Mistakes To Avoid When Choosing Images For Marketing

January 17, 2023

Why use JumpStory?

Save time: We've curated the best images for you.

Save money: Unlimited use for just $23 per month.

Get the latest posts delivered to your inbox


Why use JumpStory?

- Save time:
  We've curated the best   images for you.

- Save money:

  Unlimited use from $23   per month.

Learn which mistakes could be costing you when choosing images for marketing.

Choosing the wrong image can do more than just lower the quality of your campaign. It could actually hurt your business. Avoid making these common mistakes and learn how to choose the perfect image for your needs.

With the right image, you can evoke emotion in your audience and create a connection that will make them more likely to act on your message. Choose wisely and you’ll see better results from all of your marketing efforts.

Keep reading and find out the most common mistakes.

Why Choosing Correct Images Are Crucial for Your Marketing Campaigns

As a marketer, one of your most important tasks is to choose the right images for your campaigns. After all, a picture is worth a thousand words. The right image can make or break your marketing efforts.

However, choosing the right images isn’t always easy. Especially if you’re not a professional designer. To help you out, we’ve compiled a list of common mistakes to avoid when selecting images for your next marketing campaign.

Mistakes To Avoid

Below are the top 5 mistakes marketers tend to stumble on with their campaigns. By making a mental note of these, you are guaranteed to produce higher-quality campaigns that capture your audiences.

1. Using Low Image Quality

High-quality visuals are an essential component of a successful marketing campaign. It is important to ensure that all imagery used is crisp and clear.

Blurry, lower-quality images, and low-resolution graphics can give off a negative impression to potential customers. Be sure to review each image carefully before including it on your website or in promotional materials.

Investing in high-quality, original images as well as camera equipment will go a long way towards producing engaging content that generates positive attention. Ensure you use rich color photographs with image optimization.

Whether it’s for advertising banners or merchandise sublimation, professional images are more likely to grab viewers’ attention than low-quality, pixelated images, resulting in greater success for your campaigns.

2. Not Keeping Images Relevant To Your Brand

When creating a marketing campaign, it is important to make sure the visuals you choose accurately reflect your brand and the product or service you are trying to sell.

An image that perfectly captures your brand’s message will draw the audience in and give them an idea of what they can expect from the product or service. A relevant image that resonates with viewers will help them form an emotional connection. This gives them confidence that your product will fulfill its promises.

A wise investment in finding an illustrative and genuine image can prove immensely beneficial for any marketing campaign.

3. Using Low-Quality Stock Photos That Don’t Represent Your Company

Stock photos are a tempting solution to solving the problem of wanting images to represent your company. However, most lack originality and may not necessarily fit with the values or message that you want to portray.

Using original photos that are tailored to your specific needs can make all the difference when it comes to giving your customers an authentic experience.

Investing time into finding top-quality, unique images that best suit your brand will be reflected in the image projected to your customers. This could even create a greater impact than generic stock imagery that is already overused.

Images from JumpStory focus 100% on authentic stock photos that perform best.

Companies should aim to capture creative visuals that are reliable and consistent. Which connects their audience with their message more effectively.

In conclusion, for a truly unique representation of a company’s vision, avoiding stock photos and investing in original photos is essential.

 4. Using People’s Faces Carelessly

While photos of people’s faces have a positive psychological effect in marketing imagery, it’s important you are careful of using images with people in them. This is because you’ll need to get model releases from each person featured.

Images featuring people in them can provide a great visual tool for engaging with audiences. However, using them may come with some legal responsibilities.

To ensure that you stay on the right side of the law, it is essential to obtain model releases from all individuals featured in your images. Failing to do this may leave you open to litigation and other potential legal issues.

When incorporating images with people into your content, make sure that you have signed model releases on file for every individual present.

As a hassle-free alternative,  find high-quality stock images from services that focus on capturing real emotion, without being cheesy,  for the same effect.

5. Not Drawing Attention To Your Product Or Service

An effective way to draw more attention to your product or service is by creating an eye-catching image.

Images have the power to help set the tone of your message, engage people’s emotions, and make them more likely to read and learn about what you are offering.

When choosing an image for your product or service, look for a unique one that conveys the right message and engages emotions and curiosity.

This will help ensure people are interested in learning more about your company, as well as inspire them to share it with others.

Take Your Marketing Imagery To The Next Level

Visuals have a big impact when it comes to effective marketing. They have the potential to trigger emotions in viewers and guide them toward your product or service.

Many marketers don’t understand the psychological triggers you can implement into images as a powerful method of persuasion.

Images are a particularly effective tool for guiding potential customers. This is because the human brain is hardwired to respond positively to visual imagery.

Put simply, people already tend to gravitate toward what looks good. If there are added psychological triggers, you have a recipe for a powerfully effective image campaign.

The key is to understand which triggers will produce the desired response from your target audience and use them in conjunction with compelling images that communicate your message effectively.

This could be done by creating images that feature social proof, invoke a feeling of urgency, or engage with the emotions of the viewer.

However, it’s important to remember not to overburden an image. Too many triggers can result in the opposite effect and may cause distraction and confusion (especially for the visually impaired).

Focus on choosing one or two main themes and make sure these are integrated into a visually appealing design.

To Wrap Up

Images are a key component of marketing, but they can also trip you up if you’re not careful. In this article, we’ve gone over some common mistakes to avoid when choosing images for your marketing campaigns.

By being aware of these pitfalls, you can choose photos that will complement your brand and help you achieve your marketing goals.

Thanks for reading and we hope this article has been helpful. Do you have any questions or feedback? We’d love to hear from you in the comments section below.

FAQ

  1. How can businesses enhance the impact of their visual marketing using psychological triggers?

    Leveraging psychological triggers is essential for effective visual marketing. Identify triggers like social proof, urgency, and emotional connection. Tailor visuals to incorporate these triggers, creating a powerful and persuasive impact on your audience.

  2. Which companies have successfully showcased social responsibility through their visual content, and what strategies did they employ?

    Many successful companies (Google, Johnson & Johnson, Starbucks) demonstrate social responsibility through strategic visual content. For instance, highlighting sustainability efforts, workplace diversity, or ethical practices. This authenticity builds a positive brand image and fosters trust among consumers.

  3. What techniques can marketers employ to ensure that images evoke the desired emotions without overwhelming the audience?

    To strike the right emotional chord without overwhelming, focus on simplicity. Choose one or two main themes aligning with your brand message. Opt for visually appealing designs that convey a clear and impactful message, steering clear of excessive triggers that might confuse or distract the audience.

About the author

Chris Hardy is a full-time content marketer running several niche blogs and a growing YouTube channel. A teacher at heart, Chris spent 10+ years as a professional dance and English teacher before diving into the world of online business where he made a name for himself on YouTube exposing “make money” scams. To learn more, visit: https://selfmadenewbie.com

Chris Hardy

How useful was this post?

Click on a star to rate it!

Average rating 5 / 5. Vote count: 9

No votes so far! Be the first to rate this post.

Want more?

Get 10 free, down-to-earth eBooks about marketing, visual communication and storytelling. Written by authors like Guy Kawasaki (Apple), Lars Fjeldsoe (Dropbox), Peter Kreiner (Noma) and more.

Want 25% off?

You're likely not ready to try our service right now. And that's alright.

How about we e-mail you a discount code for when you are?

We will of course also send you a brief explanation on what’s so special about us. And subscribe you to our regular newsletter, where you’ll be notified when we publish content like this page.

But don’t worry. We won’t share your address with anyone else. And it’s just one click, then you’re off our list again.