Choosing an image for your blog posts, social feeds or newsletters can have a much greater effect than you might expect. An image is often the first thing that grabs a potential consumer’s attention, and in a split second, they have already decided if they’re going to engage with it or even read on. So the image matters… a lot!
We understand the pressure of choosing the right image to serve this important purpose. We know it can lead us to hours spent deciding over a picture of a kitten playing with a ball of string, because it’s cute, or a person brainstorming ideas on a flip chart because it looks professional. So we’re going to share with you a few things to think about before you even get to that point.
What is your brand’s character? If your brand was a person, what posters would they have on their bedroom wall? Those are the images you want to be using. Every piece of visual content should reflect your Brand Personality which is core to your message, product, or service. If your brand is fun, colourful, and creative then consumers will expect to see that on your Instagram feed and in the main image of your blog posts.
Keeping a common theme throughout your content is a great way to show confidence and commitment to your brand personality. This is where your brand finds a strong identity and a voice that is clear and familiar to its consumers. Showing consistency in your images could mean using a series of similar images that have recurring elements or images that include your brand colours. You can make this easier for yourself by setting Brand Guidelines so that everyone who creates content for your brand knows exactly what to look for.
Knowing your key audience like an old colleague is the best way to know what they want to see. Having a well-defined target market by creating your perfect Avatar will help you to quickly separate images that won’t grab their attention from those that will! For example, if your key audience for a particular blog post is a successful business-minded corporate male, aged 40-55, you will know that the kitten with a ball of string isn’t likely to get him reading. But it’ll probably do the trick for Gen Z and Millennial Post-Grads!
Once you’ve worked out what you’re looking for in the above areas, you should get a much clearer idea of what images will work best with your content. Now, how do you actually find the images? Well, there are two ways you can do this.
It’s a good idea to use a mixture of the two because they both have their benefits. Pro images show off a personal view of your brand and business in the best light (and angles) which help tell your individual story. While stock images are generic but free and super quick to gather with just a few clicks. But don’t get carried away with mix-and-match visuals! It’s important to keep the type of images similar, so avoid using photos, illustrations, and CGI or digital graphics all for the same thing because this can make the style and message very disconnected for the consumer.
And here’s a few more great tips, just for good measure…