Your brand
I wrote this article for photographers but of course it applies to any individual or business no matter how large or small.
Let’s face it, there are a lot of professional photographers working today. How can you make your voice heard, and remembered, in this crowded marketplace?
It’s not as impossible as it might seem, but it does rely on a key factor without which you could miss the boat completely – branding.
What is branding?
To be noticed and remembered you must have an identity and be clearly distinguishable from your competition. The key to this is your brand. “Brand” is a term which is often used, but largely misunderstood. Your brand is the embodiment of who you are, your personality (or your business’s personality), your work ethic, your style, the way you deal with people, and many other things. It is NOT just a logo. The way that these characteristics are represented visually is the first step in building your brand, and for this you need a designer who understands they are doing more than just a logo design and some stationery.
Let’s take an example. Why is it that you favour a particular coffee shop to get a coffee? The chances are it’s because their product suits your taste, and you know that they will conduct their business in a way that you like. You have confidence in their ability to provide what you want consistently well. Maybe you like their décor or their comfy sofas, or the fact that their staff are always smiling. The impression that they leave on you – the way they make you feel – is part of this thing called Brand, along with the visuals such as logo, colour scheme, décor and the like.
Without doubt the most important thing when setting up a professional website is to ensure that it reflects your brand, in other words, you or your company. This doesn’t mean just having a nice logo. It means the whole look and feel of the site and your other marketing materials. It means the choice of images that you show. Are they consistent in style and do they reflect the type of photography that you want to create for your clients?
These things create an immediate (and I mean IMMEDIATE) impression on your viewer, and is how they distinguish between you and the next photographer they look at. Stamp your individuality on your site visually, and live up to the values that you set for yourself and your business. That’s the most important foundation your marketing can have
Your website is possibly your principal promotional tool. It must communicate who you are, your style, your work – in other words it must be the perfect reflection of your brand.
Please let me know how we can help you with this, or with any other aspect of your website needs.
I hope this has been useful.