At the Good Marketing Group, it’s no surprise that we’re a little obsessed with words

Whether it’s language for a website, copy that we’re writing for a blog post, or even our conversations around the office (some of us, me included, are a little too creative with the English language), we get a little crazy about the words we chose.

All and all, that’s a good thing.

But what about images?

While words can hit home and really drive our meaning, images often translate meaning a lot faster. Images can make or break an ad, give a website the wrong feeling, or leave an audience with the wrong message that we’re trying to convey.

In your business, are you paying attention to images?

Use Better Images

We’ve all seen it: an advertisement in some magazine where the image is really pixelated (think: old video games). I’m sure it made you cringe a little.

While low resolution images are obvious, think about the images that we use of our businesses. Of our showroom. Even, of our staff. Are the best images that you could be using? Do showcase your space as best as they could? Or, on the flip side, are you using one or two images over and over because they are the best ones that you have.

When all is said and done, companies need to be conscientious of the images they use, the quality of those images, and where they use them.

Create an Image Repository

As we develop websites, marketing materials, and content for our clients, we have a source of images that we’ve collected over the years to pull from when we need something. These thousands and thousands of images make up one part of our Marketing Repository.

Just like our repository, your company needs a place to collect and store quality images. Whether they are images of your staff, showroom, products, customers shopping, events, vehicles, or anything that is related to your business, you need them to be available when you need them. You should also be adding images that your manufacturers provide or any other source of images that you are authorized to use. Check with the companies that you represent to see where you can find those images.

Using Dropbox or Google Drive as a place to store these images allows others to add to this repository also.

Find Your Staff Photographer

While it’s a good idea to find local photographers who can take professional images of your business, they can’t always be available to snap a pic. On the other hand, having any staff member take a photo of something doesn’t often result in the best image either. The answer is somewhere in the middle.

Depending on the size of your company, you might have one or more staff members who have an interest (if not a burning passion) for photography. They could be Instagramers who love to find the perfect shot or folks that actually know their way around a digital camera. Use the talent you already have working for you to create images that you can use.

First Impression

In the end, what we put out to the public is all about how we represent our company. It’s the stuff that makes great first impressions. As we take great pride and care into the words we choose, we need to make sure that same level of attention is put to the images that we pick also.

Together they can tell a powerful story.