The product market in Australia can be incredibly competitive. No longer can you set and forget with product photography. Consumers crave online experiences – they require a sense of validation to reaffirm their commitment to an online purchase. Whether this is a conscious or sub-conscious decision, marketers need to lead their customers on a journey – they need to reinforce an experience through visualisation and branding. Through the power of product photography, marketers can harness the impact of experience, validating consumer purchases through branding. In this article, we look at perspectives from one of the world’s top marketing strategists and touch on online branding strategies with product photography.
Consumer Shopping Experience
Your marketing strategy requires an omnichannel approach. Omnichannel commerce is a customer-centric multichannel approach to selling products. Regardless of what touch point your consumer engages in – whether it be social media, via your website, instore or through an email campaign, each touchpoint should incorporate a seamless experience. Omnichannel methods are a form of integrated communications across all platforms and channels. If each platform contains the same communication and branding techniques throughout all of its touchpoints, a consumer’s journey is consistent, regardless of how they are connecting with the brand. Over time, consumers have started purchasing through various methods eg. instore, online or via telephone. It is critical that the customer has the same experience no matter how they purchase. Omnichannel marketing reinforces brand values and enhances the consumer experience, keeping the journey seamless and consistent.
Know your Market
Create your tribe! Once you have understood the importance of the omnichannel experience, you should develop a communication strategy. When developing a communication strategy, think about your audience – your tribe! A tribe is a group of people that connect through a leader or an idea – it identifies groups through behaviour rather than demographics. Seth Godin, international marketing strategist, says tribes are waiting to be turned into movements. As business leaders and marketers, we need to lead tribes by encouraging, supporting, and empowering our tribe. By doing so, we create a brand tribe – a group that identifies themselves in our product. Once we have tapped into the voice our tribe, we can better understand their needs and what drives them to identify themselves in our products. Building a tribe is central to branding a consumer following.
Creating Brand Clout
One way of building a consumer brand is by creating clout or influence. Leveraging the use of influencers or thought leaders can validate your product or service. Recommendations and sponsorships can work just as well. Building a network of advocates is key to a thriving consumer brand. The goodwill of advocates can be used to grow brand awareness and brand trust objectives. Platform such as Tribe and TikTok Creator Marketplace – where creators and brands come together to collaborate, can be resourceful ways to connect with your brand advocates. Additionally, hosting a networking event and product launch parties can be a great place to introduce your product to others while building partnerships.
Memorable Product Photograph
Create a memorable product photography moment. One of the salient features of a thriving consumer brand is the ability to create an unforgettable product photography scene. This branding technique has the ability stop people in their tracks and walk away with your brand in mind. Consumers are drawn into visual aesthetics and by challenging the status quo in your product photography, you can elevate your brand to new heights.
Here are some tips on creating memorable brand product photography moments:
- Be Artistic: Use your artistic flare and think of a product shoot as a blank canvas. Your product shoot is an artistic process. Think of the variety of elements you can incorporate into your brand shoot. Challenge the status quo by creating a scene rather than placing your product where it is commonly expected to be.
- Colour: Take full advantage of the colour spectrum. Use a variety of objects that are relevant to your brand in your shoot. There are various colour schemes you can use such as colour blocking or blending.
- Textures: To create an impactful effect, use various textures in combination of your colour scheme. Playing with textures can be simple – you can start by using outdoor settings, raw materials, floras, or colour boards form your local crafts shop.
- Lighting: Let your product shine. Playing with light can be quite tricky but it is another tool which can elevate your product photography. Projecting light against coloured cellophane on your product can add another dimension to your shoot.
- Abstract: Some of the most liked and engaging posts on social media are from highly visually yet abstract posts. Using a mood board, plan your product photography shoot, incorporating abstract aesthetics.
Professional Product Photographer vs In-house Photography
Using a professional product photographer over an in-house photography has its own benefits. A professional product photographer can guide you on the creative process whilst having all the necessary equipment to execute your project. Photography in general can be complicated and hiring a professional can take the hassle out of the project. Hiring a professional photographer can be a worthwhile investment however, you can achieve your product photography needs in-house. If you are constantly launching products in-house and require photography on demand, in-house methods can be advantageous. If you have the time and resources, you can reduce costs by shooting in-house however, there are technical aspects that you need to understand before shooting.
Creating an Online Brand with Product Photography
Apply your branding across your business and engage with your consumers. After you have competed your product photography project, integrate the content into your digital strategy. Start publishing and engaging with your network. Update your eCommerce channel with new product imagery. Utilise paid marketing methods and encourage consumers to follow your social media platform. The key to creating an online brand with product photography is to be consistent with publishing and ensuring content memorable. Remember to keep an omnichannel approach throughout the customer journey.
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