An indispensable tool for any marketer is a good picture library, full of high quality images and well organized. Having images at hand when creating any communication material will be of great help. I'd like to discuss why I think pictures are so important, give you a few ideas of where you can source them.
Why you should value pictures
- Pictures improve your visibility online:
For a start, having pictures in your blog properly tagged with a relevant file name and description will improve your SEO ranking. But most importantly, images are visual and help people scan through content quickly. A direct result is that using images will get your content found more easily on Social Media sites, since most people will look at your picture over someone's text.
- A picture is worth a 1'000 words
We've all heard this old saying, and whether you use a picture online or inside a brochure, it remains valid that a picture can help illustrate a point much more quickly than a text. Think of technical illustrations, but also anything that has to do about design or even emotions.
- Pictures will make you look professional
If chosen carefully and used properly, pictures will enhance any type of material you produce and make it more sophisticated. I would stress the importance of using good quality photos or drawings though, and not jumping to a clipart or poorly taken photo.
- Pictures can be used and reused
A good collection of images is a great thing to have in your tool box. You will be able to reuse your pictures online, in your print material or at trade shows. Using your pictures across a variety of medias is a good thing to reinforce your branding - assuming you chose them well and they represent your business.
What you can use pictures for?
There is no limitation really, but just to give you an idea of the importance of building a picture library for your business, here are some examples of application:
- Websites, blogs
- Social media sites
- Presentations
- Print: brochures, posters, annual reports, technical specs sheets
- Trade show booths
- Office decoration
Where to find good pictures
As stated earlier I think it's really important that you choose your pictures carefully, keeping in mind the use you intend to make of them. Also, when I speak of pictures, it includes photos (products, places, people, etc) and illustrations (paintings, drawings, technical illustrations, etc). Without going too much into the details, here is a quick list of where you can find pictures:
- Finding photos
- Pay a professional and take your own
- Purchase stock photos on sites like Istockphoto
- Source Creative Commons photos from the web
- Use your own photos
- Finding illustrations
- Hire an illustrator
- Purchase stock illustrations
When writing this post I realize how much I like talking about images, and how much there is to say about it, so I will definitely come back more in details on the subject.
Photo: photo credit: Stuck in Customs via photopin cc
Question: Have you built your own library? What's in it?
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