How to Choose Authentic Photos for Content Marketing

How to Choose Authentic Photos How using authentic, relevant imagery helps marketers grow faster.

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Micah Cohen Director of Growth, Twenty20 @miccohen

Liz Bedor Content Marketing Strategist, NewsCred @lizbedor

#ThinkContent

•  Importance of authenticity

•  What makes an authentic photo

•  Difficult terms

•  How to search for authentic photos

•  Brands doing it right

Agenda

#ThinkContent @miccohen

Authenticity is vital for your brand.


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Communicate honestly

Don’t let customers down

Always act with integrity

Have brand recognition

Be more appealing/exciting than competitors

Be popular among my peers

It’s important for brands to:

Buyer preferences, based on a survey of 12,000 across 12 markets | November 2014


Consumers buy from brands that feel authentic.

New York Times

For example, a study from Cornell University showed that when menu items had geographically or culturally influenced names (i.e. traditional Cajun beans or Grandma’s chili) patrons ordered them more and said they tasted better.

Several studies have shown that authenticity - real or perceived - can directly affect sales.

Authenticity affects your bottom line.


New York Times

1.8 billion photos are shared everyday on Snapchat, Facebook, Instagram, & WhatsApp. As the major method of judging info on the web and social media, photos are the way to express your authenticity.

Photos are they way to express your authenticity.


•  Technical execution •  Trace of humanness •  Relatable

How to quickly spot authentic photos?


Good technical execution

The amount of light that enters

the camera through the lens.

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How sharp or blurry the subject you are photographing is.

Where in the frame of the photo you

place your subject.

Exposure Focus Composition


Exposure? Check. Focus? Check. Composition? Check. (rule of thirds approved)

We’ve all seen photographs that nail basic technique:


But don’t obsess over quality.


Tell a human story

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Just because a photo nails the technical component doesn’t mean it’s effective.


What makes the difference? The human element.

Exposure? Overexposed on the face. Focus? Soft. Composition? A bit off.

This photo is technically imperfect:

But emotionally?

It feels authentic…like looking over at a friend sitting in a coffeeshop.


Which tells the most human story?

Test: side by side comparison

A B C


Photos that connect to your customers’ lives always win.

Trace of humanness

A B C


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Be relevant Photos must be relevant and relatable

to your audience.


Where do they live? What is around them? What products are familiar to them? What is the weather like there?

Playing a modified game of whodunit is the best way to learn the nuances of your consumers’ media consumption habits so that you can fit right in.

“Who is my audience?”


Imagine your customer’s world.

If so, you’d fail with this ad.

Your consumers aren’t riding in taxis. They’re calling Uber & Lyft on their smartphones and renting rooms off Airbnb while Snapchatting their friends about what they just saw on Instagram.

Targeting millennials?

@miccohen

People crave consuming user-generated content on social media. Use real-world photos in your marketing •  Take photos of employees and

activities around your office •  License authentic UGC from real-world

photographers

Be relatable to your audience’s style.


Micah Cohen Director of Growth, Twenty20 [email protected]

Key Takeaways

•  Be technically good •  Have a trace of humanness •  Be relatable

An authentic photo should:


#ThinkContent @lizbedor

Introducing NewsCred

Content Software Strategy

Liz Bedor Content Marketing Strategist, NewsCred [email protected]


The Challenge

•  The web is filled with terrible stock photos •  Finding authentic photography is time consuming •  It’s tough to think outside the box

Finding authentic photography is difficult

For example…


Technology


Futuristic Hands

The typical stock photo choice

Apps Emerging from Devices

Glowing Earth


Vintage Technology

Authentic options

Abstract Technology Close Up


Success


Hands up holding trophy


Person on top of mountain

Puzzles


Top Down/ Bird’s Eye View

Authentic options

Satirical Amazement / Awe


Challenge


Person in Front of Maze


Rock Climbing ‘Challenges Ahead’ Construction Sign


Tough Surfaces / Barricades

Authentic options

Narrow Pathway Stark Landscapes


Career


Thumbs Up Happy Employee


Arms Crossed Multiple People Surrounding One Computer


Flat Lay Supplies

Authentic options

Perspectives From Office

Real Life Collaboration


Health


Stethoscope Close Up


Health Nut Yoga on the Beach


X-Ray

Authentic options

Crops of person exercising

Remedies


Tips for searching for authentic photos

•  Use photography terms •  Think of the emotion you’re trying to evoke •  Be specific


Low angle

Defocused

Silhouette

Depth of Field

Front View

Head and Shoulders

Motion Blur

Long Exposure

Wide Angle

Selective Focus

Use real photography terms


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“Flat lay brunch”


“Low angle view of wave”


“Silhouette of city skyline”


“Long exposure Port Melbourne”


Think of the emotion you’re trying to evoke


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Sample Headline: 7 Essential Roles for a Successful Content Marketing Strategy


Emotion to Evoke: Calm



7 Essential Roles for a Successful Content Marketing Strategy

Authentic option


7 Essential Roles for a Successful Content Marketing Strategy

Sample Headline: 7 Content Marketing Mistakes + How to Avoid Them


Emotion to Evoke: Action



7 Common Content Marketing Mistakes + How to Avoid Them

Authentic option


7 Common Content Marketing Mistakes + How to Avoid Them

Be specific


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Let’s say you need food images


Instead of searching for “soup” Try “clam chowder”

Let’s say you need hairstyle images


Instead of searching for “hairstyle” Try “fishtail braid”

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NewsCred Strategy Services [email protected]

Thank you

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Micah Cohen Director of Growth, Twenty20 @miccohen

Liz Bedor Content Marketing Strategist, NewsCred @lizbedor

#ThinkContent

Art & Photos

How to Choose Authentic Photos for Content Marketing