From increasing your credibility to prolonging consumer engagement, the importance of good imagery in marketing is essential.
Our brains can interpret images much more quickly than text which is why images can communicate a product, service or brand more instantly. This clearly brings home the importance of imagery in print and online marketing – first impressions count and they are formed within seconds!
In order to help your company stand out from the crowd, your imagery needs to be unique and it is important that those you choose resonate with your brand and target customers. Using stock imagery from online libraries such as Bigstock or iStock can be a cost-effective option. These images are created to have mass appeal and are often generic, so it can be difficult to find suitable images in terms of subject matter and style. However, by working with a professional graphic design team who have access to many stock libraries and can cast an experienced design eye over the images – you’ll have a much higher chance of success.
Where budget and time allows, commissioning a professional photo shoot is always preferable, to create bespoke imagery with a consistent theme and style. Professional images or illustrations capture authenticity and photographs show the potential customer what you are offering and the quality of your products or services.
Making careers an adventure at the University of Southampton
A recent example of this is a project we undertook for the University of Southampton. We were approached by their Careers and Employability Service to create a consistent look and feel to their marketing materials. Recognition came up with the concept of using ‘adventure’ as the theme for all of the imagery, with each image featuring a person engaged in an active pursuit which when combined with an impactful headline, created some striking and recognisable marketing materials for all of their upcoming events and programmes.
Some things to consider when choosing an image:
- Does the image resonate with your target audience?
- Does your image have a consistent look and feel to that of your brand?
- Will the image work across all web devices?
- Does it stand out from the competition?
- Is it the correct size and high-resolution?
Good imagery also assists with enhancing your SEO value, providing a better ranking in Google results pages. Whilst many companies climb the search engine mountain through the use of keywords and internal links, simply associating the small amount of text with a well-chosen image, can increase the likelihood that search engines will place your page near the top of its links.
Imagery plays a huge role when it comes to online content, humans are generally considered visual creatures, with at least 65% of people being “visual learners”. In a study it was found that people can remember more than 2000 pictures with at least 90 % accuracy, this consistently exceeds our ability to remember words. Just think about how often we scroll past text posts online but pause at photographs, graphics or videos! This is why incorporating images when producing business content is a fundamental element to success.
Showcasing the people at the heart of Martin’s Rubber
Martin’s Rubber, a manufacturing company based in Southampton, wanted to update their website with some fresh, professional imagery. Enlisting the help of Recognitions Creative Director, Martin and incredible photographer Robin Kitchin, they spent the day in and around the factory setting up some fantastic shots which really capture the company’s values of integrity, quality and professionalism.
