There are no shortage of industry and business experts out there telling you how to improve your business. There are thousands of posts on marketing and social media. In fact you could invest a lifetime in reading ‘how to’ and not ever have time to lift a finger.
Some salient facts drift to the top. Often these are simply common sense dressed up in jargon. The first and most important is about image. The simple fact is we all know that image matters. We all know it is crucial to your business success. Probably the saddest truth is that so many people settle for average when they could aspire to the best. How can you improve your businesses image? And just as importantly, how can you do it for a sensible budget?
Image counts.
It’s a visual world out there. Not only that, it is a visual world where the first impressions are made in a fraction of a second. We do this every time we see someone. We make a decision based in a tiny moment of time. We are particularly good at doing the next part. We then set about reinforcing our perceptions. It’s like a small vanity thing! We don’t want to believe that we were wrong. So we’ll seek out evidence to back up that vital first impression. We may be in denial for months, if not years. Media is stuffed full of villains who are not villains and heroes who are anything but. It’s hard to change perceptions, but it’s really easy to create them.
Where are your visual markers?
Everywhere there is a colour or a picture; there is a point of visual contact.There is a decision based on that visual information. This is crucial to our understanding of each other. This is a vital part of our communication. Incidentally there is nothing new in this. It has been going on for millennia. It is just that we simply focus on it a lot more these days. And there is, quite simply, a lot of it about. It makes sense that you will want to stand out.
So make a list of these visual markers. Extend out from your basic platform. Your logo is your crucial badge. It’s design, it’s message and its colours all work together to let your customers know who is at the door. If you are just starting out, get the felt pens out and start to play. If you already have your logo in place, there’s nothing wrong with trying out new colours or finding ways of increasing emphasis.
But your logo, crucial as it is, is only one example of the images that will make and define your business. From your website to your facebook page to your use of social media, all images are crucial. They run through every aspect of our lives and business. Remember that each one brings on a decision and creates an impression in the viewer. It is vital to have arresting, good quality images to bring out the best in your business.
It’s not that difficult to obtain images. Stock photographs are readily available. But a successful business needs to build it’s own brand and create a real identity. It needs to have quality original pictures that reinforce the message behind your product or service. Businesses who crack this are the ones you see and instantly know who they are and what they do.
You can create quality images for your business that you can employ at every level. It is not enough to rely on generic pictures or average standard graphics. We have become savvy at glazing over these, which is why good pictures still stop us in our tracks. A good quality image makes us think. That is exactly what you can bring to your business.
Your camera phone won’t cut it.
No matter how it is dressed up and sold, a smartphone with a camera attached to it is not going to give you quality photographs. It will give you snaps. It will give you lots of them and very few of them are going to be going to cut it as far as your business is concerned.
You need to invest in a good quality camera. We have become a little unused to using these, but the difference in the quality of the images is astounding. Tech has done the camera a huge favour. It’s simple to take great pictures that have real depth of focus and clarity. They stand head and shoulders above the results you can derive from your phone camera.
Memory cards are easy to use. At bulkmemorycards.com you’ll get all the capacity you will ever need, not just for photograph storage but also for video. Once you get used to using the camera again, you can start to focus not just on the subject of the pictures, but also the content. That means thinking about the information that is contained in the picture. Information that your customer will be using and basing decisions on.
You could hire a professional photographer. That might even be a good strategy to get you started. However your business is going to need a constant supply of new images. You won’t just be taking the occasional cover photos, but updating changing and adding new interest all the time. The more you use the camera, the more you’ll be able to appreciate its ability to capture quality images that can work for you.
You’ll be able to take your business to Youtube. Providing video on your website is straightforward. You’ll easily be able to handle the technical requirements. Whole movies are shot on handheld cameras these days, so a short promotional clip will should be no problem!
Once you start to take control over your images, you begin to build a relationship with them. They become a part of who you are. This is exactly what you need to build up and develop. It should be at the heart of your business strategy. And if your business comes from the heart, it will be doing very well indeed. Yes, what is on the inside is vital but in your business first impressions count. And your images are everything.
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