Many online print companies undervalue the effect of showing off print samples through photos and video. Research has proved that images and videos improve sales conversions, but I’m always surprised to see the many companies not using the endless platforms to demonstrate what a final product will look like.

Sure, if you suck at taking photographs you may need to hire a photographer or at least check out these tips on improving photos (originally written for Instagram users but still relevant to us less adept photographer wannabes).

Rather than just popping an image gallery on your website’s blog, there are some very cool ways to share images to a wider audience while also effectively enhancing overall SEO and web marketing. These avenues do not negate the need to intelligently utilize images on your company’s website nor the necessity to hire a photographer for a more professional outcome.

1. Flickr – For customers that want to see a more in-depth view of our work or our daily jobs, we use Flickr. Flickr has features to help you maintain the copyright (if that’s a concern) but also allows users to neatly organize photos into groups. For instance, our sample pics are divided by postcards, flyers, stationery etc. According to Wikipedia, Yahoo reports that Flickr has over 51 million users. Since Flickr is such a huge social network, many other platforms will allow you to tap into the images hosted through the service.

2. Instagram – This highly popular photo-sharing app is a fun alternative to show off any portfolio. If you love taking and sharing photos like I do, then you could not only attract new prospects, but also reconnect with current customers. Right now, Instagram has over 27 million users but is expanding to Android meaning the user base will likely double a year down the road. We use Instagram to show daily projects in a more liberal fashion. You can link to your company’s Instagram photos using Webstagram or Followgram. Instagram has built in filters and effects that allow you to increase the professionalism and beauty of your photos.

3. YouTube – There are countless methods of creating and uploading videos to YouTube. YouTube is the second largest search engine in the U.S and videos are prominently placed in Google’s Search. In a past article, we’ve broken down why any print company or artist should be creating YouTube videos. At first, we used Animoto just to post pictures of samples onto YouTube, but now we’re a little more savvy. I just utilize my trusty iPhone 4S and iMovie. Our company was a little slow getting into YouTube, but better late than never.

4. Pinterest - This fairly new social network is all the rage in the technosphere. Pinterest is basically a beautiful way to share bookmarks and could be used to show off print samples since many designers and artists love the platform. I wouldn’t use Pinterest as my main source for showing off a portfolio, but Pinterest is proving to be a staggering source of traffic for many so it’s worth mentioning. Check our how we show off some of our products and services on Pinterest.

5. Jux - Just what we needed, another blogging system. Don’t worry. Jux is, simply put, a beautiful way to blog with pictures and video. The blogging system allows users to tap into Instagram, Flickr and Facebook. We’re using Jux to help further support the high quality nature of our work – especially our impressive wide format printing. SInce the system ensures every blog post is super duper pretty, it could pose as a distinctive blogging alternative to show off printed projects and artwork.

Conclusion

Yes. There are other MANY ways to show off your company’s products with 3rd party websites, but the aforementioned are a few alternatives aside from the typical Facebook, Twitter and Google+ methods of sharing. All five applications were specifically designed to make photos or videos look better.