Does your business have a clear brand image? Professional photos on your website and social media will help....

More and more people are developing relationships with brands online than ever before. According to Sprout Social, 73.4% of users follow a brand because they’re interested in the product or service the business offers. So, if the business doesn’t have professional photographs on their websites and social media which show a clear brand image , how will they generate new leads? This is where the importance of personal branding comes in.

This month I thought I would write a blog about Branding photography because I recently met and worked with the lovely Maggie McMillan from The Style Counsel who wholeheartedly agrees with me on the importance of having your own unique brand, and constantly reinforcing that visually. I asked Maggie to write a few words for me to explain why this is so important. Over to you Maggie....

As Founder of THE STYLE COUNSEL , a Personal Branding, Impact & Wardrobe Consultancy of course you would expect me to be passionate about personal branding, but it’s much more than that. My PR “blurb” states that my clients (of both genders) range from “pop stars to politicians, CEOs to Sixth Formers, grandparents to godchildren and everyone in between ". All of them and each of us is our own unique brand, whether we are the CEO of M&S or a mum at the school gate.

The way we look and present is of supreme importance as it’s the face of our brand . Respected research shows that on first meeting we have only 7-15 seconds to make an impression and less than 10% of that impression has anything to do with what we actually say. It’s about our look, our body language, our eye contact etc. The way we present ourselves visually to the World is the “packaging” for our product. It’s therefore vitally important that we understand our product - its components, beliefs and behaviours. Our image and outward style is a HUGE element of this and it is something I work very hard at with my clients in our 1:1 consultations. I ensure that my Clients are... “memorable but for the right reasons!”

This philosophy applies in choosing and using photographs for corporate purposes, for your website, your social media etc too.

Pennie and I met recently and immediately connected over our mutual appreciation of businesses having a consistent and considered personal brand image. Pennie and I had a 1:1 and it made me re-examine my personal brand too. We discussed what services I offer my clients and how I go about helping them. We agreed that what I needed was a selection of photos that truly reflect me, my personality, my business and my clients which I could then use on my daily social media posts and blogs.

What then followed was a fun, 2-hour, action-packed photo shoot and now I have over 120 photographs to boost my marketing collateral! (See a few of them below!)

I am now really looking forward to turning the tables on Pennie and having a 1:1 personal consultation session so that we can ensure that her own Personal Branding represents her business too!

If you are interested in learning more about your personal brand, I highly recommend you get in touch with Maggie on: 07796691966 or stylecounselinfo@gmail.com. Or follow Maggie on Instagram (hopefully you'll spot some of my photos!) .

From a photography point of view, most of my clients’ biggest pain points when it comes to marketing themselves is having visual content for their websites and social media posts. How pleased they all are, when I tell them that for many businesses, even just having as little as a two-hour shoot, will generate enough images for a year’s worth of posts! Click herefor more information. Do get in touch if you would like to chat about how I could help your business 07715 889457. pennie@photosbypennie.co.uk