The BIG picture

5 reasons why all décor companies need to invest in professional quality images for their products It can be a frustrating cycle: small or even medium sized interiors/ décor companies are frustrated by the lack of PR coverage they get when they send out a press release, pitch to journalists or bloggers.  But journalists are equally as frustrated when they receive releases that include a link to their image library and view images that have either been taken from an iphone or a point-and-shoot camera—they’re crying out for beautiful lifestyle images!

1.Benefits vs cost One of the main arguments for trying to justify the low quality images for small or even medium sized décor companies is the cost. It costs money to hire a professional photographer, but you know what also costs money? Your website! And it’s just sitting there on the world –wide web not being used to its full potential. The purpose of your website is to drive traffic to your store, but if your website has poor quality images on display it’s not putting your products’ best face forward! Hiring a professional photographer isn’t what it used to be. It’s now cheaper than ever with online resources like groupon, craigslist and elance. You can find reasonable prices for great quality images (especially in the low season for photographers – right after Christmas or early Fall) 2.Time is money We all know the saying: time = money. And most of us realize this is true. But with the amount of  time we spend setting up social media, sending out press releases, pitching journalists or even spending money to create and maintain a website isn’t worth it when your beautiful products aren’t standing out through amazing lifestyle images! 3.Put your best face forward We’ve all read the articles about how putting the best “you” out into the world is going to help you succeed faster. Whether that be at a job interview, at a client meeting or networking, it’s a natural reaction for people to have when meeting you for the first time. The same goes for the images on your website. High resolution, great quality images say: here we are; and we look great. Look at all the amazing home décor we have— don’t these images make you want to come visit us? 4.Professionalism Writers, journalists and bloggers want to work with professionals. Your website and images says a lot about you. In 2013 72% of tablet owners purchased online from their tablets each week; this means that if your website is not built by responsive design (meaning mobile/ tablet accessible), then you’re already losing business as no one wants to browse a website that they cannot easily navigate on the go. How can you expect your customers to zoom in a photo that is pixilated and blurry because it’s not high-res enough to be viewed on their phone? 5.Increase sales Having great quality images on your site is going to earn you more revenue. There are 2.1 billion mobile-branded subscriptions in the US and 87% of American adults have a cell phone. This means if you do not have high-quality, mobile friendly images you’re almost certainly losing out on potential customers. What is Press Loft? Press Loft  www.pressloft.com is a PR platform specialising in the home, gift, and lifestyle sectors that helps thousands of brands to get their products into the press. Their PR tools allow companies to easily secure press coverage and quality backlinks for SEO by connecting with their network of 20,000+ journalists, bloggers, and influencers. Get Free Press Coverage – take a 60-day free trial (only available to new customers only.