We live in the age of the startup. The technological explosion that began in the late 20th Century and truly amplified in the 21st Century gives tech businesses a wide space to compete for customers hungry for innovation, convenience, and speed. However, even great ideas can collapse under their own weight if they are not communicated effectively and persistently to their potential customers. One of the best ways to get out the story of your start-up is to use visual imagery.
Storytelling
Throughout time, the art of storytelling has been used to communicate ideas, history, family struggle, culture, and honour. Storytelling gives an audience a compelling vision for something and gives entrance into an idea other than just a description. There are stakes, drama, characters, conflict, and empathy. Your start-up can instrumentalize these ideas, too, with visual images. If you can accurately portray the story of your start-up, you may find more interest in the product or service you are providing. Finding the right story is a challenge.
Using Templates
Look for photo book templates to help drive your creativity, curiosity, and inspiration when using images. Some photo books encourage you to develop a story around a common theme. Still, others look at chronology as the vehicle for telling a story. You can also forgo the story altogether and focus on the characters that helped develop the start-up idea. A Facebook of company employees that demonstrates the passions, interests, skills, and perspectives shared at your start-up can be a unique way of introducing your start-up to your potential customer base.
Branding, Branding, Branding
Finding a foothold in a competitive marketplace requires your start-up to not only be nimble, flexible, innovative, and unique, it also requires it to be memorable. There are likely myriad options for products and services similar to the ones your start-up provides, so standing out is essential. To do this, your brand needs to be front and center in any marketing initiative. Photo images can cleverly remind the customers of which company they are investigating and learning about. Reminders of your brand, both explicitly and discretely placed in your images, will reinforce the name and bring greater recognition of your start-up in the market.
Finding Growth
As your start-up grows, you will want to demonstrate this growth in some fashion. Traditional expressions of growth rely on graphs and quantitative statistics. These are important, but visually representing them can be even more effective. In addition, it is possible to revert back to storytelling and visually express the timeline of the start-up’s history and growth. A company that is perceived to be growing well, strategically, and with real purpose is one that will stand out in the marketplace.
Attracting Investment
Most start-ups rely on outside investments for overhead and operational costs, particularly in the early years. When making a presentation to a potential investor, it is possible to stand out by packaging your company’s mission, goals, achievements, and successes in a visual format. Think of the values and goals of your potential investors, and strategically use imagery that aligns with both your company’s mission and the investors’ ambitions.