The brilliant marketing team at HeadBox are imparting their knowledge and wisdom in the form of this guest post, about how important professional photography is for marketing and promoting venues. Enjoy!
HeadBox: – There are many channels that you can choose to market your venue. Whether you do so via your own website, an online marketplace or social media, there is one cardinal rule that every venue should adhere to, to make sure that your space stands out from the crowd. Investing in professional photography should be at the top of your list, whether you are updating your marketing channels or perhaps listing a venue for the first time. We work with over4000 venues across the UK and we’re positive that the most popular spaces are those who use professional, high-resolution photographs on their listing. Here are our top 10 reasons why you shouldn’t put off that photoshoot any longer!
1) Time Saver!
In this busy world that we live in, we want to be efficient and we want to save time. Having photos which allow your guest to view the space in a variety of layouts without having to visit the venue multiple times is a godsend. When arranging your shoot, be sure to explain to the photographer that you would like to set the space up into different formats, be that cabaret, theatre or boardroom for example. The more photos you can get displaying the versatility of the space, the quicker it will be for your guest to image their event there and book it!
2) Variety is the spice of life.
We know that every guest will have very specific requirements for how they want the venue arranged for their event. Displaying a range of photos of your space showing off its versatility (and your hard-working team’s ability to transform the space as per your guest’s needs) can have a measurable impact. Make sure you include a variety of shots from empty to full, corporate to quirky. This is your opportunity to showcase what can be achieved in the venue.
3) Live-action shots.
For a lot of guests, the more visual your collateral is the better! Displaying professional photography that captures an event in your space in full swing allows your guest to properly envision their event taking place in your venue. This really brings the space to life and increases the chances of them going ahead with their enquiry. We encourage each venue to include a variety of people in the space, rather than just an empty venue.
4) It all starts with the space
Most events are made up of multiple companies and teams coming together to make magic happen. Once a venue has been booked, often other third party companies will need access to the information about the venue including photos. Capturing the Space as a completely blank canvas means that guests can share images with their suppliers such as AV companies or catering companies to help plan the operation. Plus it saves you having to show multiple companies around the same for the same event.
5) USP
Venue photography is a brilliant way to show off your Space’s unique selling points. Make sure you really think about what makes your Space stand out and try to capture that in the photography. Detail-oriented photos can really showcase the unique features of your space and is a great tool to use particularly when conversing with a client via messenger or email. Make sure you ask your photographer to capture the details so that you have them to share as and when you need to. (HeadBox secret tip- details shots are extremely popular on social media too.)
6) Getting the green light
In a lot of cases, the organiser of an event may not be the final decision maker. Your guest may need present venue options back to their senior management team for final sign off so professional photos or 3D tours are crucial in winning them over. Decision makers may not have the time to visit your space, so knowing that you can share brilliant photography with them which captures the space perfectly is the next best thing. You’d be surprised at how many venues don’t provide outstanding images, so this can be a perfect opportunity to show how professional your company is and the level of service your guest should expect when they book.
7) The network effect.
In the digital world, images and videos are the most shared content on the internet. This means that consumers now expect to always see high-quality images and media, so the competition to stand out is at an all time high! Poor photography indicates a lack of care for your brand’s image and a lack of commitment to promoting your space. Having a range of professional photography will seriously boost the aesthetic of your website and breath life into any listings you have on online marketplaces.
8) A sound investment.
Don’t let the initial cost of professional photography be a deterrent. The long term benefits of getting new imagery for your Space are endless and crucial in building up your reputation and brand! The benefits are immeasurable as you will gain collateral to use across social media, email marketing, display marketing and PR platforms (to name a few!) – which will really help to further promote your venue. The more aligned your sales team are with the marketing team efforts the more bookings you should expect to see.
9) Free publicity
As well as using these fantastic new images across your own promotional channels, the better the photography, the more likely it is that your guest will choose to incorporate the images into their own content too! Whether they include them on the event invites, social media posts, blogs, reviews or ticket designs it’s all additional exposure for your venue and brand. Overall, this increases your audience outreach and may catch the eye of new potential guests as well. And the best thing about all of this? It won’t cost you a penny…
10) $$$$$$
Guests will sieve through hundreds of venues images before they shortlist the spaces they would like to visit, so the better your photography is, the more your Space will stand out from the crowd. Remember, in this browsing phase, they aren’t in contact with your sales team, so the information you display on your website or venue listing is key to encouraging the Guest to take the next step and make contact with you. The better the content, the more enquiries you will receive which ultimately leads to more bookings.
HeadBox is an online marketplace for a creative meeting, off-site and event spaces across London, Manchester, Birmingham, Liverpool and Bristol. We currently represent 4000 venues across the UK and work with a variety of corporate Guests who can instantly search, book and pay via the platform, for any of these spaces in a matter of clicks. If you have a venue that you would like to get listed, then please don’t hesitate to get in touch on support@headbox.com.
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