How do you drive traffic to your website and convert visitors into customers? Through words and images.

The words and images in your Facebook ads, for instance, will excite interest in your information and people will link through to your website out of curiosity. Then on your website, the words and images of your product will help people understand your offer and even encourage some to click on the order button.

To create the right words, of course, you need copywriting. To find the right images, you need photographic and editing skills.

With that in mind, here are five ways to make your images far more attractive and compelling:

 1. Enhance your images.

It’s often not enough to just take the best photo. You will often need to edit it. If it’s blurry, editing will sharpen the images. If the light is a little too dim or the colors too dull, then editing will bring out the brightness and color that your images need to stand out.  

You will need the right tools to do this editing to bring out the full impact of the image. Since there are many excellent tools to pick from how do you decide? If, for instance, you need an afterlight photo effect, then what should you do?  The best way to make a wise purchase is to read reviews. So, if there is certain software you think might do the trick, then read an afterlight photo editing app review from an authoritative photography website or blog to help you make up your mind.

2. Prefer literal over symbolic

Sometimes your own highly-cultivated imagination can get in the way of business success. It’s a mistake to be too subtle in the images you select to represent your brand or to illustrate your product. 

Associations that appear to be fairly straightforward for you may be mystifying for others. When you deviate too far from your message, you will lose certain viewers. The image you choose should be relevant to the idea you wish to communicate. So, when you have a choice, choose a literal image over a symbolic one.

3. Stay relevant on social media.

You don’t have to restrict yourself to only using your images on your website or blog. You can also repurpose your images and use them for infographics on Pinterest and for your posts on Facebook.  In fact, you will go farther if you embrace social media and use images as your primary source of messaging. An image, as the adage goes, is worth a thousand words.

The images you use should match the platform and your demographics. For instance, if you use Snapchat to promote your new cold brew salty caramel coffee, then you’ll do well with images of younger people enjoying your canned coffee at a beach barbeque. Meanwhile, on LinkedIn, where the target audience tends to be business people, then an image of people on a yacht relishing your drink will work better. It may be exactly the same cans, but the characters and settings should be relevant for your audience. In other words, your images should match both your target demographics and the platform.

4. Focus on high-quality and high-resolution images.

Although it may seem harmless to use pictures taken at a low resolution, it can hurt your brand and damage your sales.  Remember your image will be competing with other images, especially if it is on social media. To catch the viewer’s attention, you need to create vibrant pictures with bold colors.  

 5. Avoid cute and clever.

Don’t use images that shock people. This is a mistake. Yes, you will get attention, but your creativity and playfulness will not be well received. 

For instance, if you have two animals, say a fox and a cat, your Facebook post might show them playing together, but the image could easily be interpreted as showing a fox attacking a cat. This will immediately arouse the ire of cat lovers. Even if you offer a written description of how the two animals are the best of friends, it is a mistake because many people will react to the image rather than read your description. Yes, you will attract attention to your dating website, but it will be the wrong kind of buzz.

In conclusion, images are a powerful way to build your brand and to sell your products, but you need to be careful how you use them. Follow these five guidelines on how to make the best use of images.

By Chakraborty

Dr Chakrabarty is the Chief Innovation Officer of IntuiComp TeraScience. Earlier she was Assistant Professor of Delhi University, a QS ranked university in India. Before that she has held research positions in IIT Mumbai, IIT Chennai and IISc Bangalore. She holds 2 patents and over 20 research publications in her name which are highly cited. Her area of research is in smart technologies, integrated devices and communications. She also has a penchant for blogging and is an editor of Business Fundas.