Personal Brand Photography: Boost Brand Recognition and Build Customer Loyalty

Be present. Be in the moment. Be humble. Gary Vee is a living example of how using imagery builds customer loyalty. His engagement with his audience puts them right by his side to learn, every, single day.

Savvy business owners know they need to show their audience they are experts in their industry. And in today’s visually-driven world, personal brand photography provides the type of digital content that help customers build trust for your brand.

The best way to capture the 5 second attention span of a customer scrolling through a social media feed is to use storytelling images. Create stunning images that show the unique story of your brand.

Head shots have been a staple of business marketing since the earliest days for business executives. With the advent of social media marketing, the need for personal brand photography has quickly evolved beyond head shots.

Small business owners and entrepreneurs in all sectors are vying to stand out in a social media feed. The recent paradigm shift of an ongoing global pandemic, adds another factor affecting the online climate in measurable ways. Businesses of all kinds are migrating online and setting up e-commerce platforms at a rapid pace. It’s never been more important for the images associated with your business to resonate with your audience. Showing your customers the story of your business informs them of your expertise and creates loyalty to your brand.

We are bombarded with information from multiple devices throughout the day. Being intentional and consistent with your branding messages and the images you post online has never been more important!

Storytelling images are the key to better brand engagement.

Story-telling image used in a Facebook post of Oprah Winfrey and Michele Obama on their way to surprise 30 high school girls at O Magazine headquarters.

Not sure how storytelling images will make a positive impact for your brand online? Have a look at how others use it like Oprah and Michelle Obama and put what they do into practice for your brand. Consider this, articles or blog posts which contain a visual element each 75 to 100 words, receive double the engagement. And even B2B customers consider digital marketing with visual content to be more trustworthy. Trust translates into greater sharing of your content and will grow leads organically. It also is the base for a higher likelihood of closing deals with both new and repeat customers.

What will make my brand identity stand out?

Before embarking on creating personal brand photography, clearly define your brand tone and the message your photos need to convey. You know your business is set up to best serve your customers’ needs over the competition. But how do you begin to convey this story in a group of photographs? Adding this story-telling element to your images is what elevates brand photography from a typical head shot. Creating story-telling images provides an authentic portrayal of your brand and a way for your audience to engage with you online.

Get clear on the key concepts of your brand identity

Even though the task can seem daunting, you already have the answers you need to create great personal brand photography! Here’s an exercise to flush out the key concepts of your brand which will help you make the most of a personal brand photography session.

• Describe what you do and how your business stands out in 1–3 sentences. List your reason “why” or “what makes me passionate to do this work?”

• List 3–5 brand words that describe you or your business. These can be adjectives like “upscale,” “approachable”, and “innovative”, etc.

• Who is your ideal client? List 3–5 typical attributes to describe your clients.

• Where do you see your business 3–5 years from now? This helps you plan how to tell your story.

Great brand images don’t just happen, they happen by design and are the result of having a brand strategy.

Equipped with key digital marketing insights about your brand, you’re now ready to set up a strategy session with a photographer who specializes in personal brand photography. The insights you provided become the starting point of a brand vision board. Meeting with your photographer, these concepts will inform creating a shot list to follow the day of your brand photography session. Knowing these key insights of what makes you and your business successful gives a photographer excellent cues. Together you can formulate the type of lifestyle imagery, location, colors and tone to be reflected in every image. Amazing results don’t happen by chance. They happen when you strategize and prepare a unique brand story and present it in an authentic way to inform your customers.

Feeling a little camera shy or need an added boost of confidence?

A personal brand photographer is an expert in delivering story-telling images. They also provide services and make you feel comfortable behind the camera lens. Put their experience and expertise to work for you! It’s important to be comfortable and confident behind the lens because these emotions show up in the photographs. Hiring a brand photography service like Floh Creative can take the stress out of finding a location and assistance you with wardrobe, make-up, and hair styling. Personal brand photographers are excited to partner with you and want to bring out your best. They deliver a diverse collection of story-telling and lifestyle photographs that represent your brand. Besides informing your customers of your expertise, your story-telling images become an integral part of your online digital marketing tool kit.

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Mary Ellen Schrock is the CDO and Chief Disruptor of Floh Creative. As a bright, intuitive creative she has a passion for solving complex design and marketing challenges, especially when they require translating branding needs into compelling concepts and brand stories.

Mary Ellen loves building successful brands! She created Floh Creative as a place to use her talent to build brands, share experience and knowledge and provide insights and a proven process for business growth.

Sources: E-Commerce Solutions., ShaneWebGuy, 2021.