Brick and mortar, retail, mom and pop. A rose by any other name just refers to the physical presence of a business, but no matter what you dub yourself, being local is something to be proud of. Of course, you probably already knew that.
One of the many challenges of running a local business is going above and beyond your presence in your physical space. It’s easy just to set up shop and wait for the clientele to come pouring in, but a good entrepreneur knows to do more than just that.
A great versatility tactic is always having up-to-date product photography. This allows you to promote your business outside its confines, in whatever way that works best for you.
A Local Business Needs a Website—With Product Photography, Of Course
Maybe you’re a technophobe, swearing off social media and only reading this blog because you’re secretly in love with me. You’ve probably noticed that nowadays, at the very least, most businesses have a website, even if they don’t actually sell anything online.
Sites like Squarespace and Wix make it easy to set up a website for your business, and it’s a great opportunity to show off your product photography. Customers are always curious to know what they’re getting into, especially if it’s a local business like a restaurant or specialty boutique.
We can save the conversation about proper website design for another day, but visual content effectively draws people in. Product photography is no exception. It’s safe to assume that if someone’s made it to your website, they’re probably expecting to see some examples of what you sell. Boom, product photography!
Businesses and Product Photography Go Hand-in-Hand on Social Media
So maybe dealing with a website is a bit much for you. That’s okay, I don’t have a website either. (I used to when I was eight, it was called delkitty.com, and I only posted pictures of my cats to it.)
Fortunately, social media makes creating your little corner of the Internet way easier. Local businesses thrive on Instagram and Facebook, even if they don’t sell anything online, because social media encourages combining the real world with the online world.
I can personally attest to following some of my favorite businesses on Instagram. While you can certainly use other platforms, Instagram has become an awesome resource for local businesses through hashtags and location tags. With your loyal followers keeping up with you, you can easily update your customers on new products and of course, repurpose your product photography.
Get Physical with your Product Photography (Because Your Business Is)
The physical nature of local businesses can be reflected in your product photography. Posters, marketing campaigns that appear in magazines and newspapers, you name it. Publishing a monthly catalogue falls under that, too.
It makes sense that you can use product photography in so many ways; they are, after all, just photos of what you sell, and when you proudly run a business, you eat, drink, sleep, and breathe the culture of it.
Getting great product images requires both pre-production photography and post-production photo editing. You can also outsource photo editing services, which will give your photos the desired look, relieving you from different challenges.
Your investment in good product photography is not a suggestion, it’s a necessity, and you’ll be glad you did.
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