A picture is worth a thousand words, or so the saying goes. Visual content has long been a powerful factor in any digital marketing strategy. The right images have the potential to catch the eye of your customers, and really elevate your marketing to the next level.
And with Google My Business, highlighting images that set your business apart just got a little easier. But before you can add pictures to your Google listing, you must first create one.
Creating a Google My Business Listing
For businesses with a local presence, this type of listing is a great tool for boosting your visibility and helping customers find your location quickly and easily. It ensures that you show up on Google Maps, as well as boosting your business in organic search.
To create a Google My Business Listing, simply follow the directions and add your business address to the map. Google will send a postcard to your address in order to verify your business. From there you can control your business page, and update important information like your address, phone number, hours of operation, services, and so forth.
Pro tip: Be sure to remove any duplicates to increase your search visibility.
How Photos Play a Role in Your Listing
Once you have a listing, you want to optimize it. In addition to the other categories listed above, having striking images can be a powerful way to catch your customer’s eye, and make your listing stand apart.
Google’s recent update to images encourages businesses to provide additional photo categories on their pages. These categories include:
1. Identity Photos
Images can work together to create a complete idea of your business’s brand identity. Including all three of these photos (a profile picture, logo, and cover image) can give your potential customers an idea of your services, personality, and brand image without having to dig into the archives.
While your logo will usually not change very often, you may want to test different profile and cover photos ever so often to see which ones are catching the most attention.
2. Interior Photos
For dining, retail, and even real estate businesses (such as an apartment complex or commercial office space), this is ideal for highlighting beautiful spaces. It can also be a great way for customers to see at a glance if there is enough space for an event, or if this just might be their dream apartment or office space.
For office space, it may still be worth it to show images of the welcome desk or meeting space, especially if you regularly have meetings at your office.
3. Photos At Work
If you offer a product, include images of your employee’s stocking those products on the shelf. If you run a cafe, snap a picture of one of your barista’s making a latte. And if your a B2B company, take some photos of your employees brainstorming or collaborating together.
All of these are great ways to add a face to your business, and clearly show what your company looks like in action.
4. Team Photos
Your team is one of your most valuable assets. Display them proudly on your business page. Include some professional pictures of key executives, as well as any group shots that capture the spirit of your team. Whether it be a group lunch you all took together, or a more serious business meeting, including some images of your team introduces them to your potential customers, and puts faces to your business.
Incorporating beautiful images on your local business pages is not difficult. Simply arrange the photos you have in the provided folders, and see what images your missing. With smart phones that take high-quality images, it takes just a few minutes to capture anything that might be missing on your page.
And remember to use your images across your other social pages as well!