We have all heard it said that a picture is worth a thousand words. While this phrase is often used to refer to the emotions and moments in life that can’t be put into words, it holds a lot of truth for your business as well. It is no secret that standing out in the home service industry is a challenging feat. There are tons of other companies in your area offering the same or similar services as yours. So how do you set yourself apart? Fortunately, one of the most powerful ways you can do this online is also one of the simplest: post before and after photos from your jobs and post them often.
Much like customer reviews, before and after photos play a big role in building potential customers’ trust in your services. Before people have any interest in hiring you or even reaching out for a quote, what they want is to feel assured that you will be able to complete their job in a professional and satisfactory manner. Photos are the easiest way to prove that. Through before and after photos, you can directly showcase your craftsmanship, attention to detail, and overall quality of service. They show firsthand the outcome of work you’ve done in the past, which in turn gives people confidence in what you can do for them in the future.
Conversely, a lack of before and after photos on your website, Yelp, or social media pages can be a red flag for many customers. They may begin to wonder if the absence of photos is due to low-quality work, or just lack of experience in general. So even if you don’t have a ton of content to display, sharing your best before and after photos from past jobs is a simple and effective way to show people you’re a worthwhile hire.
GETTING STARTED
Remembering to take and post photos from jobs can be difficult in the beginning, but it becomes almost second nature once you get in the habit of doing it. We recommend adding it to a checklist of things you do on every job, just like greeting the customer when you come in or cleaning up when you’re done. When taking the photos, make sure both are shot from the same angle and in similar lighting so the difference between the initial and final photos is most pronounced.
Once you have your photos, there are three common ways to go about posting them.
1. COLLAGE
The first method is probably the most common. Take a photo before you begin the job and another one after, and then join them together in a collage using a tool like Picsart. You can either place the photos side by side or stack them on top of each other.
The final product will look something like this:
2. HALFWAY SHOT
Alternatively, you can elect to show a snapshot of a job halfway through. This method is most effective for cleaning jobs where there is a visible difference between the start and finish.
3. SEPARATE PHOTOS
The final way many businesses choose to display before and after is to simply post them as two separate photos. As long as they are posted within close proximity of one another in a gallery or a social media post, customers will easily be able to draw a link between the two. If you offer a service where the before doesn’t matter as much, you might also consider just posting the final result. We have clients in the landscaping and window-covering industries that use this strategy, for example.
Whatever method you choose, as long as you can visually attest to the quality of your work, you’re good to go.
WHERE TO POST
When it comes to photos, having the content is not nearly as important as what you do with it. The Internet offers you a multitude of places to post your before and after photos, and we recommend that you take advantage of all of them. Post on your Google My Business and Yelp listings, social media pages, and any other online profiles you have. In addition to that, we always recommend adding a Gallery page to your site as well so you have a central place to house all your pictures.
Having a Gallery on your website is also great for building trust with first-time visitors who want to understand what you can do.
Great visuals can be the start of great things for your business. By sharing the results of your past work with customers, you give them confidence in your services in a way that your words never could. The good news is that you don’t need to be a professional photographer (or even hire one) to get started. Posting before and after photos is one of very few marketing strategies that requires virtually zero budget, yet delivers amazing returns. Using the tips in this article, you’ll have everything you need to start representing your business in the best light.