A guest post with Brittany MacLeod of Brittany MacLeod Photography

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“Since the rise of Instagram and Pinterest over the last 5 years has continued to grow it means the bar for businesses is continually being raised. Whether you’re a brand new business or you’ve been in the game for a while now, you’re being forced to keep up and it can all be a little overwhelming at times. I get it, I have been there before in my business and still hit points where I’m like “What should I be focusing on?”.

If you are selling a product or service, I am sure there are times where you feel like you don’t have time for anything else other than keeping your daily operations moving smoothly. I know for myself before I had hired a photo editor to help with my workload, there were seasons where I literally couldn’t even post for weeks at a time on social media.

All that being said, as someone who creates images for a living, I understand the value exceptional photography has on small businesses and if you are not capturing somewhat professional-looking imagery for your business. I am telling you first hand, you are doing yourself a major disservice, and missing out on potential business!

So let’s just dive right in! I am going to try and keep this as short and sweet as possible but I believe each and every point that I am about to share will MASSIVE impact on your business! 

1. First Impressions are EVERYTHING, you guys. We all know this but are you being intentional about the first impression you are giving your potential customers or clients? Think about it for a second, when was the last time someone gave you a restaurant or shop recommendation? What was the first thing you did? Well, I’ll tell you that this happened to me the other day as I was asking for places to eat in Montreal and the first thing I did was go to the business’s Instagram or website if I couldn’t initially find them on Instagram. Within seconds, not minutes, seconds I made a decision on whether or not I was going to go there based on what it looked like. I know this sounds a little shallow, but we make judgments every day when we have to make decisions. I could have easily passed up on multiple restaurants that had amazing food but because I can’t sample their crab cakes through the internet, I’m making my decision based on what I SEE!

2. I suppose this could be part two of making a good first impression but to your social media viewers, your product will always be as good as the photos you post. You can have the best product in the world, but if your photos do not match that level of quality, you can be sure that clients who have not purchased your products or services will assume your products/services are of lesser value. 

3. Photos convey emotion and this means you actually get to control exactly how your customers or clients feel when they look at your products or services. If your photos are all photographed in dark moody light but your products are supposed to bring people joy, you might want to consider how you are photographing your products. Even if you never hire a professional photographer (even though you totally should!) I’d encourage you to really take a good look at the photos you have on your Facebook, Instagram, website, etc. and ask yourself, how do these images make me feel? Do my images represent the emotion I want my customers to experience when they land on my page?

4. Branding photography builds brand trust and recognition. When your photography is inconsistent across all platforms, you’re pretty much displaying your inconsistency. Consistency builds trust, and consistent quality helps your customers recognize you. We all follow that person on Instagram that when we scroll and see their photo, we know it’s theirs before we even have to look at the name. For me, I do this with Jillian Harris but I could think of SO many more people who knock it out of the park with brand recognition.

5. I am saving the best for last, and if you take nothing at all from this post, please take this and run with it. CUSTOMERS WANT TO GET TO KNOW YOU! If you have a business and I can’t find a single photo of you or your team anywhere on your social media platforms or website I can guarantee, a lot of potential customers are going to move onto someone else who feels more relatable and authentic. I know I’ve done this numerous times myself so I don’t care if you think you’re boring or don’t like getting your photo taken. Your customers genuinely want to hear your story and see your face, whether you believe it or not! This is also another way you can build trust between you and your potential customers.

If you were picking up everything I just put down, and you feel like this resonated with you, I am here to help and I want to go all-in with you, so we can create epic photographic solutions for these problems in your business. My hope is that you crush it in the business world, and I so desperately want to see you excel but I know how tough it can be to try and tackle this whole photography thing alone and that is why I am offering for this month only, 20% off all of my branding packages!

You shouldn’t have to go at this alone, so let’s get together and brainstorm like crazy, all of the wonderful ways we can bring your amazing business to life through timeless, high-end imagery.  

And don’t forget to follow me on the socials:

Instagram: @brittanymacleodphotography // @brittanymacleod

Facebook: www.facebook.com/brittanymaleodphotography
Website: www.brittanymacleod.com

Thanks for reading! 

Xo,

B