How to use images to inspire and engage

Images are very powerful tools to inspire and engage your customers. They can even be essential in convincing your customers to make a booking or buy a voucher. The goal is to evoke emotion and trigger their imagination to make a lasting impression.

An image can truly speak a thousand words. We need to make sure that they say everything we want them to say, and most importantly, be inspirational. Here’s 3 key aspects to take into account.

1. Descriptive

Make sure the image you choose describes your activity as correctly and realistically as possible. It should help your potential customers to understand what your activity is all about. Sometimes you only have a moment to capture a customer’s attention, and an inspirational image can be what stands between a successful booking and a lost opportunity.

A very basic checklist can be helpful. For a white water paddle ensure that the image includes the key elements such as a person/s paddling in roaring white water, while a sunset paddle session should feature a person/s on calm waters during a sunset. These simple differences instantly gives the customer a true sense of the experience and what to expect.

2. Emotional

What is the key emotion your customers are looking for when deciding to book your activity? Is it the sense of energy and excitement, serenity and calm or maybe adventure and thrill? Make sure the image you choose evokes the same emotion as your customers are looking for. Help them imagine how it would feel to experience one of your sessions right at the very moment they’re considering making their booking.

Even the same type of activity can be targeted at different people. For example; some surfing lessons might be frequented by people seeking action and the thrill of the big waves, while other sessions might be targeted at people looking for the serenity of being close to nature and the sea.

3. Vibrant

It’s important that the image you choose stands out and grabs the potential customers attention. Of course high quality photography is to be preferred, however, that might not be as hard to achieve as it seems. Today most smartphones have absolutely amazing cameras. If the image turns out a bit dull or grey, it’s easy to make it more vibrant by slightly adjusting the exposure, contrast and saturation.

This image has been taken and then edited on an iPhone 7. With small adjustments you can change the quality drastically. The edited version below has been straightened and the exposure, brightness, contrast and saturation have been increased slightly.

We've now gone through a few important things to think about when choosing imagery in your communications, on your booking system and across your sites. To learn a bit more about how to upload images to the eola platform, including which sizes and dimensions works best, have a look at our image guidelines for the eola platform.

Want to know more about the eola booking and management platform? Learn more here or email us on hello@eola.co. We are always happy to have a chat.