4 Tips To Create Imagery That Tells Your Unique Brand's Story
Hey guys, today I want to talk to you about a topic that may shift your perspective on marketing, especially how it relates to the images you market with...
Many of you, my lovely followers, are entrepreneurs, influencers, bloggers that need to create unique content that shares your brand's story with the world. A portfolio of imagery for your marketing takes a significant amount of time and thought to develop a strong presence. So lets make sure that your DIY photo shoot efforts will generate the impact needed to get a great Return On Investment, cuz baby, time is money!!
Social marketing has drastically changed how businesses and individuals market their brand. Influencers are popping up everywhere. They are making their mark through Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, YouTube... you name it, there is an audience if you know how to harness the platform. If you want to influence the audience around you, one strategy you can implement on nearly any platform is personal branding.
People are connecting online at an insane level, with people they have never met in person. And a major way that people are doing this is by sharing themselves on a personal level. People like working with people they like. Liking someone begins by getting to know them on a personal level, and finding uncommon commonalities that foster connection and closeness. Your followers, fans, customers, potential customers... they are dying to get to know YOU!
We do this by sharing stories. Your stories help tell the world about your interests, your values, your dreams and aspirations, and all the little nuances that make you, you! We both have rescue dogs - so adorbs! You are renovating your bathroom - I understand the struggle! You hate chocolate too - let's be best friends! Joking aside, what you share can be big, or little, but it is that you share.
So I am a little embarrassed to say that I have been providing a photography service close to this for years, but this idea has shifted my mindset. I too am working on a new approach - both in how to best share my story, while also figuring out the best way to tell other people's stories - maybe YOUR stories, one day. Personal Branding Photography has my heart all in a flutter. I can help entrepreneurs and influencers and business owners share their stories through photography!! I implore you to form a relationship with a professional photographer (I know, I know... I am biased). But the purpose of this article is to start shifting your mindset to begin incorporating your unique stories into your marketing through both verbiage and imagery.
To come up with your stories, which can honestly be endless, start asking yourself questions like what are you do day today that your tribe my love to see, what things are important to you, how did you get where you are today, what are your goals and dreams... in terms of your business, personal branding photography can look a lot like portraiture, product photos, a meeting with a customer, family photos, and an assortment of different lifestyle situations.
If you are like me, or in my generation, #xgen, and you think "selfies"are vain, or you just despise having your picture taken, now is the time to get over that road block (yo, last year I shared so much advice about looking your best in photos - click here to check it out). Your audience, that tribe we are all working towards, wants a look into the day of the life of you. What is it like to be you? What is it like to work with you? You have the ability to show them, and you have the power to curate the life that you show them. Maybe you showcase the highlights of your life, but maybe you want to show some of the struggle as well so that you seem down to earth. What you share is completely up to you.
So how do you get started? Let us recap some tips to get you there... 5 Tips To Create Imagery That Tells Your Unique Brand's Story:
- Personal Brand Photography is DIFFERENT from headshot or portraiture, much like the difference between a book title, and the story. Personal branding photography can look a lot like a portrait session, but it can also look like candid photography, product photography, corporate photography, and family photography. Much of this is capturing YOUR lifestyle.
- Interview yourself... describe yourself as an entrepreneur. For example, give three words that describe what is important to you and your brand. Note favorite objects or details that represent you and your brand. Choose three words that describe your personality and/or style. The end goal is to use your answers to define the stories that you want to share. Plan out as many "stories" as you wish, but I recommend you focus on no more than a few at a time.
- Brainstorm how you want to incorporate fun props, meaningful locations, and wardrobe options. Props are a great way to highlight things you love, while also showcasing your character (and let us not forget your branding colors). For locations, what does your typical day, or week, look like? This might take you home, to your office, to a customer's office, to a coffee shop, to the farmers market, the park, downtown, etc.
- How many photographs do you need? It depends on how much you want to post. If the frequency is daily weekdays, you need about 60 images per quarter. If you want to include weekends, you need about 90 images per quarter. If you have 3 stories to tell this quarter, this means your image quantity goal is 20 to 30 images per story. (Wow, 20 to 30 images per story you say!!?? YES. Each story can incorporate a variety of portraits, candid moments, details, different angles and compositions. And, like this article, the full "story" may be a bit lengthier, but each image can represent a small snippet of the full story.)
Share in the comments below, what are some of the stories that you think your tribe would love you to share? I cannot wait to hear some of your ideas!
