Miranda Birch Media

Stories that change attitudes and reach new audiences

  • Facebook
  • Google+
  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter
  • Home
  • About
  • Services
  • Case Studies
  • Testimonials
  • Blog
  • Contact

Are beautiful body snatchers depriving you of leads?

Imagine cutting a photo of a model out of a magazine. He or she looks good in front of the camera, with a dazzling smile. The angle is right, the lighting is perfect, the figure is poised in a way that draws you in.

You snip it out carefully and then you turn to your family’s scrap book.

27465211366_b750d2f46d_o

It’s full of off-the-cuff snaps from holidays, weddings and random daily happenings. You’ve managed to chop quite a few people in half, but it doesn’t matter because it’s your collection. Every photo, however skewed, means something because it’s special to you and your family.

Anyway, you take that picture of the model and place it on the next available page of your album.

A stranger in your midst.

Sounds a bit odd, doesn’t it? The photo of the model is good in its own way, but it’s out of kilter with the rest of your pictures. It doesn’t really belong.

That’s how I view stock photos which feature people in a work setting – in an office, at a podium or presentation.

Yes, they are high quality. Yes, they get the point across. But they don’t reflect the personality of an individual business.

And why would they?

Stock photos are there to help out as many individuals and companies as possible. In this sense, they’re designed to be generic.

They are useful, but are they really what your company needs? Or are they depriving you of a business development opportunity?

Do stock images serve you well?

27427778681_0b336c1ff7_o

If one of the selling points of your business is the professionalism of your team and the way they care about their service, products or clients, you will want to reflect that on your website and social media.

You will want photos that show that your colleagues are approachable and committed. Images that reflect the real personality of your company, just as your logo or the words on your website do.

In this virtual world, where visuals are so important, photos are a powerful way to reinforce your brand and ethos.

Scaling back on the stock.

This is why I commissioned Vervate to create what they describe as a bespoke visual portfolio for my website and social media. Vervate is an agency of photojournalists who quickly capture the essence of whatever’s happening around them. And I mean fast. Their Creative Director is Susi Doherty, and she is brilliant at thinking visually on your behalf.

28294438194_8221873505_o

So if you’re stumped over how an article might translate as an image, she can help.

Teaming up with Vervate means I saved myself hours of frustrating searching and now have great photos for 6 months’ worth of blog posts, tweets and LinkedIn updates. This post takes you through how it worked for me – and why I shall be returning for more. (Not that I am greedy or anything, but once you have started your business image library, you’ll want to keep topping it up – just like your family album.)

Images by Vervate www.vervate.com.

Related posts:

  • How do you show your company’s best side?
  • Yes, images can speak a thousand words. But you need the right photographer.
  • Snapshot stories. The Community Chef.
  • When you stop speaking, how much will your audience remember?

Filed Under: Storybranding, Visual stories Tagged With: how to use photos in your blog, photographic stories, real photography, stories at live events, stories in pictures, storytelling tips, visual imagery

Miranda Birch

About Miranda at Miranda Birch Media: your marketing will make a deeper impression once I interview the people who will help your organisation to grow: leaders, clients, volunteers and staff. From these conversations I unearth the themes (clients call them ‘nuggets’) that will land most powerfully with your target audiences. As your content mentor, I’ll also help you turn these nuggets into client case studies, About and Home pages, thought-leadership articles and other content that will prove you’re as good as you say you are.

One last thing… There’s another ‘Miranda Birch’ out there, who writes books about ‘dominance and submission’. This is not me and has nothing to do with my company Miranda Birch Media. I’d love you to dominate your niche, but not in the way she means! Email me now and we can have a chat about where you want to get to and how I can help.

Read More...

Comments

  1. AvatarSusi says

    August 18, 2016 at 11:43 am

    Thanks so much for this Miranda – it is so brilliant to hear (and see!) the difference the bespoke stock images have made to your marketing.

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Get new insights about your business every week.


    Recent posts

    • Company values. Are they a match for you?
    • Is your firm an osteopath in disguise? (Perhaps it should be.)
    • You’d never want to make your customers feel stupid, would you? But many well-meaning companies do…
    • Win that business. Write as you speak.
    • Have you told your ‘before’ and ‘after’ stories yet?

    Copyright © 2021 Miranda Birch Media | Terms & Conditions | Privacy Policy
    Website by Steve Watson

    We use cookies to make this website better. If you continue to use this website you are agreeing to their use.AcceptCookie policy