In the age of six-second attention spans and non-stop social media feeds, people want images that speak to them personally. Images that come off as constructed, airbrushed, or posed no longer resonate. They want real, candid moments from everyday life that feel natural in their world. Moments that speak to the human experience.
How to Choose Authentic Photos for Content Marketing
1. How to Choose Authentic Photos
How using authentic, relevant imagery helps marketers grow faster.
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Micah Cohen
Director of Growth, Twenty20
@miccohen
Liz Bedor
Content Marketing Strategist, NewsCred
@lizbedor
#ThinkContent
2. • Importance of authenticity
• What makes an authentic photo
• Difficult terms
• How to search for authentic photos
• Brands doing it right
Agenda
#ThinkContent @miccohen
4. 0 25 50 75 100
Communicate honestly
Don’t let customers down
Always act with integrity
Have brand recognition
Be more appealing/exciting
than competitors
Be popular among my peers
It’s important for brands to:
Buyer preferences, based on a survey of 12,000 across 12 markets | November 2014
#ThinkContent @miccohen
Consumers buy from brands
that feel authentic.
5. New York Times
For example, a study from Cornell University
showed that when menu items had geographically
or culturally influenced names (i.e. traditional Cajun
beans or Grandma’s chili) patrons ordered them
more and said they tasted better.
Several studies have shown that
authenticity - real or perceived -
can directly affect sales.
Authenticity affects your bottom line.
#ThinkContent @miccohen
6. New York Times
1.8 billion photos are shared
everyday on Snapchat,
Facebook, Instagram, &
WhatsApp.
As the major method of judging
info on the web and social
media, photos are the way
to express your authenticity.
Photos are they way to express your authenticity.
#ThinkContent @miccohen
7. • Technical execution
• Trace of humanness
• Relatable
How to quickly spot
authentic photos?
#ThinkContent @miccohen
8. Good technical execution
The amount of
light that enters
the camera
through the lens.
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How sharp or blurry
the subject you are
photographing is.
Where in the frame
of the photo you
place your subject.
Exposure Focus Composition
#ThinkContent @miccohen
14. Exposure? Overexposed on the face.
Focus? Soft.
Composition? A bit off.
This photo is technically imperfect:
But emotionally?
It feels authentic…like looking over
at a friend sitting in a coffeeshop.
#ThinkContent @miccohen
18. Where do they live?
What is around them?
What products are familiar to them?
What is the weather like there?
Playing a modified game of
whodunit is the best way to learn
the nuances of your consumers’
media consumption habits so that
you can fit right in.
“Who is my audience?”
#ThinkContent @miccohen
Imagine your customer’s world.
19. If so, you’d fail with this ad.
Your consumers aren’t
riding in taxis. They’re
calling Uber & Lyft on
their smartphones and
renting rooms off
Airbnb while
Snapchatting their
friends about what
they just saw on
Instagram.
Targeting millennials?
@miccohen
20. People crave consuming user-generated
content on social media.
Use real-world photos in your marketing
• Take photos of employees and
activities around your office
• License authentic UGC from real-world
photographers
Be relatable to your audience’s style.
#ThinkContent @miccohen
21. Micah Cohen
Director of Growth, Twenty20
micah@twenty20.com
Key Takeaways
• Be technically good
• Have a trace of humanness
• Be relatable
An authentic photo should:
#ThinkContent @miccohen
23. #ThinkContent @lizbedor
The Challenge
• The web is filled with terrible stock photos
• Finding authentic photography is time consuming
• It’s tough to think outside the box
Finding authentic photography is difficult
40. Tips for searching for authentic photos
• Use photography terms
• Think of the emotion you’re trying to evoke
• Be specific
#ThinkContent @lizbedor
41. Low angle
Defocused
Silhouette
Depth of Field
Front View
Head and Shoulders
Motion Blur
Long Exposure
Wide Angle
Selective Focus
Use real photography terms
#ThinkContent @lizbedor
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