Are you using on the job photos and videos as part of your Local Online Marketing? If not you need to start now!

Pictures are worth 1000 words. Sure, it may sound cliché and overused, but in today’s online environment nothing captures the imagination—and the customers—like a great picture.

Today, pictures are worth a thousand views, and it’s crucial that you remember this as you develop your local marketing strategy.

Videos are even more important because people hate to read and love to look at pictures and videos. Videos and pictures can both convey so much more information more quickly than even a short paragraph.

When you consider that that the average internet user spends seven seconds or less of their attention on any given thing, you’re going to want to reach out to them in any way possible.

Besides, who wants to read any more than they have to?

The bad news is that most small businesses have solid marketing strategies but fail to post pictures and videos of their work on a regular basis. This may seem like a tedious task, or even vain, but it is actually a great way to stay in touch with past and potential customers.

The good news for home contractors is that videos and pictures are super easy to take and can be extremely powerful if used correctly.

What This Means for You

Think about it—talking about your business only takes you so far, but what if you could show a before and after picture of an amazing job that you completed instead?

Or even better, a video walkthrough of what you did?

Research has shown that showing videos and pictures can increase online conversion rates up to 20% or more according to Unbounce.

Does this overwhelm you? It shouldn’t! In just three easy steps you can start getting videos and photos of your work online.

Step 1: Plan

These days, all you need is a smartphone and your company’s social media accounts to get started. Other than that, you need to think about what you want to take pictures of, and when you’re going to do it. Some ideas of pictures and videos to take include:

• Before and after
• Customer giving you a thumbs up after the job is completed
• Walkthrough of the job situation
• A how to video
• The crew hard at work
• Your state of the art equipment at work

Step 2: Take the Pictures

Depending on the situation, be sure to ask for permission from the homeowner. After all, it is their home being posted online, and not everyone is comfortable with that. Consent is key. Once you have permission, it’s time to start taking the photos and videos. The good news is that you don’t have to be a trained professional to take good pictures and videos, just follow these few suggestions and you’ll be fine!

To take powerful pictures, it’s a good idea to get a variety of wide and close-up shots of the job. Take plenty of them, since only a few will be good enough to post online. You can always go back through them later.

To take powerful videos, try to storyboard (at least in your head) what you are going to show and what, if anything, you are going to say – not all video needs sound. Also, remember that people’s attention spans are short so a quick 30-second video is plenty of time to show off your work.

Remember, while quality photos are definitely important to try to get, average photos can have a huge impact. Don’t let the quality of the video hold you back!

Step 3: Upload

Now that you have all of your photos and video ready to go, it’s time to upload and share. This is the easy part, so don’t worry about adding to your website just yet. Since adding photos and videos to your website is often a little more difficult than social media sites, you can always add your favorites to the website later on.

The first places you should upload them on are the big two:

• Google My Business
• Facebook

For each of these sites be sure to include some information about the job such as:

• Description of the type of service you completed.
• Where it was – don’t give out the address, but the city or town can make it feel local
• Any good details – for example: “We projected that the job would take 2 weeks and got it done in one and a half.”

If you use other networks such as Thumbtack, Angie’s List, Houzz, and others, you should also consider adding them there.

Bonus Step 4: Get a Review!

Add a review or comment about the work. This creates a powerful combination effect, and gives your audience a little more information, making your photo or video even more memorable! Be sure to ask for and get more reviews after the job is completed.

If they leave the review online, reference it in the photo description or video description with a link to the site that they left a review on. This creates the story to potential customers that you know what you are doing and have the evidence to back it up.

Start Today

In three quick steps, you can start taking photos and videos of your work and enjoy even more people calling to book you!