Character Duo: Pairing Your Brand Photos with Strong Copy to Create Powerful Content Marketing
- Emily Marcella
- Jun 3
- 5 min read
Here's the deal...
👉 I cannot promise you a single brand photo will tell the whole story.
Nor should a single image tell the whole story.
Before you gasp and write me off as a terrible brand photographer, you need hear me out on this one.
Brand photos are only the illustrations in the story you're trying to tell through your content marketing.
Yes, beautiful, well thought out brand photos can certainly paint a picture and kick off the 'once upon a time...' story you're sharing with your audience but you need to continue to tell this story in your written copy.
Hansel and Gretel, Jack and Jill, Beauty and the Beast - all stories that were reinforced by having two characters at play. But these stories would just be illustrations if these character duos only showed up in the pictures.
Your content marketing NEEDS beautiful brand photos of you AND for you to tell the story in your written content.
Think of it like this: your brand photos are the attention grabber, while your words are the narrative that strategically guides your reader to take the action.
Working Together: Personal Brand Photos and Copy
Let's take a deeper look at how the brand photo and copy duo plays on each others strengths and makes up for the other's weakness, shall we?
Your Personal Branding Photos: The Visual Hook
Just like a really big bookshelf, content marketing in all of it's forms will have you skimming until something grabs your attention. Usually it's an appealing visual that will get you to take notice.
Brand photos serve three primary roles in content marketing:
Attract Attention - when your ideal client is looking around for specific information, service, or even browsing with no real purpose, polished brand photos will get them to spend their valuable time looking at your content.
Reinforce Brand Recognition - consistently using your brand photos and showing up in their feed or digital space will allow your ideal client to recognize you. They start to associate your image with your business name and/or what you have to offer.
Build Brand Awareness - once an ideal client can recognize you and you continue to show up in their world (did I mention consistency is key?), then your ideal client will have a level of awareness of who you are and what you do. This is crucial for when they're outside of their feed not consuming your content. When they're in their day to day and realize they have a problem, they know you have the solution. And that's when the buying process begins.
Here's the downfall - brand photos can't tell the whole story; they can't get your ideal client (reader) to take action.
That's when copy comes in to pick up the slack.
Your Written Copy: The Brains Behind the Beauty
Now that you have your audience's attention, they'll want to know more. Your written copy is the opportunity to tell the story you want your reader to know about your business and will give them direction to take a desired action.
Written copy plays three primary roles within content marketing:
Informs Your Reader - your written copy will educate your audience in a variety of ways including sharing more about who you are and the value you bring as a business.
Identifies the Problem - you'll be able to effectively articulate your ideal client's pain points or struggles with your written copy; whether they realize they have these or not.
Offers a Solution - once your ideal client realizes they have a problem, your written copy will present you as the expert with the solution. This is where you specifically ask your ideal client to take a desired action - fill out an inquiry form, send a DM, buy your product, etc.
Sounds like a perfect solution so you don't even need photos. Right? Wrong. So wrong. Newsflash - no one reads! (but thank you for reading this blog post; you're a special gem of a human 😘) You need alluring, high-quality images to get the viewer to pause and feel the desire to read more.
Creating Powerful Content with Your Brand Photos and Copy
As you're working on your content marketing, I encourage you to think backwards. Ask yourself, 'what do I want my ideal client to do?'. The answer will be your call to action, such as download your freebie, book a call, share a post, etc.
Knowing your call to action will fuel what details you need to share to get them to take that specific action. Your written copy will guide them along to take that action through storytelling, identifying their pain points, informing them of better solutions, and beyond.
Finally, you'll select or create visuals using your brand photos that reinforce your messaging and capture attention. Educating your audience to hire your services? A photo of you standing confidently in your office is a great choice. Calling out your ideal client's problem that they need a solution for? Showing how you execute your services in your brand photos is a great choice.
Of course, you can always create graphics with high-level points of your copy and include your brand photos to bring attention to your content.
Curious How Real Businesses are Using their Brand Photos in Their Content Marketing?
Check out these examples of Emily Marcella Brand Photography clients are using their brand photos through out their Northern Virginia small business content marketing:
Carissa with The Beauty Navigator, A Warrenton, VA Hair Salon
Carissa shares what her future clients can expect and plan for during their initial visit with her salon in this Instagram post.
Examples:
Alicia Thomasson Interiors, A Northern Virginia Interior Designer
Alicia uses her brand photos to illustrate an educational blog post on what to consider when building a new house. You can see the full blost post here.
Lindsey Beharry Design Co., A Brand and Web Designer in Northern Virginia
Lindsey does an excellent job of sharing herself using her brand photos throughout her website to reinforce her personal brand and draw attention to her written copy. See how she uses her brand photos throughout her website here.
About the Brand Photos in this Blog Post
Nicole of Day One Wellness is an integrative wellness coach who looks at the whole picture to help you better your health. She transforms women who are burnt out on extreme fitness and dieting by giving them a plan focused on macros, movement and mindset that's easy to sustain. Connect with Nicole on Instagram and through her website to learn more.
About Emily Marcella Brand Photography
Emily Marcella is a Northern Virginia Brand Photographer with a passion for helping women entrepreneurs show up confidently in their marketing. Her background in content marketing allows her to strategically create visuals that are pertinent to a businesses marketing. Plus, she's a nerd for all things small business (except accounting, not her cup of tea).
Oh, before you go - I'd love to connect with you to hear about what you envision for your brand photos. Let's set a time to talk through this link:
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