Imagine this scenario: You hired me for a brand content refresh, and now you have an entire gallery with 3 months worth of incredible photos to promote your small business! This is exactly what you wanted, but…now what? What’s a gallery of photos worth if you don’t know what to DO with them?
Photos without purpose fall flat, and I understand that you didn’t start a small business to become a marketing expert. Now that you have a library of professional images, it’s time to maximize your ROI, get new clients in the door, and make more money…without having to spend your extremely limited time figuring out what to post.
That’s why as a brand photographer who focuses on STRATEGY, I came up with 7 foolproof ways for you to sell using your brand photos.
By the way, I’m Johanna Hribal, a Louisville, KY based brand photographer who helps small businesses owners get more eyes on their business and customers in the door with scroll-stopping images. I specializing in food and beverage photography, with years of experience capturing lifestyle brand content, product photography, and events. View more of my client work on my website, and keep scrolling to read the 7 foolproof ways to sell using your brand photos.
1. Use your brand photos to sell in Instagram Stories
If you’re not leveraging Instagram stories to sell yet, you’re really missing out. Non-sponsored story content gets 37% higher conversion rates than ads that show up on the main feed, and SPONSORED stories yield an average 5.1x ROI, according to Growbo.
Make your own story sale slides: Choose a vertical image that fills the screen and place text over it. Alternatively, use a Canva template to personalize it with your brand font and colors to elevate the aesthetic. Use an image with plenty of negative space, so your product is the main focus, or use the Remove Background feature (Canva Pro) to cut out the object like the second story example above.
2. Use your Brand Photos in Feed Content
The above is an example of a Carousel post that your followers would swipe through to showcase new seasonal menu items, made in Canva.
In addition to using your brand photos to sell in stories, you can also use a single image as a post, create a carousel with multiple images, use multiple images in a Reel, or use your own video content with a branded image as the Reel cover. Carousels keep your followers engaged on your profile for more time, making them an effective way to draw in your audience.
If you plan to make plenty of carousels, you’ll need a lot of images! When you book a Brand Content Refresh with me, your gallery will include enough content to post 3-4 times a week, for an entire quarter. Your social media manager will thank you for hiring a professional brand photographer who creates enough variety in your gallery, so you don’t run out of content to post.
3. Use your Brand Photos for Email Opt-Ins
You might be surprised to learn that almost HALF of all consumers made a purchase via email last year. Growing your email list is well worth your while, so if your website platform has the option to create a pop-up with an email opt-in, take advantage of it.
Use one of your favorite scroll-stopping brand photos to personalize a pop-up that visitors see when they land on your website. Pop-ups also increase the amount of time people stay on your website, and incentives encourage them to join your subscriber list.
Two popular examples of email opt-ins include discounts (Take 15% off your first order) and freebies (Sign up for our list to download our Healthy Summer Recipe List). Depending on whether you run a service based business or a product based business, decide which type is best for you. You can see even more ideas for opt-ins here.
4. Use your Brand Photos in Emails for your Subscriber List
Now that you’re growing your email list, it’s important to nurture your subscribers by sending out occasional special offers and keeping them in the loop for upcoming events.
Emails with photos have over 40% higher click-through rates than emails with only text. Don’t tempt them to click the Unsubscribe button before they even read your email – draw them in with a horizontal banner image from your brand photography session!
If you use Flodesk, Mailchimp, or another email marketing service with multiple layouts, you can include multiple small images throughout to capture their attention.
Pro tip: Ensure you use the smaller, web-sized version of images for email to prevent loading issues.
5. Use your Brand Photos in Sponsored Ads
Small business owners frequently use sponsored ads on Meta platforms like Facebook and Instagram. You can choose several different brand photos to test which ads have the best response from your audience. Images with people perform better in ads than those without – which is why variety in your gallery is so important!
The images below are ones I would use for a sponsored ad as a restaurant or service-based business:
When I take brand photos for with service-based businesses, I always try to incorporate candid or lifestyle shots with models or staff if possible.
6. Use your Brand Photos in Direct Mail
Marketing statistics that show direct mail is still an extremely successful way to sell! In fact, 78% of consumers are more likely to open or read mail that has a coupon, discount, or promotion.
One of the perks of hiring me for brand photography is that your gallery includes commercial image licensing, which allows you to use them for promotion and advertising in your local area. Choose your favorite attention-grabbing photo and include your discount, promotion or offer to bring new customers to you.
7. Use your Brand Photos on a Billboard
You know what they say – go big or go home! Billboards are an excellent way to get seen by a large number of potential customers. Billboards get extremely high visibility, especially in popular areas like Downtown Louisville, St. Matthews, the Highlands, or Paristown.
Due to the larger than life size of most billboards, it’s essential to use professional images in the highest maximum resolution. When images are blown up to such a large size, inferior quality WILL be noticeable.
When you’re ready to use one of your brand photos for a billboard, ensure you have the right file size and format needed to show your product or service in the best light.
Conclusion
Professional brand photos catch your audience’s attention, keep them on your website or profile, and ultimately convince them to visit your storefront, restaurant, or small business. Increase your ROI by leveraging your professional brand photos in your small business on any platform, both online and offline.
Brand Content Refresh
You’ve seen me mention the Brand Content Refresh where we’ll create 3 months of content in just ONE photoshoot. Now it’s time to book your session and create content for the next quarter in your business.
Contact me to set up a discovery call and let’s create scroll-stopping images that turn likes into leads.
About the photographer
Johanna Hribal is a food photographer, product and commercial photographer based in Louisville, Kentucky. Passionate about supporting local businesses, she has worked with brands such as Elixir Kombucha, Foxhollow Farm, Noche Mexican BBQ, Candleberry Candle Co., Big Day Hat Design, and others.
