their own identity and individual ethos. I’m also hoping to inspire everyone to feel confident in taking better images.
As we all welcome the New Year, it’s important to reflect on the past and focus on how we can make this year the best one yet. For me, one of my goals is to create simple but useful blog posts to reinvigorate people’s perception of posting content and it not being a negative, time consuming interruption to your day or business but a way to celebrate your passion, dedication and to connect with your customers in a new refreshing way. The heart of any small business is its story and you, together with the personal touch.
No matter who you are or what you're promoting, high quality imagery is a must and I’m here to tell you my top 5 reasons why.
Brand Identity And Company Ethos
The content associated with your brand or business is one of the most important factors in promoting your brand identity and company ethos. I believe this content should capture who you are at your business core and what you stand for, the saying ‘a picture tells a thousand words’ really is true and could never apply more than in the world of advertising.
Every image you publish, online or in print, relating to your business should capture your company ethos and tell your potential customers what makes you stand out from the crowd. You are unique and your imagery should reflect that. Each image should have a recognisable style that is distinctly and recognisably yours, allowing your customers to pick your imagery out from your competitions.
Your Story
Every business has its own story. Every business has started somewhere and your imagery should reflect that uniqueness. High quality imagery isn’t just about a ‘pretty picture’ its about the planning and thought that goes into the set up of the image, where it’s taken, what’s in the frame, how the image is framed, at what angle etc. all of these factors have a conscious or subconscious effect on the viewer and how they perceive the product or service being advertised. Your imagery should reflect your story and evoke some feeling or emotion in the viewer and that requires reflection on how your business came to be and why you started out.
Professionalism
The quality of your image reflects on your business and your attention to detail, your patience, your care, your standards therefore its imperative the images published are thought through and not just a quick snap. These images must be of the highest quality and reflect not only your ethos and story but also how your business operates and the customer experience. The images should feel personal yet professional and take your customers on a journey, not one that is grainy and out of focus but one that is shot in perfect lighting in high definition that showcases you, your business and your products or service in the ideal way for you.
Here is an example from a shoot I did with some delicious food, making the products look high quality.
This first picture showcases the food well, the fruit looks glossy and healthy but the framing of the image allows for lots of room for text above the product. This is perfect for posters, leaflets or business cards and also for social media. Think Insta story or a carousel post with text.
This second image is perfect for letting the product talk on its own, no text needed. It is well lit and the colours pop against the plain background. Its visually interesting but not too busy giving the product room to breathe. The shadows around the product add some dynamics to the image, as does the icing sugar.
Personality
While it is important to maintain a professional, high quality finish, its also important to balance that with you. Customers don’t buy a product, they buy into a story, a person and an idea. Make them part of your community, let them into who you are and your business personality. Your individuality is another USP and one that so many customers will connect with. In an age of fast paced digital consumerism people still crave connection, and are more likely to buy a product or service from a business they feel they know, building trust. You’ll reach more of your target audience through showcasing you and your personality, algorithms favor people over generic ads of services and products. The general message here is don’t be afraid to be authentically yourself because you’ll attract customers who aren’t just buying into your product or service, they are buying into you.
Trust
All the above helps your customers and target audience build trust and a rapport with you and your business. Recognisability and person ability along with images that truthfully represent your business, ethos, story and the customer experience allow for loyal customers who trust in you and your business and this will create a growth in referrals as they will trust you enough to recommend you to friends and family. The first thing those referrals will be greeted with is your imagery and it takes seconds to make a good impression so those images have to count.
I’ll be writing and publishing a monthly blog post this year covering a different topic each month. Next month I will be giving advice on how you can get started on achieving beautiful, high quality portrait imagery using your mobile phone.
Get in touch by emailing me at contact@mollymcguinness.co.uk.
I look forward to hearing from you and seeing how I can help elevate your brand or business.
If you have any suggestions for future blog posts or need any quick advice, please feel free to contact me with your suggestions or questions.
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