Catherine Langman:
Well, hello there, it’s Catherine Langman here back with another episode of The Product Premier Success podcast. Today I’m joined on the show again by Janelle, our beautiful graphic designer and product photographer. She’s been on the show before talking about her own brand of skincare products that she created, Green + Bare, but she is actually a member of our team and she is going to talk with us or talk with me. We’re going to have a conversation about product photography and in particular, how we can really use visual storytelling to help sell more products online.
Catherine Langman:
And this is an episode for you, if you are not quite sure how to approach the product photography for your brand. I do see a lot of e-commerce stores that have sure they’ve got … That maybe they’ve got their products photographed on a white background to go in their online store, but they really haven’t nailed the rest of their images for the really homepage images or marketing images for advertising, social media, and all of that other … There’s so many places that you need images really for your marketing, email marketing, of course, as well.
Catherine Langman:
So if you really haven’t quite nailed the images for your brand, you definitely want to give this one a listen. Additionally, though, if you haven’t really refreshed your images for some time, you want to give this one a listen. Of course, I’m not going to delve too much into the whole Apple iOS business on this episode. We’re not here to talk about Facebook ads specifically, we’re here to talk about images.
Catherine Langman:
But if you have noticed for instance that your advertising has become less effective in recent months, then you probably also want to start thinking a bit more about visual storytelling and how you can use this kind of imagery to really increase the impact and the effectiveness of your advertising. At the end of the day, the way that advertising works now in the digital medium, whether it’s Facebook or other platforms where you’re using image based ads, it’s really returned to the way advertising always worked historically, and it relies on the storytelling. What is the message that we’re putting through?
Catherine Langman:
We really need to understand about our customer and the value that we are trying to communicate to that customer. We’re also needing to understand where are we positioning this brand? A good example that Aussie listeners might remember, if you’re old enough to remember TV commercials, I did have a bit of a laugh about that talking with my kids, and they’re like, “What’s that, mum?” I was telling them about the Yellow Pages ad. “What’s the Yellow Pages, mum?”
Catherine Langman:
But let’s say the Victoria Bitter beer ad that used to run for years on TV, it was definitely positioning that ad for a certain brand positioning in the marketplace for a certain consumer, and it really told a story and it was a very compelling ad. So we need to really rethink the way that we are communicating using the visual element, so how are we communicating in our marketing? How are we positioning our brand? And how can we really up the game with our imagery? So let’s dive in, I won’t keep rabbiting on here. Let’s welcome Janelle to the show.
Catherine Langman:
Welcome back to the show Janelle. It’s fantastic to have you here.
Janelle Changuion:
Thank you.
Catherine Langman:
So today, we are going to have a bit of a deep dive discussion about product photography and how we can increase sales with persuasive product photography.
Janelle Changuion:
Yes.
Catherine Langman:
Yeah, fun stuff. All things, beautiful visuals and design and all of that good stuff is where you spend much of your time.
Janelle Changuion:
Yes. That’s right. Yep.
Catherine Langman:
Yep. Which is all good. So I think let’s start at the beginning with what different types of images or photography that e-commerce brands really need to have, because I think there’s definitely the assumption that you just need to get one photo shoot of your products and you can get all of that up in your online store and then that’s all you need and away you go, right?
Janelle Changuion:
Yeah, sure. Yeah. So I guess gone are the days of the typical fake white background with the product on top. Today, customers kind of like to see a more on-brand, but yet clear, studio shot products. So, I’ve narrowed down to about seven different types of product photography types that you can include when you’re displaying your product online.
Catherine Langman:
Yep.
Janelle Changuion:
So it’s the typical studio shot, which is your product against a plain background, doesn’t necessarily have to be white. So, just on-brand, plain background. So customer can clearly see what are those that they’re purchasing. And then you want a nice detail shot. So something, close-up shot, highlight those special features to show the quality of the product. And then you want to have a scale shot. So give your customer a sense of the product size. And then you want to have a lifestyle shot. So, this is going to be showing your product in it’s natural habitat. So if it’s a skincare product, you want to have that somewhere in a bathroom or on somebody’s dressing table, something like that. Or using props that kind of compliment your product but don’t necessarily deter from the product itself.
Catherine Langman:
Yes.
Janelle Changuion:
Yeah. And then you want to think about maybe grouping some of your products together for group shots. So this is great for having on your homepage so people can see what you stock and great for bundles if you’re selling bundles, that have what the customer can expect to receive within that group.
Catherine Langman:
Yeah.
Janelle Changuion:
And that leads into packaging as well. So, if you’ve invested in beautiful packaging, it’s always great to show the customer exactly what they can expect to receive in the post.
Catherine Langman:
Yeah, yeah. [crosstalk 00:03:15].
Janelle Changuion:
Yeah, this is…
Catherine Langman:
If it’s a gift or a hamper or something along those lines, you definitely want to showcase that.
Janelle Changuion:
Yeah. Definitely suggest giving, if they say that it comes in a beautiful box, they’re not going to have to go and run out to Kmart to buy a box to shove it all into. So, if you’ve gone out of the way to really invest in beautiful packaging, then definitely include some shots of that.
Janelle Changuion:
And then another one, especially for handmade products is to capture the process of you creating your product. So if you create, if you’re a potter or something like that, and you create beautiful vases or if you’re, a candle maker or something like that it just helps to tell the story about your product. And it’s great for social media. People love to see behind the scenes action, so…
Catherine Langman:
Yeah, I like that idea.
Janelle Changuion:
Yeah. That’s something else that you can consider.
Catherine Langman:
Absolutely. And then just thinking back to my own experience, kind of producing some brand shoots. Just say up front, I’m no photographer whatsoever, but I definitely have produced a bunch of photo shoots for myself, my own brands, and then in agencies that I’ve worked in over the years. And when you say you need to have some styled images, you’re probably going to have a few variants within that, right? It’s not just one styled image that you might have. You might need to have a really wide one for your website home page.
Janelle Changuion:
Yeah.
Catherine Langman:
I remember one brand I worked on many years ago, it was a handbag brand actually. Pretty high end brand or medium to high end. It wasn’t like your Kachua,many thousands of dollars type of handbag. But they needed to have… so they’d have one concept for an image, but then they would have versions of it really wide for outdoor banners, and then they’d have some portrait ones for point of sale in the stores. And of course they’d have things to use on their website, so square, landscape, et cetera, et cetera.
Janelle Changuion:
Yeah. Definitely. Kind of keep in mind what you’re going to be using it for, because if you kind of put on Pinterest, obviously they have the nice portrait sized images. So if you do something landscape, it’s not going to be so useful for that. So definitely capturing different orientations is something to consider while you’re planning your shoot.
Catherine Langman:
Yeah, Definitely. Planning is a good thing. I like planning. You know me.
Janelle Changuion:
Yes.
Catherine Langman:
I’m really, really glad that you started here. Really talking about the number of different styles of photography that you probably want to consider if you’re a brand owner, because people come to us all the time wanting to drive traffic and sales using paid ads and they really… Not that this is everybody, but many people literally just have the first style. So the product shot on a plain background.
Janelle Changuion:
Plain background, yep.
Catherine Langman:
And I guess for me, I look at that and think “Well that doesn’t really tell a story. What does that even mean?”
Janelle Changuion:
That’s right.
Catherine Langman:
Not going to engage people’s attention as effectively as, yeah, perhaps something a little bit more persuasive.
Janelle Changuion:
Yeah.
Catherine Langman:
So, how can we tell a story with an image? Obviously, we want to be able to capture people’s attention and communicate something visually. How can we try and do that with a photograph?
Janelle Changuion:
Okay. So I guess it comes back to that lifestyle shot as well. Showing the product in its natural habitat. [crosstalk 00:07:17] So, showing a product how it’s used in real life. You need to show the customer, “Okay, this is what the product is. This is where you’ll find it.” In it’s natural environment. So, yeah.
Catherine Langman:
“This is how it’s going to help you” kind of thing.
Janelle Changuion:
Yeah, yeah, yeah. So you need to transport your customer’s minds so that they can visualize how they would use it when it’s in their hands in their home.
Catherine Langman:
Yeah.
Janelle Changuion:
And how it can solve a problem or meet their needs or that sort of thing. So it’s all well and good showing definitely those detailed shots and those studio shots, but you need to get into the psyche, I guess, a little more of your customer and really illustrate how this is going to benefit them or to serve a purpose in their lives.
Catherine Langman:
Yeah, I guess that’s the key thing, isn’t it? Because a lot of time if you put yourself in the shoes of the customer coming to a website, it is quite hard often to make a purchase decision online if you’ve never bought the product before.
Janelle Changuion:
Yeah.
Catherine Langman:
You have to have something that’s going to give you the confidence, “Yes. This is suited for me.”
Janelle Changuion:
Yeah.
Catherine Langman:
“I can see that this is going to help me with this need or whatever it is that people are looking to buy.”
Janelle Changuion:
Yeah. And like I’ve just talked about before with branding, unless they were all aimlessly scrolling, we’re not really reading the copy necessarily. [crosstalk 00:08:59]
Catherine Langman:
Not initially.
Janelle Changuion:
No. We’re looking at images and imagery that comes by in our feed. So apparently, I heard a fact the other day that your brain processes images 60,000 times faster than text.
Catherine Langman:
Yeah. It’s amazing isn’t it.
Janelle Changuion:
So those first impressions really, really count. So you don’t judge a book by its cover, but we really do.
Catherine Langman:
I know I judge a wine by its label.
Janelle Changuion:
So do I. So do I. So you really want to stand out from that sea of other competitors and that sort of thing out there.
Catherine Langman:
Yeah.
Janelle Changuion:
So I think that it’s important.
Catherine Langman:
Yeah, absolutely.
Janelle Changuion:
That the first impression.
Catherine Langman:
I remember, so obviously my last business was… Or my first business was a modern cloth nappy brand, and this was at a time when that product was very, very new to the market and a lot of people didn’t really know what it was or how to use it. Or if they did, people still had a bit of fear around, “Well, is this for me? Can normal everyday regular people use this successfully?”
Janelle Changuion:
Yeah.
Catherine Langman:
And so it was a job to try and illustrate that. And for me in that particular business, just thinking about it now, the way that I tried to pitch it at kind of regular punters, this didn’t require… I was trying to really make it clear that you didn’t have to be a super 100% committed to reusable everything. Everyday people who were going to work and living regular lives could do this and use this successfully.
Catherine Langman:
And so, I had all of these photos that were pretty funny. Really humorous showing just everyday situations, and if you’re a parent, you’ve got a little kid, they do get up to a bit of mischief and do things a bit cheeky.
Janelle Changuion:
Yeah.
Catherine Langman:
And it did work. Obviously I was showing the product and how to use it at the same time, but in an amusing way.
Janelle Changuion:
Yeah, definitely. And I think that’s another thing that you can do with product photography as well is that you can instantly remove that fear that some people might have around making that purchase decision if you’ve got lots of photos that illustrate it and news and details and things like that too. So it really communicates the quality and what they’re going to expect in the post when it comes.
Catherine Langman:
True.
Janelle Changuion:
That’s the difference between online and in store. You have to take away that fear factor that they might have because they can’t touch and feel the product.
Catherine Langman:
Yes.
Janelle Changuion:
So, it’s important to really illustrate as in detail as possible with product photography that what they’re getting is worth their money.
Catherine Langman:
Yeah. Absolutely. Absolutely. And there needs to be no disjointed experience between what they think they’re getting because they saw it on the website versus what actually turns up in the post, I guess.
Janelle Changuion:
That’s right. Yeah. You want people to get it in the mail and be like “This is exactly what was illustrated on the website.” Not the opposite of “Oh my goodness this looks nothing like what I was expecting.”
Catherine Langman:
Yeah. So I guess what we’re saying here is the images really help to tell the story in the customer’s mind about how that product is going to make them feel when they’re using it, or the experience that they’re going to enjoy. Yeah.
Catherine Langman:
Just a quick, another example that I have just remembered from another past client who made beautiful organic linen, and it was a very vintage inspired brand, and she had these gorgeous images showing really what you might remember about growing up and thinking… Not even really looking at the sheets per se or the linen per se, but things like images of somebody having breakfast in bed or reading a book in bed or showing the sheets billowing in the wind, hanging on the washing line, that sort of thing. So very storytelling type images there, too.
Janelle Changuion:
Yes. And it really evokes a lot of emotion as well.
Catherine Langman:
Definitely.
Janelle Changuion:
What you’re speaking about there makes you think about cozy Sundays…
Catherine Langman:
Yes.
Janelle Changuion:
And things like that. So, yeah. You’re definitely telling a story and trying to transport that customer into their own realities and their own lives. You can have cozy Sundays with this beautiful linen. It sounds divine.
Catherine Langman:
Yeah. Absolutely. So, I guess that also leads into the next question I was going to, or point that I was going to raise, is how can you try and position the brand and really illustrate that brand promise with these images? Because the visual element of a brand is where the power really is, isn’t it?
Janelle Changuion:
Yeah. I think really thinking about your overall brand and tone of voice. So if you’re fun and quirky and colorful and bright and vibrant obviously you’re going to want to illustrate that, not just with your branding but with the product photography as well. If you’re, like you say that, [inaudible 00:14:27] and you want to kind of stick to that same kind of thing throughout. So you’re not wanting to just be defined to take images on your carpet or anything like that. You really want to put some intention behind your product photography and really making sure that it’s all cohesive and people instantly understand what your brand is all about without even having to read anything about the brand or anything like that.
Catherine Langman:
Yeah. Yeah. And I guess, now that you’ve said that about taking images on your carpet and using your phone. I mean, in some respects, people need to start where they can, but at the same time if you’re trying to build say a really premium brand, you wouldn’t impart that impression if you went about it with images like that.
Janelle Changuion:
Yeah. Definitely. And it comes back to value. It’s all good to take a photo of something you want to sell on Gumtree with your phone. That’s all well and good, because people are paying half price of what they normally would if you were buying it from a store.
Catherine Langman:
Yeah.
Janelle Changuion:
But if you’re an online store and you’re selling quality products, you need quality images. You need to portray exactly what your product is worth. It’s not worth being put on the floor and taking a photo of. It’s worth it to be intentional and have some planning and thought behind it. So I guess people are going to get that within a few seconds of looking at your imagery. So [inaudible 00:16:03]. Like you say, for those high price point products and things like that.
Catherine Langman:
Yeah. I’ll look. I definitely think it plays… certainly it plays a point in positioning that kind of higher, more premium brand. But any brand really is going to be very quickly positioned in the mind of the customer somewhat.
Janelle Changuion:
Yeah.
Catherine Langman:
Yeah, because we do unfortunately all judge a book by its cover.
Janelle Changuion:
Yeah, we do.
Catherine Langman:
And I suppose that then also can really help a customer make a decision if they’re comparing between two options.
Janelle Changuion:
Yeah. Definitely.
Catherine Langman:
I guess most of us as consumers, we wouldn’t be able to articulate that that was the reason we might’ve chosen something.
Janelle Changuion:
Yeah, that’s right. Yeah. I was thinking about my own online shopping experiences where I will wait, comparing, and if I get more information from one customer… one store than the other, I would definitely go with the one that provides me more insight into what it is that I’m actually buying. And I’m heavily… We’re all heavily image driven creatures. So, we really want to understand within a quick glance that this is the option that I want to go for, because it really shows me in quite some detail what I should be expecting. So, like I said before, removes that fear of “Is it really going to look this good?” Or because you can see it. You can see it and where it’s been positioned and that sort of thing. Yeah.
Catherine Langman:
Yeah. I had an experience not that long ago where I was, I don’t even remember why, I was wanting to buy some manuka honey.
Janelle Changuion:
Okay.
Catherine Langman:
I think probably we were all sick or something.
Janelle Changuion:
Yeah.
Catherine Langman:
Anyway, I’d never really eaten it. I’d never really bought it. I didn’t really know why can you go into Cole’s and get Manuka Honey there for $12 and then you go online and you see something and it’s $60 or something like that? What gives?
Catherine Langman:
So, I found this website and they appeared to be one of the premium manuka honey brands from New Zealand, but they didn’t have any information really on the website. And that you would just all the same, every package you’d have maybe a different color and a different number on it.
Janelle Changuion:
Okay.
Catherine Langman:
But there wasn’t any other information to explain to me what was better or worse. And obviously, in that instance, you definitely need to have the written detail. But also having a little bit more forethought into the visuals there would have really helped communicate quality certainly.
Janelle Changuion:
Yeah. And I think basically you can inject some personality into until your products with the use of product photography. You can help each product stand out on its own a little. I’m just thinking about my product basis that I had with the different claymer. They’re all the same product essentially, clay, but they all serve a different sort of purpose. So I kind of brought out the different ingredients that were in different ones and gave them their own little personalities.
Janelle Changuion:
One was made with coconut and pineapples. So I was like, “This is going to seem totally like tropical island.” It’s like a vacation for your face. So we really played on the characteristics of products and really illustrated that through the use of props and colors and that sort of thing. So you can illustrate a lot with just the use of imagery before they even start reading.
Catherine Langman:
Yeah, and I love that idea because then, yeah, giving them a bit of a personality and then when you’ve captured their attention and imagination initially with the visuals, they’re going to start reading.
Janelle Changuion:
Yes. That’s right. Yes, exactly.
Catherine Langman:
The detail. Yeah.
Janelle Changuion:
Yeah, for sure.
Catherine Langman:
So I want to talk also just quickly about the connection that we as consumers make between product and price and how can our images, our styled images, help there to communicate that price.
Janelle Changuion:
Okay. Yeah. Yeah, sure. So I guess it comes back to how much planning and purpose has gone into your product photography? So if you’re just taking quick snaps on your phone, it’s not really illustrating that this is necessarily a premium product. So you want, just like your branding, you don’t want to go and just get a quick $5 logo [inaudible 00:20:48] to try and to try and sell a $150 product. You really need to put the time and energy into illustrating that you mean business, I guess.
Catherine Langman:
And it might be a little bit unique as opposed to an icon found [inaudible 00:21:09].
Janelle Changuion:
For sure. Yeah. And it’s all about building trust. So you’re not out there to scam people and just take images on your phone and chucking them up on a website. People instantly kind of get that rapport with your brand of “Oh, these people are kind of taking the time to really put energy into the way that they appear online.” And those first impressions count as like what I was saying with going into a store. You wouldn’t go into the store where they haven’t vacuumed, they haven’t made some kind of effort to display the products beautifully. And because you were just like, Well, do these people really care?” So you’re illustrating that you really care about your product, you value your product. Your product is amazing, you know that, but you need to communicate that with your audience. So you can easily do that with great product photography.
Catherine Langman:
Yeah. And I think… Well, in my experience, I think consumers are a little more discerning than we might realize.
Janelle Changuion:
Yeah.
Catherine Langman:
But we only have to take a look in some different sorts of magazines or digital or print to see for ourselves the difference in images that present different sorts of brands.
Janelle Changuion:
Yeah.
Catherine Langman:
Yeah. So, I love it. This being the style of podcast that it is and my penchant for step-by-step how-to’s, let’s go through some ways that our listeners might be able to start thinking of ideas for their product images so that they can be a little bit more persuasive and have the ability to connect really easily with their audience.
Janelle Changuion:
Yeah. Okay. So, I’d first of all think about your branding. So, if you’re an already established brand, you’ve got your brand colors and things like that, a style, a tone of voice, I would write those down. So, we’re fun, we’re quirky, we’re bright, we’re colorful, we use these colors. So your product photography needs to marry all of that. And then think about how your customer would use your product in their day-to-day lives. So is it a skincare product, would they take to the beach with them? So you could illustrate taking it to the beach or is it something that a mom would have in her handbag?
Janelle Changuion:
So kind of think about all the ways where you would find your product so that you can create those things and different locations and things like that. So that you’re really showcasing and creating that story of how the product benefits you and your everyday life would be another great way to do that. Yeah.
Catherine Langman:
Yeah, absolutely. And then I guess, what do they need to know as… What does the customer need to know to make a purchase?
Janelle Changuion:
Yeah. So, in those nice closeup shots as well, so any particular features on it. Like if it’s a skincare product, squeeze it out of the tube. Show it.
Catherine Langman:
Yeah.
Janelle Changuion:
Show what’s inside. Those kinds of things. So it gives them as much… [crosstalk 00:24:42].
Catherine Langman:
Isn’t it hard to show texture and the feel of a product?
Janelle Changuion:
Oh, it’s my favorite.
Catherine Langman:
Yeah.
Janelle Changuion:
Yeah. Yeah. It’s very… It can be difficult, but adding six shots are just so en vogue at the moment. So you can definitely have fun with that.
Catherine Langman:
Yeah, yeah.
Janelle Changuion:
Yeah, yeah.
Catherine Langman:
Yeah, very cool. And so whereabouts would we… I guess we’ve spent most of our time here talking about the more persuasive style of product images. So you styled images, like you said earlier, it’s not the only style that you should have. But with that kind of storytelling type imagery, where would we be using all of this kind of stuff? Because it sounds like we’re going to put a fair bit of effort into creating these images for our brand?
Janelle Changuion:
Yeah, Yep. Yeah. So, limiting yourself with just having the plain backgrounds more kind of E-bay listing and sort of images really restricts you when it comes to places like Pinterest and Instagram, where it’s all about the storytelling.
Catherine Langman:
Yeah.
Janelle Changuion:
So you want to have those different kind of lifestyle shots to be able to illustrate that through those mediums.
Catherine Langman:
Yes.
Janelle Changuion:
Facebook ads. You can’t just have a carousel of plain white background images to try and sell your product. It’s just not going to.
Catherine Langman:
No. Not anymore.
Janelle Changuion:
Yeah, not anymore. So like I say, people are aimlessly scrolling and really looking for things that stop them in their tracks.
Catherine Langman:
Yeah.
Janelle Changuion:
So highlighting all of your product speeches with beautiful lifestyle imagery is definitely the way to go.
Catherine Langman:
Yeah. Absolutely. And then just yesterday with our team meeting here we had that fun little activity where we were sharing some YouTube links to our favorite TV commercials. Most of them, of course, when we were all growing up, which was a little eye opening as to the decades we were removed from.
Catherine Langman:
But these days, with your imagery that you use for your ads, we do really need to think back and along those lines. I think the tide has really turned with online digital advertising where we do need to have that entertainment value and in order to stand out and get people’s attention long enough to actually even read the ad or let alone click through to the website.
Janelle Changuion:
Yes. Yep. For sure. And I think that’s where some like creative copy works so well with, with imagery. If you can get a copywriter to come up with some tongue in cheek kind of tagline that you can then kind of reproduce them on with some product photography but that that’s a recipe for lots of engagement.
Catherine Langman:
Yeah, it was funny because one of the ads that we shared was the yellow pages ad, and Aussies of a certain vintage would remember. They’re not happy, Jan. Which was just a brilliant, very funny ad. And that that whole tagline entered our vernacular and became a common saying, and like I told my kids about it, who are teenagers and younger and they’re like. “What’s the yellow pages mum?”
Janelle Changuion:
Oh my goodness. So, yeah.
Catherine Langman:
Yeah, that made me feel old.
Catherine Langman:
And I guess one last question, or actually just thinking about where we use these persuasive product images. I mean, all of the types of images that you spoke about you’d be using on your website as well. So yeah.
Janelle Changuion:
Yeah. And I think, I know we briefly spoke just thinking about the different orientations of the image as well. So some nice landscape imagery for your homepage banners and Facebook banners and potential magazine ads and things like that, so not cropping them all square for Instagram. But have different types of orientation. Some with the product right on the right or left hand side with a whole bunch of blank space works great. You can put text over it and that sort of thing.
Catherine Langman:
Yeah.
Janelle Changuion:
So all comes back to planning that photo shoot as well. What is the purpose of the photo shoot? Where are you going to be using it? The different orientations, the different bundles, all that sort of thing.
Janelle Changuion:
Yeah.
Catherine Langman:
Sensational. So last question for you today, how often should you update your product images?
Janelle Changuion:
Yes. So I would generally say at least annually. I guess if you’ve got… Like if you’re a clothing brand and things kind of change out every season. You’re going to want to do it more than annually. So consider things like new seasons, different climates. What you and I were speaking earlier about the pandemic at the moment. [inaudible 00:29:58] create some imagery around how your product can benefit people within the pandemic. So that might call for a new photo shoot and things like that.
Janelle Changuion:
I often encourage people to think about Christmas imagery as well. Those specific holiday things. Times where you can use some different kinds of… People love Christmas, and they love saying Christmas Eve things, things like “Just look at the stores.”
Janelle Changuion:
so you really want to get people in the mood for buying. So that’s always a fun one. If you change out your branding and your packaging, it’s always good to make sure that you update images cause you don’t want people to receive something that looks different to what it did online.
Catherine Langman:
Yes, definitely.
Janelle Changuion:
So that would be another time to consider as well.
Catherine Langman:
Yeah. Yeah, yeah, absolutely. And I guess from an advertising perspective, I’ll just chime in and add as well that you do need to plan to have refreshed visuals coming in for the effectiveness of your ads ongoing. It really is essential these days. You can’t just expect to have one lot of ads that continues to work you’re in your house without change. Yes, exactly.
Janelle Changuion:
Right. Yeah. That’s right. Yeah. And I was going to say, if people just kind of up saying that gone there, done that kind of thing. So yeah. You want to keep their engagement levels up. Yeah.
Catherine Langman:
We do need to keep being able to, I guess, kind of disrupt their attention or disrupt what they’re doing, scrolling the news newsfeed mindlessly.
Janelle Changuion:
Yeah. Yeah. And I’m thinking just like if you’ve got a new product launch as well.
Catherine Langman:
Of course.
Janelle Changuion:
You want to think about that, too. Creating some fun hyped up kind of imagery. So.
Catherine Langman:
Yeah, yeah. Black milk leggings are really good at doing that.
Janelle Changuion:
Okay. Wow, yeah.
Catherine Langman:
Yeah, absolutely. So hopefully listeners, you found that quite useful giving you some good insight there about the sorts of images that you really need to consider creating for your brand and for your online store. I know that one of the big fears for many brand owners is that it’s going to be really expensive and is it going to give me a return on that investment? Is it worth it? Do you get the value from having those images? So I’ll quickly share a little bit of my own experience, my history in my first business, which was a brand of cloth nappies, of course. And when that started we did pretty similar, took similar steps to many small startups in that we did exactly what you said not to do Janelle and shot some pictures of Aaron kids on our phones in the backyard or whatever.
Catherine Langman:
I don’t even remember now it’s a long time ago, but yeah, it was that same common reaction “I can’t afford to go and get a professional photo shoot, so I’m just going to do it myself.” And ultimately, it just didn’t gain enough traction with customers for it to have the desired effect. And I think at the end of the day, and look, I learned this the hard way, but at the end of the day, we can’t really expect customers to forgive a poor image and buy anyway. We can’t expect them to forgive that and to try and get past that, that fear and, and have the trust that it’s going to do, what they hope it will do. And I guess even more than that, we can’t actually expect customers to even see the images if they’re really aren’t communicating what they need to communicate.
Janelle Changuion:
Yeah.
Catherine Langman:
So for me, when I did go ahead and have a professional photo shoot, and I was able to reduce the cost by forming a bit of a strategic relationship with that particular photographer at the time. But we got some amazing images and it really catapulted the brand in an enormous way. Like when I look back on the growth journey of that business and I can see anytime you’re growing a business, oftentimes you’ll have a period of faster growth and then it might plateau a little bit and you have to find maybe it’s a new product you need to release, or you need to find a new channel of traffic or roll out some new type of marketing or wholesale or whatever the case may be. You grow, you plateau, you do something new and different, and then you grow some more.
Catherine Langman:
But one of the fastest growth periods was after I got that imagery because it just impacted everything. It lifted the website, it lifted all of the advertising. I used to do a lot of expos and trade shows and I was able to print these beautiful images full size, like all the entire size of the, the expo booth walls. So you could see them from the doorway when you walked into the hall it really, really, really stood out. And it really, I cannot emphasize enough how impactful it was. So yeah, definitely try and work on it is what I’m saying.
Janelle Changuion:
Yeah For sure. Yeah. I think like you say, just having those larger scale images for those types purposes like those and things like that. Really you can’t print that with a phone image. The quality’s just not there. So like you say, there’s a time and a place, to kind of like on stories and things, we can just uaw your phone, take some quick snaps of yours kids, or the product and use that totally fine. But there’s so many other places where you can be advertising that really calls for those high quality, high impact kind of imagery. Like you’re like, you’re just saying. Yeah,
Catherine Langman:
Yeah. Absolutely. Yeah. Awesome. Well, thank you so much for joining us on the show again today, Janelle, and sharing your experience here on this topic. Really appreciate it. And of course, any listeners who are really looking for a bit of help with their imagery, please give us a shout and we would love to help you out with that.
Janelle Changuion:
Thanks so much for having me, Cat.
Catherine Langman:
Thanks Janelle. All right, listeners. Thanks for joining us again on the show and I look forward to being with you again next week. Bye for now.