I often hear people saying that videos are the most important form of visual content, but there are so many ways that photos trump videos, and here are a few:
1. Instant Impact
You’ve heard the saying “a picture says a thousand words” … well, that is exactly right. Pictures are consumed instantly, and therefore can communicate a message in a moment, whereas videos must be watched (at least a bit) before you get that message. You can make it clear in a mere moment what you do.
And in a world of constant scrolling, that message being instant, or that picture being eye catching, is so important if you want to stand out from everyone else.
2. They’re Versatile
You can use photos from a photoshoot EVERYWHERE. All over your website, your social media, advertising (whether that’s online ads or print). They can be used in the press when you manage to get some PR for your business (you can’t get a video printed in the local paper or in an industry magazine). They’re great for jazzing up your blog posts and email newsletters. There is SO MUCH you can use them for! AND you can use them again and again.
(side note – does anyone else see the word ‘versatile’ and immediately think “waffley versatile”? The power of advertising, eh?)
3. Cost-Effective
Photography is usually cheaper than Videography, and you get a lot more content to use for your money.
Think of it this way – if you fork out for a video for your business, you’re usually paying a large sum to get one single video. Don’t get me wrong, it’ll be awesome, it’ll be useful, but there’s only so many times you can share that same video. With photography you usually get loads of images from the single shoot, that can be used in multiple places, on many occasions and used in all sorts of different places (eg social media posts as per example above) so you get a bit more bang for your buck.
Plus photography is cheaper usually anyway. Although getting a photographer involved isn’t cheap, the postproduction time for a photoshoot is less than for a video shoot, making the cost overall less.
And you could always make a video slideshow out of your pics pretty easily using various free apps. Chuck a bit of text over it and you’ve got a great promo vid out of your shoot too!
4. They Load Quickly (and take up less space).
You don’t need to press ‘play’ on a photo. And they load quickly (so you don’t get any buffering messages or it not loading because the internet connection is crap). The file sizes are smaller than videos so they take up less space and load time on your website.
5. SEO Friendly
You use photos across your whole website to make it look pretty, but also, properly tagged photos are great for SEO and web traffic through image searches.
6. Accessibility
You don’t need to worry about language used in photos (whether it’s voiceover or captions), because there’s not need for it.
7. No need to think about background music of voiceovers
Who else hates the sound of their own voice? I know it’s not just me, it’s something a lot of people say. And when it comes to videos people really struggle to know what to say too. You don’t have to worry about any of that with photos!
So, while videos are awesome for your marketing (and they are!), don’t dismiss photos! In a world of scrolling and short attention spans, they are faster, versatile and they pack a punch!
If you're thinking about booking a photoshoot for your business, please do get in touch with me for a free, no obligation consultation to chat about the options.
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