How to Take Better Pictures for Your Social Media Accounts

Our social media strategy for the home service industry is focused on showcasing our clients’ companies as the trusted, local home service experts with heart and customer-focused values. Social media is exactly that—a social platform for people to interact with other people. For businesses to successfully engage with their local audience and potential customers, they need to showcase the people behind the brand. Show the people on the other end of the phone, the people behind the wheel of the vans, and the people who work every day to provide excellent service.

So that means, we need photos!

Photos of those people doing good work. But, a good photo isn’t always good for social media. In a previous blog post, we shared tips for taking compelling company photos for your website and social media. Those tips were focused on “how” to take a photo for online media. Now we’re focusing on the “what.” Because most often our clients ask, “What the heck do you want me to take a photo of?”

The goal in managing social media is to engage with people, not selling a product or service. It’s important to have a message behind your images to convey a feeling that  is relatable to your business and brand. Do you want people to view your company as family-oriented, customer-focused, or expert and friendly? Every image should have a story, need, or context behind it with the intent of telling a story  about your brand, company culture, and company lifestyle.

There are opportunities that exist every day to feature your company in a positive light and share the story of your brand. You just need to be on the lookout for them by considering three main categories for photo opportunities.

Company Culture Photos

If you know a company takes care of its employees, you know it takes care of its customers too. Company culture photos are intended to showcase the behind-the-scenes work that  focuses on the excellent services you  provide. And that can include showcasing your staff having a little fun.

Consider creating an Employee Spotlight opportunity once a month or once a quarter to highlight a member of your team. Give your employees the opportunity to share some facts about themselves and what they love about working for your company. This would provide an opportunity to showcase your most driven and loyal employees at least once a month.

Be sure to snap photos of holiday decorations and staff holiday or birthday parties around the office. Work anniversaries are also a great way to showcase employee loyalty. Or maybe your company participates in local charity events or partners with different schools around the community that provide opportunities for photos.

Company Expertise Photos

You’re the local expert in home services, right? Well, show your social audience that by featuring your work.

You can do this effectively and visually by showcasing “before” and “after” photos of the equipment you work on.  We want to see just how terrible that circuit board looked before you got your hands on it and how you fixed it up. Also consider taking candid photos of your service technicians hard at work in a clients’ home, showcasing the level of care they take to provide excellent service. Selfies are great for this category to showcase proud technicians next to their work. Training events are also an excellent way to show your social audience how your team is constantly learning and improving in your field of work.

Client Focus Photos

This category is typically the last thing home service companies think to capture in a photo, because they’re so busy trying to satisfy the customer in real life! We understand that, but a selfie with a happy customer goes a long way on social media. You could even capture all the pets you get to encounter while servicing your customers’ homes and share that with your Social Media audience.

Another way to  make use of this category is to ask: What extra mile did we make today to brighten the day of our customers? There are little extra efforts that your technicians and your company do daily that go unnoticed. While no one likes to boast about themselves, how else will your customers see the heart of your company? Social media is the best place to share those success stories to help showcase your company’s values and engage in a conversation with your social audience, current and potential customers alike.

What are you waiting for? Start taking photos today to share your company story. But don’t forget to share your photos with your marketing director or agency to utilize as much as possible. If you’re interested in what VitalStorm has to offer for social media and online reputation management, give us a call at 1-877-311-5695. If you’re a current VitalStorm client, reach out to your Client Relationship Manager for more photo ideas to feature on social media.