Does it matter what photo you use online for your business?

Have you ever tried to describe a stunning sunset?

Wouldn’t it have been easier to just show a picture? 

As the saying goes, “a picture is worth 1,000 words.” The right image, even a simple looking photograph, has the power to tell a story and conjure up different memories and emotions for each person looking at it.

What do you think happens when someone Google searches for your business?  

Are you using specific images that show what your business is all about? Or are you relying on a text description and hoping that your potential customer can "imagine" it, just like describing a stunning sunset?

It is crucial to visually showcase your business, it's products and/or services and tell a visual story about who you are/what you offer.  Poor images/sloppy online presence, can lead to people looking up another business, as they might not be willing to chance it with you based on the lack of image quality they just viewed. People will make decisions based on their first impression. Make sure you don’t lose them!

With curated, strategic, vibrant, clear, relevant pictures, you leave little to interpretation. Below are some other reasons pictures are often better than words:

• A picture conveys information more effectively than words. This way a reader doesn’t have to spend a lot of effort to mentally process the words in order to understand what the writer is trying to convey.
• Someone who simply views an image can capture the essence of the meaning of that image without a lot of explaining
• Taking a picture and uploading it, is way faster, easier and more accurate than trying to put words to it.

I would like to share two examples that highlight the importance of having eye-catching imagery of your products and/or services (as well as you), to turn google searches into customers.

Product Example

If you own a bakery and a potential customer looked up your business online, would the short-written descriptions of your cupcakes encourage them to 1) come to your store and 2) purchase a delicious cupcake from you? Or is it the colourful, mouth-watering photo of the cupcake that is the icing on the (cup)cake? Chances are, it is the image that made up their mind.

The words “pink cupcake” leave the reader wondering the following:

• Is the frosting pink?
• Is the cake pink?
• Are they both pink?
• What shade of pink?
• Are there different shades of pink?
• What type of frosting is used?
• How is the cupcake decorated?

As you can see from this example, so many questions come to mind with a simple description. A great amount of detail would need to be included in the written description, where a single picture would show an accurate representation of the cupcake and answer many of the above questions. It is often helpful to include details about what other senses don’t show in the picture (e.g. flavour and texture), but would be better conveyed in a written description and therefore compliment the photograph.

Doesn't this look yummy?