How to use imagery to get your business messages heard

Many businesses are creating their own content as part of their communications and brand strategy. Rebecca Swift shares the important role that images play in getting the word out especially on smart phones.

The biggest challenge for many businesses is the need to produce engaging content to keep brands fresh as they become creators of the new, bite-size content for the mobile-first generation.

These channels are no longer reserved for big businesses; SMEs and entrepreneurs now need to also ensure they are catching their audiences whilst they are on-the-go.

Higher resolution and increasingly larger screens of smart phones and tablets means visual imagery has become even more important. This technology lends itself to viewing imagery and makes it easy for consumers’ on-the-go. SMEs must consider the reuse and deployment of imagery as a way to deliver information in a concise and compelling way.  Here are some effective ways to ensure your business is delivering visual content that engages, and most importantly, gets noticed.

Make images the centre of your communications
To make the most of mobile, businesses should place an emphasis on images, rather than using chunky, wordy paragraphs to annunciate key messages. An audience visiting a business’ site via a smart phone or tablet will be time scarce and a simple flick or touch of the page will mean your content will end up in the browser history before it has been seen. If readers spot an eye catching image however, it will entice them further into the site.

Messages that are successfully depicted in an image can also be translated into a lucrative asset when transferred to a company’s social pages, and shared via these channels. The images that tend to be shared most are those that are simple, and combine visuals with text. For example, Oreo recently communicated its key messages by executing a strategy that tapped into a standout event in this year’s lunar calendar –the eclipse. The image was simply an Oreo in a dark background with the slogan ‘you can still dunk in the dark’. Perfect.

Use unique imagery
It can often be tricky for a business to constantly position itself as contemporary and dynamic. By keeping content refreshed and revived, a business can make sure it continues to engage existing audiences and generate traction with new ones.

Businesses can do this by tapping into current image trends and popular calendar hooks. This allows businesses to keep websites relevant and fresh in the eyes of its target audience. For example, Tiffany and Co did this on Valentine’s Day by refreshing its branded imagery to ensure it remained modern and appealing to its varied audience, whilst ensuring the brands key messaging remained strong.

SMEs and entrepreneurs can keep their content and images fresh in various ways. As part of her recent tour to Sydney for the HeadOn photo festival in May, Jacqueline Bourke, Getty Images Global Creative Insights Manager described to marketing, creative and small business audiences the rising image trends that Australians are seeing as a result of new digital technologies – particularly mobile. For example, Jacqueline’s creative insights team have identified that a first person point of view is becoming an increasingly popular way to engage consumers or prospects, giving a raw and authentic view from the perspective of the photographer. Another trend is super sensory images that offer immersive experiences which appeal to the senses. With phone screens becoming larger and featuring HD, people are even more likely to expect this kind of imagery from businesses and it can help a website really stand out from competitors.

It can be easy and simple for many SMEs to follow in the footsteps of Tiffany’s by taking a twist on clichéd imagery. Often, this can be done through using different colours for ‘classic’ and overused images that appear in abundance during popular holidays, or by choosing interesting angles, such as close-up shots, to make the imagery unique and help the website really stand out from competitors.

Make a video
Video is fast becoming the preferred medium for consumers who are time poor and on-the-go. It provides an easy and visually engaging way to connect with customers and prospects. With Facebook introducing embeddable videos and Twitter launching its own live streaming service, consumers are increasingly digesting and engaging with video content.

Videos can be animated, a real person talking, a voice over with images, music and slides. Whichever way you choose to make a video, businesses need to ensure that the script is kept simple and short to keep the viewers engaged. Video is also a great way to deliver information to your audience, especially by creating ‘how-to guides’ to break up words and still imagery.

We live in an increasinglyvisual world which makes it more important to set a business apart from the crowd through effective use of imagery. By prioritising imagery and using it in the right way, a company can bring its personality to life, while ensuring its messages and offering stand out online. With the rise of social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, sharing visuals rather than wordy articles has become an increasingly popular way of communicating with customers and prospects. In order to remain relevant in this visual world, businesses need to tap into this trend and engage audiences by bringing their personality to life in a snappy, simple and sharable way.