How to Brand Your Business
Pinterest Management Services expert tip: If you’re thinking about doing a photo shoot for your website you cannot just use your iPhone. Just slapping a picture of yourself on your site and thinking boom you’re done. No way. Not even close.
Here’s the thing, if you seriously want to take your business to the next level offering Pinterest Management Services or other products/services you need to have professional, branded photographs for your website. Period.
As you know I focus mostly on Pinterest Management Services and Pinterest marketing courses. You know it’s all images and videos right? If you want to do well on Pinterest you need branded photographs. Stop using images that other people are using. That will limit your visibility on Pinterest because of their algorithm. Keep reading and I’ll explain it further below.
Why You Need to Stop Buying Social Media Templates and Flatlays
Do you know how many people are selling social media templates and flatlays on Pinterest? A ton! The purpose behind it is so you don’t have to spend hours creating your own images. I get that. I get how people may not have the creative talent or the time to create their own. While that may be smart in terms of time management it’s not smart in terms of business branding.
If you are going to offer Pinterest Management Services how do you expect to set yourself apart from other people / businesses if you look the same as everybody else? Using other people’s images is NOT good branding. You can’t afford to look generic.
As a Pinterest Management Services expert I know for a fact that…Pinterest Requires Fresh Content
Listen I get it. If you’re just starting out you can’t afford to be perfect at everything then templates make sense. They are also less expensive than a photo shoot. But you also cannot afford NOT to create your own branded images.
You see Pinterest’s algorithm requires new content. New content means a new image with a new pin description. So if Pinterest’s sees the same template that someone else is using on Pinterest what do you think happens? Pinterest is going to limit how you get found because you’re not producing new content.
How to Get More Eyeballs on Your Website
If your website is about two to three years old you will need to change it especially if your business offerings or branding have changed.
I definitely had to change mine for those same reasons but also because some elements of my Pinterest Management Services website design were outdated. No one uses chevron anymore!
I also wanted a new webmaster that could assist me with making sure that my website converts well. Pretty is one thing but at the end of the day when someone visits your website you’d better find a way to get their email address!
Bottom line, as a Pinterest Management Services expert I wanted a freakin’ beautiful website, that is highly engaging, that converts traffic into sales, that showcases who I am as a businesswoman, what I do outside my work, and shows potential clients why it would be wise and a lot of fun to work with me. Ha ha.
I Learned This Lesson Early On My Career
One of the biggest lessons I learned during my years in fashion retail management is that if you had a beautifully merchandised store you could get away with selling shitty products. I kid you not. I love merchandising and it’s amazing how you can make something inexpensive look very expensive with merchandising.
I look at websites that way too. What I am really trying to say is that a beautiful space makes people want to buy.
If You Look Cheap You’ll Attract Cheap
If your website especially if it is for Pinterest Management Services doesn’t speak professional, smart, up to date, current, relevant, gorgeous, you’re constantly going to wonder why you’re not making enough sales or not attracting the right clients. If you look cheap you’ll attract cheap paying clients.
If you don’t invest in yourself, in your business, why would someone else invest in you? They won’t. Your website should make someone say “I want to work with this person”.
You Have One Chance to Make a First Impression
Another reason why branded photographs are vital is that it’s an opportunity for you to connect with your ideal target audience. Imagine if you had no photos of yourself on your site? How do you expect people to get a glimpse of who you are?
I rarely meet my clients in person so having lifestyle images of my “life” and where I work was important. Having branded photos will at least give potential clients a view of what you’re about. There is a saying that “you attract who you are”. So if you want clients that can afford to pay you then you need to portray that.
So now that you see the importance of having branded photographs for your website here’s how to prepare for your website photo shoot in six easy steps:
1. Branding
Make sure your website is up to date with your branding style. That’s because your photographs must match the look and feel of your site. If there’s a disconnect then you’ll confuse your prospects.
2. Hire a professional photographer
Research and choose the photographer that understands your business and your branding.
Here’s what I did to find the right photographer for me:
a. I went on Pinterest and searched for lifestyle photographers.
I noticed that many were wedding photographers! I have no problem with that as long as I loved their style. I eventually did find someone through word of mouth and it just so happened they were also on Pinterest!
b. Interview your photographer and make a list of questions to ask them.
Many I found had their information on their site so for me it was more about how they sounded. You can tell a lot about a person just hearing their voice. Are they energetic, positive, caring, or maybe they’re a control freak and there’s not going to be much flexibility working with them. You must absolutely ask:
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- The cost
- The number of locations
- The number of images you get
- Price for additional images
- How will you receive the files?
- Is there extra cost for retouching?
- Cancellation policy
- When you will receive the photographs
c. Create a Pinterest secret board and start saving images of website poses.
Practice your poses and facial expressions in front of the mirror. This might sound silly but if your wedding photographer is not great at showing you how to pose then you need to be prepared. As a Pinterest Management Services expert I used my Pinterest secret board; it was super helpful for the photographer.
I even saved her a trip since I added her to my secret board. She knew exactly what I wanted which makes her life easy too. You don’t want to have a stressed photographer the day of the shoot right?
d. Inform your photographer about file sizes for your website and print.
If you decide to buy a new website template or maybe tweak a few pages on your existing website make a list of how many vertical and horizontal sized images you need to fill your site. Since I’m a Pinterest marketer it’s pretty obvious I wanted longer sized images.
e. Read the fine print!
Don’t just sign the contract without reading through it carefully. My photographer was considerate enough to make changes to the contract because she knew I would be using my photographs in social media too.
f. How many clothing changes are you allowed to make?
Heck as far as I’m concerned if you’re paying them hourly that you should be able to change as many outfits as you want. My photo shoot was 90 minutes and three outfits were good for that time period. I think if I did more than that I may be wasting precious time in the dressing room and I would have ended up with fewer photos to choose from.
3. Choose the location
The first location I chose was my home office. Makes sense right?
The photographer did not visit my home and I was okay with that because I was prepared. I knew exactly which rooms to use. I’m thinking “lighting” here. You obviously want to avoid dark rooms that do not get any natural lighting. My entire home is in keeping with my website theme and style so I didn’t have to do much in terms of decor.
4. Decorate and clean your space
Create a list of décor items that you may need to fill your space with. For example, I ordered flowers for my desk, bought a new fresh candle, etc. I made sure too that the time of the shoot wouldn’t affect the lighting. After all you want your space to be bright and airy.
5. Wardrobe, accessories, hair and makeup
People judge us based on our appearance. Sorry but that’s the honest truth. When you are in the online world you are putting yourself out there to be criticized, it’s a fact.
Our wardrobe says a lot about who we are. Your goal is to be authentic and feel comfortable in your clothes but you also need to balance it with the type of client you want to attract. For example, if you’re trying to attract high paying clients in the fashion industry, you’ll most likely want to wear some high quality, trendy pieces.
Like attracts like, so think about who you want to attract and how, and shoot with that in mind.
Use this checklist to plan your wardrobe:
- Pick all your outfits, accessories, and shoes at least 3 weeks before the photo shoot. You want to make sure everything fits you!
- Check to see if you need to fix anything. Snip off any long threads. You wouldn’t want someone to see that hole in your sweater would you?
- Make sure everything is cleaned, ironed and polished.
- Make a list of things to buy to complete your ensemble.
- Get a free makeover from Sephora when you buy $50 or more! Get a trial session to get an idea of what your makeup will look like the day of. If you like the makeup artist and if you have the budget, consider getting your makeup done by her the day of the photo shoot.
- Book a styling session with your hair stylist a month before. You may decide to get a new cut or a new color too. Don’t experiment with hair and makeup the day of your photo shoot. You need to have a trial run so you know exactly what you will look like. You don’t want surprises on the day of your photo shoot!
- Book a mani and pedi. You can obviously skip the pedi if you’re not going barefoot or wearing open toe shoes.
- Book a facial two weeks before the shoot. Your makeup will look even better!
If you do not have the budget for some of the things I mentioned above you can do it yourself or ask for help. Ask your friends and family that have the expertise to make you look WOW!
6. Strike a pose
This is a photo shoot and you’re basically a fashion model for the day. Seriously. And it is tiring, for me at least anyway.
As a Pinterest Management Services expert again I used Pinterest (of course) to research the poses that I felt would show off my personality the best. I do have a modelling background so I do have some experience 🙂
Take some time to actually do the poses in front of a long mirror. Don’t try to figure this out the day of the photo shoot. You won’t have time – trust me.
Look at your website pages and see what types of poses/look/style would go great. You will need head shots, close-ups and some from a distance, body shots, lifestyle, behind the scenes work, etc.
The goal is too look approachable, authentic, and professional.
Your Website Must Say “Ooh La La!”
As you can see there is lot of things to consider and plan when you are preparing for a website photo shoot. Your online presence must be WOW factor. That starts with having a great website especially if you offer Pinterest Management Services.
Create a website that makes people think/feel hey I want to hang out here a little longer. People want to work with people that they know, like and trust. Give your audience that; the most likable and professional images of you.
If you cannot produce great branded photographs now, wait until you can do it right. Doing a half ass job is not acceptable and you’ll end up just wasting time and money. Smile…you’re on camera!
