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As more and more consumers are turning their head towards eCommerce, the online space is becoming a red ocean. It poses a challenge of creating likeability with the customers who has endless choices. One way to get noticed by the right customers is letting images play their part.
Going by the trend, 32% of marketers consider visual images as the primary form of content for businesses online. Talking of customer acquisition or keeping the old ones glued into our brand, we can’t possibly skip the importance of how images promote your brand and ensure that you create a mark in this competitive market.
You may have heard several times that “looks don’t matter” but when you talk of the online world, “looks definitely matter” and that is undebatable. Believe it or not, you have less than 8 seconds to acquire customers which is the average attention span of humans. The best way to accomplish that is using images.
The brain is designed to process visual content more. No wonder that 60% consumers prefer to contact the business whose search result comprises of images, making visually appealing photos a powerful tool to generate leads.
How brand photography can help you attract more customers? Here are top three reasons :
Images speak more than words and therefore, they convey your brand’s story better to the audience. You can look quirky, trendy, conventional or hep through the right colors, textures, backgrounds and tones. Images when put together in the correct sequence can also tell a narrative which helps convert.
Quality images with appropriate optimisation can quicken the customer acquisition process. Use web-optimised images with appropriate ALT tags to rank better on search engines. Role of images in generating inbound traffic cannot be ignored.
Images appeal to a global audience. Customers belonging to different countries/cultures can decipher your industry through your product images without needing a translator, making this form of media universally understood.
Now that you know the importance of using product images, let us dive deep into how brands can kickstart customer acquisition strategy using product images:
Go for 12MP or more camera to click images that don’t blur or pixelate. Using detailed, sharp product images creates a sense of trust between your brand and the buyer. Don’t make the typical mistake of re-sizing an image from 100% to 300%. Go slow with 10% every time – it is called stair interpolation technique. Also don’t get confused between resampling and resizing. Resizing retains the quality.
Let the customers get an actual feel of the product with images showcasing the product from all the angles. Set the right backdrop, look for a well-lit roam and get going for an effective customer acquisition strategy using product Images.
If your brand is visible in search results in the first page when customers type for a particular product, need you ask more? So, ranking well in search engines is not about luck, it is a carefully calculated strategy deploying SEO to get there.
Taking care of simple things like using appropriate image file name like “red-dressberry-shoe.jpg” instead of obsolete way like “file8765.jpg” can make a huge difference. Also, try describing the image, without stuffing keywords in alt texts. This gives the search bots something real to index, giving your image a better ranking in search results.
Even the right file formats can make your image SEO friendly – always use JPEG for product images as a rule of thumb. But if you are using transparent backgrounds, then PNG is your go-to format.
With Google ranking websites on basis of their mobile-friendly version, it is high time that brands optimise images for every screen. Ensure that you are opting for responsive websites – the content or image scales according to the screen it is being viewed upon. This not only creates a better user experience but also ensures that the customers do not have to struggle with the zoom out options. You must also have images that take less time to load and maintain their quality on multiple screen sizes.
New customers always look for reviews and testimonials by real buyers before they make a purchase. A great way to attract new buyers is posting the images of old customers with your products or asking them to link back to your posts whenever they upload photos flaunting your products.
A common example of creating engagement with customer base is use of hashtags on social media by many brands. Or you can ask your buyers to tag your product in their feeds, getting new customers to notice you.
We may be flaunting the high megapixel cameras behind our smartphones but not everyone has the eye for great imagery. If you are looking to create stunning product photographs, then try letting the experts handle it. Professional brand photography is distinct, renders a signature style to your product images and smart customers will know the difference at first sight.
Also, approaching the professionals will ensure that you never run out of ideas on using images to attract customers. A uniform theme and editing style, in turn creates a recognition pattern amongst customers, helping them spot your brand’s photographs in seconds.
With over 3.5 billion social media users online, where else could you go looking for customer acquisition? Instagram and Facebook lead the race and it is important to know what kind of images work on them.
Besides the technical details, keep in mind that the customer is scrolling very fast and the image must look distinct or unique for him or her to stop. Click images in unique layouts, with crazy props and distinctive colors.
Social media may hold ample potential but don’t overdo it, click to know more about social media marketing mistakes.
Let’s wrap with some great tips on how to create images that click. We picked these from top performing brands on eCommerce and social media.
Products have their charm but it multiples when you stage them alongside customers. A customer jumping with joy or showing a crazy grin on his face will surely make a scroller stop past. Why do you think magazines show humans on their cover pages? It is the selling point. Use it to your advantage.
Create a distinct look with a pop of colors – bright and lively for a children’s brand and soft or understated for a luxury brand. Black, white or grey scale also has its merit. When the colors attract the customers, they stop to read the text. Imagine a bright yellow and pink backdrop of bubbles with happy children. Who wouldn’t stop to look what’s being offered?
Don’t lose the subject of the image with a lot of clutter. A background with props is important but click it right with plenty of white space around. And use the focus feature to show the key element. A cluttered image will divert the attention to an unimportant aspect and take the limelight away from the product.
Time and again it has been proven that stock images do not do as well as real images. People are very used to stock images with the advertising clutter all around. Their brain has been trained to scroll past. When you use real models or real customers in your pictures, it creates more curiosity.
You might want to highlight your price or your discount offer but the image is not always the right place. It may take away the sophistication of the image. All platforms – eCommerce or social media have the option to add those details in the description or added filters. Your original picture should be purely an image with focus on the subject and the selling features.
Take creativity out of photography and image editing and you will not meet your objective. Use different subjects, angles, backgrounds that look wow. While editing work with different filters, contrasts and lights. Use panorama or zoom burst techniques to look distinct. Unless you create intrigue, nobody is clicking.
Customers retain more information when they see it visually rather than reading plain texts. If they remember you, they will certainly buy form you. Investing in awesome product images is therefore an investment that you need in your business and with the right kind of editing and polishing, your product images will ensure faster customer acquisition than ever.
