What's the purpose of Corporate Photography?
Posted on 14th November 2024 at 11:33
How to use corporate photography effectively
Do you know what your corporate photography will be used for? If not, what’s the point in having photos taken…I ponder this question to explain how marketeers use photos for their clients.
Why Marketeers want photos
It’s all a bit of a juggle, but marketeers use photos in conjunction with tone of voice (words) and graphics (logos/colour palette/design) to enhance the reading of a brand’s identity, however, it goes further than this.
Marketing professionals that I speak to believe that bespoke photography makes a business’s websites, social media and other communications stand out from the crowd. They establish how photos will support their marketing objectives as well as the brand positioning and messages.
So the question gets asked: what are the photos required to do (marketing objective)? This question is important because there will be different photography needs depending on the marketing job.
Building brand credibility
Building or maintaining a credible brand is one of the key facets where photography can impact. For service led businesses this may be in the form of the people in the business being more visible, showing employees in action, or showing the location. It is all about visually illustrating the customer journey so that every touch point is seen.
Brand photography for service companies helps with moving prospects further down the line of ‘know, like and trust’. It backs up messaging and gives authenticity to the company and brand.
For product based businesses photos might show the products in use, the materials or ingredients, the manufacture or production, the craftsman at work or the source of materials.
Creating awareness
It may be that some photos are required to build awareness. In different media channels, especially on line, there is a lot of ‘noise’ which makes it difficult for brands to be seen. Therefore ‘different’ or unique visuals help a business stand out, to raise profile and be seen.
Photography can also help the right customer/client – the target market – feel a connection with the brand. When they associate with the images they become interested and consider contacting/buying, whatever the call to action is.
Social media soaks up photography as content and storytelling is key here too. Posts need to have photos that are eye catching, tell stories, are aligned with the brand identity and consistent.
Investing in photography
When a business invests in photography, they can create an image bank that can do a variety of jobs. This can be done with the guidance of the marketing department, an agency or directly with the photographer.
Businesses that take the time to work out what job they need their photographs to do are able to ensure there is a plan for their photo shoot. Like most things in business (and life), there is no quick fix but it doesn't need to be complex either. Gaining clarity on the objectives for a shoot can smooth the process and result in an image bank that can be used for a period of time across different marketing channels (if this is the aim!).
Photography with a purpose
Most businesses know they need decent professional photography. However, many believe they can simply ask a photographer to come along and take some photos, without much more communication.
Like most professions, photography isn't as simple as that. The purpose of the photos needs to be front of mind in the planning of a corporate photo shoot. When the job photos are required for is clarified and a shoot is planned...that's when it becomes simple!
Plan your photo shoot
My approach to corporate photography is to ask lots of questions, to establish the purpose of the photos and to create a plan for the shoot. If you'd like to explore what that might look like for your business, do get in touch.
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