I recently read an interesting article over on LinkedIn. It was well structured and raised some very good points. However…
Regarding how we engage with photographs, the author asserted “Your audience… go straight to the next one. Eventually your brand disappears behind all the selfies and chicken parmigianas.”
I don’t necessarily agree with this.
Sure, there is a huge amount of ‘fluff’ shared online in terms of pictures these days. There’s a lot of what I call ‘throw-away’ content, but here’s the thing:
When photography is used correctly as part of a considered marketing campaign, your brand does not disappear – it is strengthened in the audience’s mind.
Selfies, coffee shop snaps, workspace highlights… All can be used effectively to get your message across.
Yes, people relate to stories – narrative – via words. There’s no doubt that interest can be retained (assuming the reader has the time, inclination and attention to stay focused). But the world is turning at an ever-increasing pace and people simply don’t often have that time, inclination or focus.
The notion of narrative, of storytelling, is not simply about the written word. It is what a successful collection of pictures should be structured around, too.
Pictures in isolation can work well – context is often the key – but for maximum impact, you should be thinking about how you can deliver the fuller story using multiple pictures and attention-grabbing captions.
Everyone has a story… I’d love to help you tell yours
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