The internet is a marketing frontier that many enter, but few succeed in. There’s a flood of information and marketing messages permeating every inch of the internet, making it difficult to reach and make an impact on your target audience. On the other hand, online marketing can be very rewarding to those who succeed. The smartest, most successful businesses have figured out that telling their story visually is how to get noticed online. One of the ways that businesses telling their stories visually is through professional photos. Of their products. Of their services. Of their facilities. Of their people. Of their philanthropy. Of their past work, etc.

A picture is worth a thousand words. When you are sharing your message online, whether it’s on your website or social media, you need to be able to communicate to your audience in the amount of time it takes for them to scroll down. You simply can’t do this with text because most people scroll faster than they read. Businesses need photos to communicate with their online audience.

To be clear, we aren’t talking about stock photos. In some cases, stock photos are better than not having photos at all, but there isn’t an ounce of authenticity in stock photos. You’re not fooling anyone, and we can all tell it’s a stock photo. Everyone has perfect hair, they look a little too happy, and their clothes are all coordinated.

Authenticity is a huge part of being successful with marketing online, and you’re not going to get that from a stock photo. Besides, do you really want someone you don’t know to be the face of your company online? Even worse, do you want that face to also represent countless other companies and organizations too?

When you’re developing your company’s presence online, bypass the stock photos as much as possible. Hire a photographer to get into your business and really create a photographic journal of every part of it. These photos will be 100% authentic and a true representation of your values, your culture, and your individuality as a business. It’s a very simple but powerful way to set yourself apart from the competition.

Once you have this photographic journal of your business, you are much better equipped to reach people online and take advantage of all of the marketing opportunities the internet has to offer.

If you’re using the internet for marketing and you are not using photos, you are at a serious disadvantage. Here’s a challenge: take a look at your top 3 competitors, or the top 3 companies in your industry that you aspire to be like. Analyze their footprint online - their website, social media, email marketing, search engine presence, etc. Pay close attention to the role that photos are playing in their success. If they aren’t using photos, you have an opportunity to get a leg up on your competition.

Now take a look at your own business and it’s footprint online. Where are you missing out on telling your story visually? What parts of your business are you most proud of, and how can you capture that with photos?

If your business currently takes advantage of professional photos for marketing online, what tips do you have for other businesses?