Put yourself in the shoes of the editor of a well-respected publication. You’ve looked at your features list, come up with an original idea for a particular contributor, done your research, and written up the final draft. It’s your finest work. Surely this will look brilliant in the publication, right?
Before you answer that question, consider this: you’re now a consumer, and you’re looking through your favourite blog, but instead of being met with the usual display of colourful and creative pictures to accompany the words that always keep you coming back for more, all you can see is a bland white page filled with text. Would you actually take the time to read what was on the page?
No matter how well-written and original the text is, any form of media will struggle to grab the attention of its audience without a selection of enticing images. Even our editor’s finest work could be wasted. Ultimately, photography holds the key to unlocking a piece of media’s potential. Without the right set of pictures, text can easily go unnoticed.
Now, as a prospective contributor, how would you approach getting the company you’re representing into a form of media? You’ve put yourself in the position of those responsible for arranging the content and those that will end up engaging with it, so you have a good idea of what makes a good piece. Will the images that you use catch the eye of your target audience, or will they just be basic and unoriginal, and used as a means to an end? It’s so important that fresh and creative pictures are used to appeal to the people that you’re trying to reach out to; without their interest, your message is massively diminished.
By effectively incorporating photography into your media strategy, you can immediately put your brand and its message at an advantage. The pictures you decide upon can engage your audience; the job of the text is simply to keep them interested.
