When we do business, we often try to present our products or services so that consumers better understand what we are selling. We use keywords and images that leave no doubt about our products and services, but in today’s marketing, the image is crucial because it is worth a thousand words.
Just as we dress up for meetings, interviews, events, and other essential functions, we do the same for our products and services, where we try to be presentable and display the right attitude for the task. This makes it very important to get the right image to make a good impression on consumers.
Photo enhancement is an important skill in marketing and advertising, but few have developed it even though there is a great demand for it. Image enhancement assists people of various backgrounds and makes editing our photos convenient by having it on our PCs and smartphones. Â
First Impressions
Images shape our impression of brands which could positively or negatively affect our products and services. Showing the right image sets the tone and theme we deal with, attracting consumers seeking said product or service. About 67% of customers believe quality is crucial for brand success, while 46% of people find it easy to trust business products showing images close to the actual product on their websites.
Inconsistencies between the image displayed and the actual product would leave a negative impression and cause distrust and doubt. It is fine to enhance the product by sharpening or contrasting it to make it stand out, but having the final product differ from the preview and general issues such as the color or size of the final product not matching the picture or description is a no-go.
Many sellers make the mistake of over-emphasizing the beauty and features of the product, making it seem larger than it is, resulting in consumers getting the wrong size or color, leading to returns, mistrust, unprofessionalism, and a headache for everyone involved. So having the image resemble close to the end product leads to less return and builds trust, which will bring them back for more.
Engagement:
Online sellers on eBay or Amazon have found that taking several clear and well-defined pictures of their products affected their sales positively. When looking for products or services, we skim through the images first, then the headings and highlights. According to a seminal web usability study by Jakob Nielsen, it is reported that only 79% skimmed the highlights, while 16% read word for word.
65% of senior marketing executives agree that visuals play a crucial role in a brand story, which is why we see brands spend a lot on adverts to get increased interest for their product or service, resulting in increased webpage traffic for orders and sales, and subsequently brings in new consumers where the images generate engagement, website traffic, and social media posts attracting them to see the product or service.
The highest reviews on Amazon usually include an image, which potential buyers use as a reference against the images provided by the seller. A study conducted by ODM Group, a digital marketing agency, found that 74% of the population relies on social networks for purchasing decisions; that is why the review system and word of mouth factor well into the long-term brand image, and 57% of people surveyed trust brands with good reviews and ratings.Â
When a site has returning customers, it builds consistency, website traffic, and engagement, making it more trustworthy and personable. Later, this would decrease the need for advertisement outside the platform to bring in people and slowly allow revenue to be built by selling ad space or focusing on more productive things.
Reach:
The customer base in e-commerce is more extensive and cheaper than in physical shops, where location does not impose any constraints. Images shared on social media would influence the engagement and reach of the product. With 74% of the population relying on social media to make purchasing decisions, a good image could mean brand success.
Visual social network sites like Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook are unique places to create posts on products and services with a massive concurrent userbase that promotes engagement for your selling. One of the best ways is through appealing images and being distinct from the competition while at the same time giving detailed information about the product.
Image enhancement is necessary when trying to compress the image while retaining some of the quality so that web pages load faster on the PC and mobile phone. Mobile data traffic accounts for about half of all internet traffic, so it would be detrimental not to take advantage of this.
Online stores have seen success in good product photos, which act as brand ambassadors telegraphing the brand culture simply and efficiently. Buyers are inundated with options, product styles, price ranges, ratings, reviews and much more. It is mandatory that product photos are appealing in order to generate sales.
Convenience:
Advancements in technology, both hardware, and software, have enabled us to create and get convenient tools to enrich our lives, apps being an example. The development of apps has made things that once needed a fully dedicated PC downsized to small devices like smartphones.
While big brands have a whole marketing team and professional photographers to take and edit the photos, the average person has no such facilities, but that doesn’t stop millions of people from taking a photo with their phone and editing it with apps before posting it online. Attracting attention, where millions of people do business and where retailers have become creative and resourceful to attract their customer base.
The rise of YouTube celebrities shows how image plays a crucial role in branding, where attention-grabbing thumbnails help monetize their views with sponsors, while selling merchandise that matches their brands. So it is possible to replicate these methods of success that fit our brand.
Instagram is a site where billions of images are uploaded yearly, with a user base of more than 2 billion accounts and an ad reach of 1.41 billion people. Images are often edited to give better details and view so that consumers find the adverts eye-catching and differentiate against other products where brands and rising entrepreneurs compete for market share and can also build a customer base.
The barrier of entry is considerably low for anyone to gain a following with technology, ad reach, and methods already out there. Autoretouch is one such brand that has all that anyone needs for editing pictures for their products and simple steps and guides on how to use them either on their smartphones or PC
In conclusion:
Done is better than perfect, so instead of waiting around, start today with a solid identity, and things will slowly fall into place.