Snapping a picture has never been easier with the rise of the mobile camera. But posting random pictures to your business social accounts won't draw in customers. Guest blogger Ester Brierley looks at why quality food photography is important in creating and sustaining your restaurant brand.
When we cannot describe something using words, pictures are the best solution. Quality food photography can significantly improve your branding and marketing, attracting new customers and increasing your sales. Food photography appeals to the emotions of your customers, making them want to taste your food, and usually, people don’t ignore such desires.
Photography can help you deliver a meaningful message, explain the meaning of your brand and make your audience engage with it. Restaurant owners have to deal with strong competition, and brand identity becomes a very important factor that often determines their success. This is why restaurants should invest more in online marketing.
But investing in online marketing is just the beginning, the success of your strategy depends on the quality of the content. Many people think they don’t need quality food photography because they can take a snap with their phone, however, quality photography can help you build a stronger brand identity, and in this article, we are going to explain why.
If you want to build a successful business, it’s not enough to just offer tasty food. The hospitality industry is characterized by very strong competition, and it’s difficult to offer food that is unique. No matter what you serve there is always a competitor around the corner. If you want your restaurant to stand out from the crowd, you need an effective branding strategy.
Your restaurant is more than just a place where people order food. Your brand must deliver a message about quality and lifestyle. A good brand increases interest so that people recognize your restaurant and associate it with certain values. To make this possible, you must make your brand identity visual, and good photos are the most obvious and best solution. At the same time, it’s important to be consistent - if your logo and design deliver a certain message, the online content you create must do the same thing.
Most customers use various mobile apps, social media, and web search engines when they make their dining decisions. Our brain is built in a way that we eat with our eyes first, and only then decide to actually go to a restaurant and taste a dish. Therefore, restaurants need to promote their brands on social media and other websites, telling a story of their brand and showing their food so that potential customers will understand how the food is made, what it looks like, and what emotions they may feel when being served the dish and eating it.
The importance of quality food photography
Restaurants that invest in quality photography never regret such a decision because high-quality images make a much stronger impression than mediocre snapshots.
Quality photography gives you plenty of opportunities to tell more about your brand. A proper composition, creative lighting solutions, and staging work wonders. A professional photographer will be able to extend your brand, choosing the right colors, angles, and stories. Furthermore, there is even such a profession as a food stylist. These people stay up-to-date about all the latest trends in food photography and they can help you impress your audience by showing them exactly what they want to see.
Quality photos get more attention and increase sales. For example, you can use images to highlight the most profitable dishes on a printed menu — your customers will then be likely to order those dishes as they know what to expect when it arrives at the table. Also, restaurants that switched from text menus to photo-based menus on an online ordering platform have demonstrated an average increase of 25% in their conversion rates.
It’s hard to overestimate the role of user-generated content (UGC) in modern marketing. According to statistics, 55% of people trust UGC more than other types of marketing. In fact, 84% of consumers state that they prefer recommendations from other people over the information they receive from brands.
In addition, the quality of UGC is constantly growing as phone cameras get better. There are also food bloggers who are aware of the latest trends on social media and generate content of high quality that attracts a large and varied audience. By sharing user-generated photos, you can make your audience feel appreciated and also get closer to it.
As we’ve already said above, storytelling is a great approach that attracts customers and makes them more engaged with your brand. Don’t be afraid to show your staff preparing dishes, serving customers and more as it will add a human element to your brand and demonstrate the culture of your restaurant, creating a friendly and transparent atmosphere.
People remember only 10% of the information they read. However, when you add a photo, the number spikes to a striking 65%. When posting your photos, don’t talk too much; let your photos do the talking. When it comes to advertisements, menus, and social media, use memorable images so people can easily recognize and follow your brand everywhere. If your brand is upbeat and colorful, your photos can be presented in this way. If it’s classy and luxurious, your photos can deliver this message as well.
Food photography is what can make you stand out from your competitors. It can be one of the key reasons why customers choose a certain dish or think of your restaurant every time they feel hungry. Quality photography can tell a lot about your food and your brand identity, engage your audience and increase your sales. Even though quality photography requires certain investments, the results are definitely worth your money and effort because people eat with their eyes and connect with brands that represent their values and lifestyle.
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Ester Brierley is a QA Engineer in a software outsourcing company, an enthusiastic content creator for College Writers and different digital blogs. She adores researching cutting-edge trends and sharing them in her writing pieces. You can follow her on Twitter. |
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