Use These Simple Photo Ideas to Sell Your Product on Social Media (With Real Examples)
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Use These Simple Photo Ideas to Sell Your Product on Social Media (With Real Examples)
Do you want to sell products on social media? Not seeing the reaction you expect?
The primary reason that people visit Facebook and other social networks is to interact with their friends and family; in most cases, they are not browsing with the intention to purchase something. With this in mind, you might find that straight selling with images doesn't work as well for you as it does in other mediums - like a TV ad or in a brochure. You must work smarter and harder to capture their attention.
In this post, I'll show you four simple and creative photo (and video) ideas to help attract the attention of prospects. The examples below are from Clarks Shoes, a British footwear brand, but with a little consideration, all of these ideas can be applied to almost any product. Ready? Let's go!
1. Highlight the details
If a customer was interested in your product, either in your physical store or at your website, they'd expect to be able to have a good look at it. The same principle applies to social media. Rather than post a single catalogue-style image of your product, shoot it from multiple angles - back, front, side, far away for perspective, close up to show the detail, etc. Share these images one at a time over several days, or all at once in a gallery.
In the following examples, Clarks shows off its products from multiple perspectives. Note the first example below: as well as highlighting the quality craftsmanship of its product, the ultra close-up works as an interesting and eye-catching photo in its own right. Don't be afraid to experiment, you might surprise yourself with some striking results.
Where video is concerned, the same experimentation applies. You can go simple (a slideshow of several images) or flashier, but potentially more likely to be noticed in the News Feed, with sweeping 360 degree fly-bys.
2. Show your workings
Remember that trend in the early 2000s for computers, phones, and other technology with see-through housing? People are always intrigued and impressed by the "science" inside or behind the products they buy and like to know how much hard work has gone into their design - and this gives you a ready-made piece of content for social media.
In the following example, Clarks uses video to show off the hi-tech material and crafting used to make its footwear.
3. Inspire to make the purchase decision easier
Instead of just showing people your product in isolation, show your ideal customer how it will fit into their lives.
In the following examples, Clarks uses images to inspire its customers. One collage shows a man wearing its shoes out on the streets, complete with matching outfit. The other places its shoes next to other items of clothing to show off a potential outfit. Clarks knows that its customers will often think "What will I wear these shoes with?", which might make or break a sale. These types of posts take away any guess work.
As if to highlight the last point even more, Clarks also produces a series of videos in which it shows "3 ways to wear..." its shoes. Each clip shows its footwear teamed with a different outfit. Simple, but effective.
4. Play with shape, symmetry, and colour
At the start of this post, I mentioned that posting a plain catalogue-style image on its own is probably not the best way to garner attention on social media. A large proportion of users have conditioned themselves into a state of ad-blindness (if it looks like anything an advert, they'll just scroll past it), but with a bit of creativity, you can work towards a solution that will grab their attention.
Clarks might "just sell shoes", but it does a really nice job of using what it has to build posts that are clever and aesthetically pleasing . In the examples below, you'll see the use of shape, symmetry and colour to draw in an audience and enhance its message - a combination of elements that we as humans are naturally drawn to. As you view the images, note your own reaction to them and how your customers might react to something similar.
Over to you
These examples from Clarks are a powerful lesson in "making the most of what you have" when it comes to social media marketing. Nothing above is beyond the scope of a small business, and this is coming from a multinational company with the best people and tools at its disposal. Have you been inspired to highlight your products on social media in a different way? Let me know in the comments below!
Andrew Macarthy is a social media consultant and the author of the #1 Amazon Web Marketing Bestseller, 500 Social Media Marketing Tips.
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