What photos are in your Content Bucket?
The best types of Brand Photos
Let me know if this sounds familiar….. you want to pop up a social media post, or write a blog article, or update a sales page, and you look through all your random drives and folders only to find that you have no relevant photo content! So then you don’t do the social media post, or publish that blog article or launch that sales page, and you loose the momentum to keep pushing forward.
A Content Bucket is that handy and convenient place you reach into when you need photo content to market your business. It’s full of all types of brand photos - the ones you need to set up a profile, fill a website, engage followers on social media and build your marketing materials.
If your content bucket is kept full, current and relevant, it’s much easier to promote your business when the inspiration strikes. Staying motivated in business is hard enough, but if you can equip yourself with the resources you need to keep the business wheels turning, very soon you’ll be able to look back and see you’ve come a long way.
During this photoshoot for Dani from One Touch Studio, we definitely filled up her content bucket with intentional brand photos that support her goals, show her passion, and allow her to tell her brand story across multiple platforms.
1. HEADSHOTS
Many of us don’t feel comfortable in front of the camera, myself included! But headshots are a necessary and important element to put in your content bucket. Headshots allow people to virtually ‘meet’ you, the face behind the brand. Whether you sell a product or a service, the human connection is a valuable part of your marketing library. For people who may visit your website or social media platforms before contacting you, it helps them feel at ease and confident when coming to see you. Depending on your brand, headshots can be more corpoarte looking or more relaxed, but either way they are most often the first impression of ‘you’ and can be used across multiple platforms including your website, social media, marketing collateral and more.
2. LIFESTYLE BRAND PHOTOS
If headshots show what you ‘look’ like, then lifestyle brand photos show more of ‘who’ you are. These images are more candid and natural and often show you doing an activity. This may be working behind a computer, showing your process or even working with a ‘client’ if that’s relevant to your business. They may also show you walking your dog, reading or other hobbies so your audience can get to know you. Lifestyle brand photos help expand people’s understanding of who you are, what you do and how you work. Most importantly, they allow your personality to shine through with the aim of attracting the customers that are the right fit for you! They show your passion, talent, style and more. These photos are great for using throughout your website, on your social media grid or stories and across any types of marketing materials.
3. BRANDED STOCK PHOTOS
When it comes to elevating your business, branded stock photos go a very long way and here’s why: having stock photos that are cohesive and high quality shows forethought, intentionality and an eye for detail. With the multitude of free stock libraries and design tools out there, commonly used stock images stand out - and not in a good way. It can make your brand look generic or even confusing. Simple things like a strong brand colour palette can be built and maintained through branded stock photos. When scrolling through your online media or printed products, photos like these from Dani’s photoshoot stay true to the brand and make you look professional, trustworthy and reinforce an attention to detail that many clients are looking for. It shows you take yourself seriously and are dedicated to the small things. And as an added side note, you’ll save time otherwise spent scrolling through stock libraries as well as the possiblity of breeching a stock photo licence. Branded stock photos will be used throughout your website, to break up your social media feed and on any educational, marketing or other materials you may produce.
4. PRODUCT PHOTOS
If you’re a product-based business, including images of your products is a must. These will not only come in handy for your e-shop or listing your products online but will also help your clients to understand what it is you sell and how it could work for them. Having product photos in a lifestyle context, with hands or other human elements, allows viewers to see the size scale and potential uses of your products.
If you are a creative who makes a product, let’s give your audience a peek behind the curtains so they can see the love and care that goes into crafting your products. After all, that’s the beauty of small businesses and handcrafted pieces, and what sets you apart from the big manufacturers.
Filling your content bucket with custom brand photos doesn’t take as long as you would think. Imagine the calm you’ll feel after spending half a day at a branding photoshoot with me, knowing that you have a library of content to sustain and promote your business for the coming months!
Together we’ll walk through the steps of getting you everything you need to elevate your brand to the next level. In Dani’s own words after this shoot she said, “Janelle really made my vision come to life and her calm, warm energy made me feel instantly relaxed on the day. Janelle went above and beyond for me and I can't thank her enough!” (Thanks Dani - I loved working with you too!)
If you would love a content bucket full of brand photos that will equip you with all you need to promote and grow your business, click the button below and get in touch!