Could your visual content be worth millions? If you sell anything online, the answer is “yes”. As staff at food delivery app Deliveroo say, “In many ways, Deliveroo’s customers buy photographs – not products….”
The same is true for fashion, ecommerce, real estate, or short-term rentals. It’s the eye-catching photography in your marketing campaign that grabs your buyer’s attention and stops the scroll.
You may have heard the term “Attention Economy,” coined by a prescient 1970s Nobel Prize-winning economist. Herbert Simon said, “What information consumes is the attention of its recipients. Hence a wealth of information creates a poverty of attention.”
Take Instagram. Visual content drives this social media app. From fashion to real estate to food delivery, professional photography excels at “selling the dream”.
6 powerful ways visuals drive sales
As it turns out, vision predates language by millions of years. It’s no wonder our brains are attuned to visual content! According to Charles Darwin’s “On the Origins of Species”, the first pluricellular organisms on Earth started seeing the World before understanding what they saw.
- Images tap into the reptilian brain – your reptilian brain is part of your subconscious mind and its primary role is to keep you alive and to make sure you spread your genes! It gives you that ‘gut feeling’ about a decision or situation – so it’s really vital to our decision-making. It only really understands images, not language, so this is the science bit behind the power of visuals to drive sales.
- Create impactful first impressions – Research shows you have just 0.05 seconds to make that all-important first impression. Professional photography inspires conversions because people can imagine themselves sipping a coffee on that balcony or enjoying a night out with friends in that dress. Thanks to social media, we’ve all seen bad food photography. Then there are the short-term rental listings with photographs that make the apartment look about as appealing as a prison cell. If you want your images to convert to sales, you need great digital photography. Professionals understand the lighting fundamentals and other tips that make your visual content “pop” online.
- Maintain brand consistency – Consistency across channels builds trust which leads to sales. According to Lucidpress research, creating a consistent brand can increase revenue by 33%. That brand extends to your visual content, messaging, colors, and more. When they’re tied together, it helps your future customers remember your brand.
- Tell a story – Professional visual content tells a story. Whether it’s evoking your hunger by showcasing mouthwatering images of chicken tikka masala or Hawaiian pizza or sharing high-quality images of the chef’s kitchen at your short-term rental, photographs are gateways to the imagination.
- Stimulate emotions – Images of palm trees and blue-green water can induce tranquility, just as Red Bull ads create excitement. Luxury car ads have long sold their cars by aligning themselves with beautifully dressed elegant people. The right images create visceral reactions within the viewer.
- Make Sales – Evocative professional photography grabs the attention of your buyer and can tip their decision-making in your favor. There’s so much psychology behind high-quality photography leading to conversions. From professional lighting to camera angles, it’s all about connecting with the potential customer.
Marketing is all about just that: connecting with your potential customers at the right time, in the right place, with a message that resonates. Digital photography plays a significant role in sales conversion because it captures your customer’s attention. Research shows emotions drive purchases more than logic. In fact, according to Harvard Professor Gerald Zaltman, 95% of purchase decision-making takes place in the subconscious mind, driven by emotions and past positive experiences.
It starts with high quality visual content. Discover how BOOM can make it easy for your organization to get the images you need.
