Jeweller - February 2019

LOGGED ON
GAIN CUSTOMERS WITH EYE-CATCHING IMAGES
HIGH-RESOLUTION, COLOURFUL PRODUCT IMAGES MEAN EVERYTHING TO JEWELLERY RETAILERS. LILIAN SUE DISCUSSES
SOME ONLINE TOOLS THAT CAN HELP PRODUCE STUNNING PHOTOS THAT WOW CUSTOMERS.
Building a website that presents a
compelling brand story might bring
visitors to a website but it’s only one
aspect responsible for keeping them there.
What grabs the attention of web windowshoppers
is compelling imagery.
High-quality images that frame jewellery in
the right light can showcase colour, clarity
and intricate design and detail. Jewellery
is about appearance so the right images
invoke powerful emotions in viewers.
Content moves quickly online and
customers often don’t have the time
to read through long paragraphs of text.
If 90 per cent of information transmitted to
the brain is visual, and visuals are processed
1000-times faster in the brain, it’s no
wonder images are so much
more memorable.
Having a variety of images – from products
to events – helps to keep current customers
and prospective buyers interested, which is
important considering the average stay at a
website is usually under five minutes.
Relevant and entertaining visual content
that is refreshed regularly means retailers
won’t risk losing visitors due to boredom
and repetition.
Consistently posting images that have
similar colours, patterns and designs will
help a business build its visual brandidentity.
Using relevant images will help
jewellers gain attention, build loyalty
and increase engagement among
customers online.
Here are a few free and easy-to-use online
tools to help retailers create eye-catching
images that attract customers.
BEFUNKY
Free online photo editor BeFunky can
help even novice photographers produce
amazing photos. The powerful photo editor
gives retailers the ability to crop photos and
adjust them for exposure and saturation.
Even better, BeFunky has an array of photo
effects such as filters, textures and texture
backgrounds. For a striking, elegant look,
perhaps experiment with the built-in, black
and white effects.
Jewellers can use BeFunky to tell the story
of a product line by using the platform’s
collage maker to create customised online
photo collages.
Retailers can choose from an extensive
selection of fully customisable layouts,
patterns and colours, including ones
specifically designed to be shared on
Pinterest and Facebook.
BeFunky’s graphic-designer tool lets
a retail brand’s team members easily
create banners, flyers, cards and posters
advertising new products by using a
toolbox of functional design features.
Jewellers can easily create brochures
to promote new partnerships and
infographics to give customers in-depth
information on how a piece of jewellery is
repaired and cleaned.
PIXLR
Pixlr is another free, online photo editor
that offers retailers and their team members
the ability to conduct graphic design on
the go using three different platforms.
The robust web editor allows team
members to easily replace colours in
photos, transform objects and add layers
and effects the same way they could if they
had access to Photoshop.
For minor fixes, creative effects and borders,
users can launch Pixlr’s Express web editor.
With the Express editor, retailers can apply
quick fixes such as overlays and stickers to
make any photo stand out.
With Pixlr’s mobile app on Android and
iPhone, retailers can take their photo
editing on the go by creating custom
photo collages, stylising product images
and even layering multiple photos to
CREATE DYNAMIC IMAGES USING A VARIETY OF ONLINE MEDIUMS
JEWELLERS CAN
USE BEFUNKY TO
TELL THE STORY
OF A PRODUCT
LINE BY USING
THE PLATFORM’S
COLLAGE MAKER
TO CREATE
CUSTOMISED
ONLINE PHOTO
COLLAGES
create a unique look using double exposure.
CANVA
Another popular free, online photo editor
is Canva, which gives retailers the freedom
to create eye-catching photos in a wide
variety of formats.
With access to thousands of templates,
icons and design elements such as shapes,
lines and typefaces, jewellers will be able
to design eye-catching posters, flyers,
brochures, infographics and images for their
social-media platforms.
Retailers will also be able to create
images, e-newsletters and invitations to
events such as in-store sales. The platform
also has an extensive library of photo
ideas to inspire jewellers for their next
marketing campaigns.
Using the free online tools mentioned here,
jewellers should be able to create stunning
images that will give their brands a strong
visual identity. Strong imagery attracts
visitors, which generates customers and
results in business growth. i
LILIAN SUE is a social
media and PR strategist.
She operates In Retrospect
Writing Services.
inretrospect21.wordpress.com
40 Jeweller February 2019