How Exactly Does Leveraging Professional Product Photography Increase Sales?
You’re offering an excellent product or service. Shouldn’t it speak for itself?
Not quite.
We’re visual creatures by nature, and unless we see something that piques our interest, we’ll walk right by a storefront or click our way out of a website in seconds.
This is where excellent product photography can make a world of difference.
Investing in professional, high-quality images of your products and designs significantly widens your reach and grows your brand. Plus, it could be the nudge that turns a prospect into a paying customer.
Today, we’re sharing why professional product photography is so important in the retail sphere and how you can optimize your business approach today.
Ready to learn more? Let’s get started!
1. It Provides a Realistic On-Screen Representation
If you operate a brick-and-mortar store, great! While many people shop online, consumers still love to come in and check out products in person. They can smell the soap, feel how soft a sweater is, listen to the speaker quality and more.
This sensory-rich experience is, for the most part, absent in e-commerce.
That’s why if you run an online store, it’s absolutely critical that your photo title and meta tags are as descriptive as possible. This helps them get found in search results. But, the online consumer doesn’t see this technical SEO behind the photo. So, while you always want your product images to load quickly – be careful not to compress them too much. Because, if they’re blurry, off-centered or grainy, online shoppers won’t give them the time of day.
Why? Well, for one, they can’t tell whether or not it’s something they want to buy. With competitor products only a click away, they don’t have to spend time wondering.
They’ll also remember that experience when they contemplate buying from your shop in the future. Studies reveal that we remember 80% of what we see, 20% of what we read and only 10% of what we hear.
If customers find your website and like what they see, they’re more likely to stick around longer, and become a repeat customer. That’s why it’s important to grab their attention at the onset with photography that captivates.
2. Visuals Are a Key Component of Your Brand Identity
Your website is only one part of your brand identity. Other important parts include your marketing collateral, social media feeds, taglines, store design and more.
All of these disparate elements should work together to form a seamless user experience.
If you’re pouring tens of thousands of dollars into your print advertising campaign while leaving tiny, outdated pictures on your website, what message does that send to your target audience?
As a business owner, you can leverage your brand voice and personality to engage with your customers and generate new interest. If your images resonate with them, you’ll add value to their lives, which they’ll repay with their patronage.
When strategizing your photography approach, consider how every image you snap and upload can further convey your brand. A few of the most important elements to consider are as follows:
- Color palette
- Saturation level
- Shadowing
- Composition
- Location and position
- Context
- Focal length
As time goes by, these images will become congruent with your brand name. From Coca-Cola’s white polar bear to the Nike swoosh, it’s hard to recall top brands without thinking of the imagery that defines them.
3. Visual Assets Are the First Seen & Most Important Part of Your Product Descriptions
Which factor do buyers weigh as more important than price when making a purchasing decision?
Turns out, 94% of them will abandon your site if your product descriptions, both visually and textually aren’t answering their questions or wonders about your products.
In fact, pricing comes in third on their list of important factors, with ratings and reviews taking the number-two spot. You could price your goods as competitively as possible and still be misplacing your attention.
When they visit your site, shoppers are most interested in finding the exact information they’re looking for, and quickly. They aren’t interested in playing a cat-and-mouse game, clicking through pages of data before they find the details they need.
Your merchandise photography can help meet their needs – when addressed correctly.
The same study reveals that consumers typically want to see at least three product images before they make a purchase. And, not just any pictures will do.
These must be professional-grade photographs that show your product from a variety of angles. They should also allow users to zoom in for more detail (even better if you have interactive 3d images of your products). If you’re still uploading static, fuzzy images that leave to too much to the imagination, you’re not tapping into your full retail potential.
4. Clear, Professional Photography Builds Buyer Trust
In today’s digital age, the internet is replete with copycat retailers and malicious scammers that don’t have buyer security on the top of their minds.
This explains why more than 70% of people still have concerns about online shopping.
What’s one simple way you can help quell their anxieties?
Deliver your website visitors top-notch e-commerce product photography that leaves no detail out. By taking the time to reveal every facet of the product you’re selling, you can help build your brand’s trustworthiness (and bottom line).
A brand that’s hesitant to shoot a close-up or reveal a certain angle could appear to be hiding something, even if yours isn’t. You can’t afford to lose business because you took a half-hearted approach to this activity.
Where you invest your money, time and resources reveals what’s most important to you and your company. This is true in both business and life. What do your pictures say about you and your brand?
Your buyers will be able to tell if you’re still using your low-budget photographers or sub-par gear to handle your photography needs. You simply cannot put a price on the value of professional product photography. Sometimes, it’s as simple as taking your items to a product photo studio to get the images you need.
Product Photography Made Simple (and Better)
You know that exceptional product photography is essential to standing out in today’s competitive e-commerce landscape. Yet, you also know it can be a challenge to procure the tools you need, along with the expertise required behind the lens.
That’s where we come in.
We provide professional video production and photography services designed to take your brand to the next level. We also provide other brand-growth resources to help your corner of the internet shine, from web design to social media marketing.
Contact us today to learn more and let’s create something great together.