W hen we go into companies and lift the cushions up off the couch, we’re usually amazed at what we discover underneath. Many companies have not invested in serious product or industry photography. Remarkable, we think, because the old adage is still very true: A picture is worth a thousand words.
Don’t worry – we’re guilty of this too. We’ve been galivanting around Boston promoting large scale events with thousands of people, and jeez – we always forget to capture our work in action!
Tell your Admin Assistant to put down her iPhone. The guy down the hall from accounting shouldn’t be carrying around his new GoPro. To do photography right, you need a professional photographer and a marketing plan.
It’s critical that every company have an arsenal of digital assets, including professional photography, that will help tell its story. Photography should be at the core of your marketing infrastructure.
When thinking about how to hire a photographer, or what to shoot, herein comes marketing strategy questions. In order to develop the best collection of digital assets possible, you need to know in advance what you are going to say.
Here are some tips to set you on the path to a fabulous photography arsenal for all your marketing content:
1. Determine your target audience segments.
2. Decide what the concise messages are for the different segments, and in which channels those messages are best delivered.
3. Strategize (hopefully with a marketing specialist) which kind of images will best represent the core messages you have decided on for your audience
4. *Then* schedule and hire a professional photographer that has experience in your industry to help you realize your vision
5. Together with the photographer, share your marketing goals, and finalize a shot chart that will leave you with all the digital assets you’ll need to tell your story in the near future.
