How and Why Photography Maximizes the Impact of Your Digital Content
ARCHITECTURE, ENGINEERING, CONSTRUCTION & LANDSCAPE DESIGN: HOW AND WHY PHOTOGRAPHY MAXIMIZES THE IMPACT OF YOUR DIGITAL CONTENT
At a meeting sponsored by SMPS Twin Cities, the brand marketing agency of Olive & Company presented a surprising statistic:
“In a recent survey, 84% of A/E/C (architecture, engineering, and construction) clients said that the first step before considering an architecture firm’s services was to look at the firm’s website.”
In view of our current situation, websites and other digital content are becoming an outsized part of the marketing and business development process by replacing the direct contact that used to take place at trade shows and meetings.
2020 Minnesota Nursery & Landscape Association (MNLA) Award
Photography is often the centerpiece of content used by a/e/c firms on their websites and social media. According to Sam Hollingsworth who writes for Search Engine Journal, “Eye-catching visuals captivate us, then we use that focus to get a better idea of what a message truly is trying to say.” Strong visual images keep viewers on websites longer. Once someone sees a great photo, their natural inquisitiveness keeps them clicking through to other images and other pages. Likewise, a strong architectural photo used in a social media post or email results in a much greater click through rate.
Great photography tells a story—creating a narrative about the firm, their people, and the work they do. A project’s visual narrative is usually about more than one image. If a website features only hero images, the very best from each project, the message can come across as disjointed. Rather, pages or galleries devoted to a range of photos from a project from wide shots to details goes much further and has more impact.
Over 100 images were created of this civc campus project.
Similarly, photos of the people who work for the firm that go beyond the classic head shot communicate much more about what the company does and their culture. I encourage my clients to have me create environmental portraits of their people and photos of them at work.
It’s hard to imagine an A/E/C firm’s website or email blast without architectural photos. Web content containing images receive up to 94% more views. Email marketing campaigns including architectural photography have higher click-through rates than those without images. Tweets with photos receive an average of 35% more retweets.
Content for content’s sake is not productive. Because of the prevalence of social media, paid digital advertising, and other media including websites, publishing quality content is important. Failure to do so depreciates a firm in the eyes of the people viewing mediocre or bad content. Bad photos can do more harm than good. On the other hand, content that informs, explains, demonstrates, or educates grabs and keeps the viewer’s attention and imprints on their memory.
Jackie Nelsen, Director of Accounts, for Olive & Company says,
“In our experience, presenting engineering and construction projects with professional, creative imagery adds dimension to your brand’s visual identity, demonstrates pride in the work, and is also a trait shared among the most well-respected industry leaders.”
This residential landscape image, shot nearly 10 years ago, continues to be used in the firm's marketing materials.
Great photos endure. In these challenging times, everyone is analyzing their expenses to see where they can save money. When photography is well executed, it can be repurposed and reused countless times. The original photography pays for itself over and over. Some of my clients are using photographs I took for them over 10 years ago in current social media and on their websites.
Strong visual content leads to more engagement. More engagement means more leads. More leads means more business.
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Silverman Be Remarkable
Steve Silverman
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(m)952-905-1197
steve@silvermanberemarkable.com