Do you use photography in your proposals? I’ll bet the answer is “yes.”
But do you use photos effectively?
The good news is, there are some really simple ways you can make the photos in your proposals work harder for you. The first is by using good captions.
When you use a photo, a good rule of thumb is to make sure it has a reason for being there. It needs to support what you’re saying in the text. Just inserting photos to break up text doesn’t work because it’s not always apparent to your reader why a photo is there.
If your reader has to struggle to interpret why a photo is there, it actually has the opposite effect…it causes a distraction. Why take the chance that your reader missed the point? Solve that problem with good captioning.
For example, you can use captions to demonstrate what you’re describing, like showing someone looking at plans on a monitor or ipad when talking about using digital documents on a project. Look at the difference a caption can make on the photos below.
The key is to use meaningful captions. Rather than "the Project Name in City," tell the reader something about the photo that they can't just discern from looking at the photo. For example: "On [Project] we were able to [accomplishment/result] by [what you did]."
You can also use them to provide additional detail about a topic. Let’s say you’re talking about your company’s LEED expertise in a section of your proposal. Using a photograph of one of the projects you're highlighting as relevant experience, and labeling it with a caption that talks about the sustainable features on that particular project can help prove you have the experience you're claiming.
Think about when you read magazine articles. You probably look at the images first, right? What happens if you're just skimming an article, not fully reading it? Those pictures and informative captions become a really important part of getting the information across.
Bonus tip: If you really want to impress, you can use photos to create diagrams. Mark up a photo with simple text boxes and arrows to point out key features of the project, and caption that entire graphic with something that explains why the project is relevant to the proposal.
Of course, if you really want to up your marketing game, we can help! From final project photography to custom brand photos, to headshots for your team (that all look the same!), we know how to make your company shine.
0 Comments