Projectifi

Why Should You Take Photos of Yourself?
Visual content creation has become the most important marketing task in any business’s life.

Whether you’re responsible for marketing, or you’re running your own business, sooner or later you will have to start creating original content.

As entrepreneurs and small business owners, the image of the business is usually tied to ourselves.
To our own faces.
So it stands to reason that we start posting photos and videos of ourselves too.
Well - you’re here on Instagram, so this is no news for you.

But how can you take photos OF YOURSELF?
Alone?
Without a seasoned photographer?

Here’s What You Need for Self-Photography:
1️⃣ A smartphone
2️⃣ A tripod
3️⃣ A phone clamp
4️⃣ A camera app that allows you to take photos in intervals.

It’s easiest to start your self-photography journey outdoors, so you don’t have to fiddle around with (and invest in) lighting.

Try to pick a day when it’s overcast - this will give you a nice, even light on your face.

If it’s a sunny day, stay in the shade.

Native Camera App vs. Third-Party App
Yes, you can set a self-timer on your native camera app on your smartphone, get in position and take the photo.

If you’re a pro at posing, this will work perfectly.

But if you’re like the rest of us, you will need to take quite a few photos to get a couple of real good ones that you’re happy with.

In my next post I’ll share my favourite app and how exactly you can use it to take 20+ awesome portraits for social media.

If content marketing is not yet your top priority {for some weird reasons…} this short infographic might provide explanation why other businesses seems to be popping up everywhere with their photos and videos.

I know very well that content creation takes time.

⏳A lot of time.
And effort.
Oh, and creativity.

But at this point in time, we as business owners have two choices:
1️⃣ Watch {and whinge about} our competition’s rapid growth
2️⃣ Roll up our sleves and get in the game by creating better content.

So, which one will you choose?

Have you noticed a drop in the effectiveness of your advertising campaigns lately?

A drop in reach, engagement and results - however, increase in cost per click and impressions.

Why Advertising Is Becoming Less and Less Effective?

As consumers, we have long developed "ad blindness" and unless that ad happens to appear to us at the right time, promising to solve the very problem we are dwelling on at that moment, they will continue to become more expensive and less effective.

With Apple's recent iOS 14 and 15 developments, the effectiveness of our advertising campaigns has plummeted. Apple's quest for protecting its users' privacy has made retargeting virtually impossible.

Should we be angry with these changes?

Or should we acknowledge it and turn our attention to the things we do have more control over.

The things that actually work in better synergy with the human brain.

And that is: Content Marketing

What is Content Marketing?

Content Marketing is not a new tool and most of us have been using it since the dawn of the Internet.

It's also called Inbound Marketing because as opposed to bombarding a potential lead with our ad (outbound marketing) we put our value-packed content out there and consumers have the choice to engage with that piece of content. The keyword is choice.

Continuing with this strategy over time we build that crucial Know-Like-Trust with people so we can earn their business.

As a marketing professional or business owner, which one are you more inclined to use?
Advertising or content marketing?

Okay, here’s a paradigm shift for you: What you REALLY have in your pocket is a Mobile Marketing Studio!

💃Apart from the typical selfies and TikTok videos, did you know you can use your smartphone to create all the essential video and visual marketing elements your business could and should use?

The camera on the back of my iPhone is better than the camcorder I started shooting marketing videos with back in 2011. 📹

The resolution is better.

The low-light performance is better.

The microphone is b…

Yeah nuh. I’m not going to say it’s better.

Because truth to be told, neither the mic on your phone nor the one on your digital camera are suitable for audio recording.
It should be only used as a reference, so you can synchronise the separately recorded audio, the proper, clean and crisp audio in post-production.

But the camera and the processing power of your phone are phenomenal.

Smartphone photography and videography are popular search terms on Google and YouTube, for a reason.

Before investing {big time} in professional or prosumer camera gear, if you’re a marketing professional or a business owner, you should first master your smartphone and maximise its potential.

Your smartphone in your pocket can be regarded as a distraction, or as a complete Mobile Marketing Studio.

The choice is yours. 🧠

Do you currently use your phone to create content?