The Use of Photographic Imagery for Professional Branding
Marty Taglauer
Branding:
The process involved in creating a unique name and image for a product in the consumer's' mind, mainly through advertising campaigns with a consistent theme.
While my focus is normally on how a photo or visual still image can be used, there are certainly a number of ways to etch yourself onto the brains of others. Oprah did it, perhaps unintentionally, but we all know about this famous event ...
"You get a car! And YOU get a car!"
She has always been fantastic at making certain that the world knows when she or her organization is attached to something. Her famous "You get a car!" moment is yet one more thing that is uniquely attached to her and is part of our lexicon.
"It's Cal Worthington and his dog, Spot!
How many Americans of a "certain" age have seen any of his hundreds of commercials and know within a second of hearing one, know exactly who and what we're talking about? I never bought a car from his lots not did I ever visit any of them but even as a child, I knew exactly who he was and what he did!
Logos, of course, are another fantastic piece of branding for any business. We've seen these logos enough times that even with name edited out, our brain fills in the missing pieces and tells us exactly to whom these logos belong.
As a photographer, I've spent plenty of time creating imagery for theater productions. As these images come out weeks or months before opening night, the ability to convey the mood, tone or general feeling of a show is rather important, no?
What types of shows do you think these might represent? Do the images released before a movie or play help give an indication of what's to come?
I lean towards "Yes!"
This is a marketing image for one of the non-profits that I represent. Without knowing anything about this organization, can you get a rough idea of what they do? Any guesses?
Photo by Sheryl Sapphire Photography
Let's see ... we have a soldier in a yoga pose. Any chance this has to do with the benefits of yoga for our soldiers and Vets?
Now, pictures for marketing! We're starting to get the overall theme here, no? The better the picture and the more that it's pertinent to your brand or ideal, the better it'll be received.
Northern Quest Casino - Airway Heights, WA
Northern Quest Casino - Airway Heights, WA
Let's take a look at some very basic and straightforward guidelines.
1 - "Image Quality"
These two, admittedly silly images are an example of what not to post because of their degraded quality. And there's no good reason to be a Bears fan. These images may have been designed correctly as a PNG file but they've been copied and shared and posted and recopied a few times, all as a JPEG, that their quality has degraded.
If you're going to post an image with text, when you export it, please do so as a PNG file and not as a JPEG. I don't want to get into the nerd stuff about it but in short, a PNG file will prevent degradation when it gets posted and shared. A JPEG loses a tiny bit of quality every time it gets shared or copied, a PNG does not.
Test this ... Take a nice image you have and make certain you're aware of its filename and size. Upload it to a social media site, Facebook for this example, and then right away, use the ingrained "Download" feature or right-click and save it. When you look at the file, you'll see that it has been renamed and automatically downsized. If it WAS a PNG, it's been altered into a JPEG resulting in lower quality.
So, trust me ... when YOU create a graphic image, make it a PNG. Keep them as crisp and clear as possible.
Do you WANT to get nerdy about it? Go HERE or HERE or HERE to read some really cool stuff about file use and the differences between them.
2 - "Appropriateness"
After looking at the LinkedIn and Facebook profile pictures of some of the attendees of the awesome Real Estate conference for which this post was created, I can see that some of the attendees are aspiring horse trainers, puppy mill operators or bikini models. That is excellent and I support you in your goals. If you want to represent your Real Estate business a bit more, perhaps an image that conveys a more professional appearance and demeanor.
3 - "Tools"
The smartphones that we carry around with us in 2017 are the most powerful marketing, image creation, and brand management tools imaginable. Their ability to monitor communications, keep an eye on your brand and create high-quality, instantly shareable images or videos is unmatched. Your unease at using those tools is holding you back. Explore the use of these tools for photography, short films or live-streaming. All rules of image quality apply so learn how to take pictures!
Photo-editing software - Snapseed is my app of choice and has served me very well. There are others such as the various Adobe photo Apps but the quality and ease of Snapseed make it my #1.
To see more about what danscape can do for you and your small business,
take a look at some of my services HERE!
4 - "Self-created imagery"
How to use your imagery to make yourself stand out. What can you create and share to set you apart from others in your field or market? As a Real Estate agent, is there a signature image that you can easily create for each of the properties you represent?
Rock stacks, hearths, front doors? The handing over of the ceremonial key is always a popular one.
Darcy Barron, Realtor - What signature image can you create for you and your business?
You're not just selling a product or service ... you're selling YOU! How can you best display the best aspects of you and what you can give to your clients?
5 - "Best Practices"
Craft images that fit the platform. It's not just the content of the image that matters. Oftentimes it's the dimensions of it that can make an image into an eye irritant.
Sure, a square is a square but do you know the size differences between what an FB cover page and an FB Event cover page? Will your FB cover page fit as a Twitter banner? What happens if you share an image from Instagram to Twitter? What dimension of portraits can you fit in Instagram without having to crop them?
Use this really cool chart from Sprout Social to make certain that all of your images fit the intended space.
6 - "Stock Photos and Intellectual Property"
Knowing a few of the basics about the Copyright Act of 1976. In brief, if you use an image for business purposes, you need to make certain that you have permission to do so.
- Did you create the image yourself? - Good
- Do you have permission from the original artist? - Good
- Is it an image you paid for? - Good
- Did you get the image (and permission) from a stock photo agency? - Good
What is "Fair Use" of an image?
The Act gives four factors to be considered to determine whether a particular use is a fair use:
- the purpose and character of the use (commercial or educational, transformative or reproductive);
- the nature of the copyrighted work (fictional or factual, the degree of creativity);
- the amount and substantiality of the portion of the original work used; and
- the effect of the use upon the market (or potential market) for the original work.[5]
These codified amendments give YouTube creators and artists wide latitude in the use of Trademarked imagery but it is still very clear that if you're using an image for commercial reasons, you'd darn well better have permission.
A site that has some great FREE stock imagery is UnSplash. There, the artists use the site to show off their work and to get some attention for their vast skills. They place the images there knowing that the images may be used for a variety of purposes, commercial and otherwise.
There's also Adobe Stock, Getty Images, Shutterstock. All reputable sites where you can purchase the permission to use images for marketing. There are resource available that will get you the imagery that you need while keeping you out of legal trouble.
Overview and Closing Statement
Let's keep the closing as simple as possible:
- Don't steal images
- Don't post low-quality or inappropriate images
- Find an image or series of images that is/are/unique to you
- Learn how to work the tools you have
- Know the difference in submission or use requirements for images on various platforms
- Images matter
After reviewing several dozen different sites and social media pages of various folks, it's still amazing how many of them still forget about some of the basics. Heck, I still goof up now and then but I always do my very best to put out images that are consistent with me, my brand, and the message that I wish to share with the world.
To see more about what danscape can do for you and your small business,
take a look at some of my services HERE!