Telling your business’s story visually isn’t just about capturing beautiful images or videos—it’s about crafting a strategic content plan that ensures your visuals work toward your business goals. Here’s how I approach content strategy to create impactful, engaging, and effective visual storytelling.

Understanding Your Brand’s Content Needs

Every business is different, and your content strategy should reflect that. When working with clients, I take the time to understand:

• Your current content – What’s working, what’s not, and where the gaps are.
• Your competitors – How they’re positioning themselves and how you can stand out.
• Your audience – What type of content resonates most with them?
• Your brand’s values and voice – Are you fun and casual or sleek and professional?

All of this helps shape a plan that ensures every piece of content serves a purpose.

Strategic Content Creation—More Than Just Trends

Jumping on the latest trend might get you views, but does it align with your brand? That’s the key question I ask when building a content strategy. Trends should be leveraged intentionally—your brand doesn’t need to do every dance trend or meme just because it’s viral.

Instead, I focus on creating a mix of:

• Evergreen content that represents your brand and stays relevant long-term.
• Trend-based content that aligns with your brand’s personality and audience.
• Story-driven content that emotionally connects with your viewers.

Different Strategies for Different Platforms

A successful visual content strategy isn’t one-size-fits-all. What works for Instagram reels might not be the best approach for your website or YouTube.

• Short-form content (Reels, TikToks, Stories) should be engaging, fast-paced, and attention-grabbing within seconds.
• Long-form content (YouTube videos, brand films) can be more in-depth, allowing time to build a narrative.
• Photography should feel cohesive and consistent across your brand’s platforms, creating a recognizable visual identity.

Content That Feels Intentional and Cohesive

A well-thought-out content strategy ensures that everything—from videos to photos—feels like it belongs to your brand. This means:

• A cohesive aesthetic that reflects your brand’s style.
• A clear positioning statement that guides the type of content you create.
• Content that serves a purpose rather than just filling up your feed.

By taking a strategic approach, you can make sure your visual content isn’t just seen—it’s remembered, engaged with, and driving your business forward. 

Every business has a story. Whether it’s the passion that drove you to start, the mission that fuels your work, or the people behind the brand, your story is what makes you unique. But in a world where attention spans are shorter than ever, how you tell that story is just as important as the story itself. That’s where visual content comes in.

Why Visual Storytelling Matters

Think about the last time you stopped scrolling to watch a video or admire a photo. Compelling visuals cut through the noise and instantly capture attention. Research at 3M Corporation concluded that we process visuals 60,000 times faster than text. Content with images or video gets significantly more engagement than text alone.

For businesses, this means that strong visuals aren’t just nice to have—they’re essential. Here’s why:

1. First Impressions Matter

Your website, social media, and marketing materials are often the first interaction people have with your brand. A well-crafted visual instantly tells them who you are, what you do, and why they should care. Without strong imagery, you risk blending into the background.

2. Trust and Connection Are Built Visually

People connect with faces, emotions, and authenticity. A polished, but relatable, brand presence builds trust. Whether it’s behind-the-scenes content, customer testimonials, or beautifully captured product shots, visuals help establish that emotional connection.

3. Your Story Sets You Apart

Your competitors might offer similar products or services, but they don’t have your story. Visual content helps you showcase what makes your business different, whether it’s your company culture, your craftsmanship, or the experience of working with you.

4. Better Engagement = Better Results

Whether it’s a website, social media, or digital ads, content that includes high-quality visuals performs better across the board. More clicks, more shares, more inquiries—it all starts with eye-catching, intentional storytelling.

What Comes Next?

Understanding why visual storytelling is important is just the beginning. But not all content is created equal. In Part 2, we’ll dive into how to build a strategic visual content plan that actually works—from choosing the right types of content to aligning with your brand’s goals.

Stay tuned!

A great menu photo isn’t just about making food look good—it’s about making customers hungry. So, what goes into capturing the perfect shot? Let’s break it down with a real menu shoot I did for The Depot Grille in Staunton.

Every restaurant is unique, but some universal principles can help ensure a successful menu shoot. One of the most common questions I get is: What should we photograph?

 I have found that colorful dishes with different textures make for my favorite photographs, but it’s important that we show your potential customers some varying items on your menu. 

Here is what I ask when going over the shot list at every restaurant:

1. What are your best sellers?

A great menu description can tempt customers, but nothing sells a dish like a mouthwatering photo.

2. What makes your restaurant unique?
Is it your brunch
that’s available all day? A signature cocktail? Your take on a best
seller from another region? (Like Nashville hot chicken, but in
Charlottesville.) If you have something that sets you apart from every
other dinner experience, then that’s what we want to showcase. For the Depot, their chicken and waffles brunch option is definitely something you don’t find everywhere, and I also intentionally shot the lanterns into as many scenes as possible since they sit on every table and give some soft, romantic lighting to the scene.

3.
Are there any dishes that might confuse diners? 

This is more common for
the restaurants in the area that serve food from other locales, like
Turkish or Afghan dishes, because the ingredients or preparation methods
are not common here, but could apply to anyone. If you have dishes on
your menu that don’t sell well, maybe it’s because diners don’t
understand what it might taste like. In that case, let’s photograph it
so customers can make a more informed decision.

4.
What can we shoot to increase existing sales? 

Specialty drinks,
desserts, and appetizers are indulgent, and definitely deserve a spot in
the shoot lineup. Customers may not know what they want for dinner, but
seeing a drool worthy appetizer or dessert they can’t live without can
sway their decision from dining elsewhere to dining with you.
(Personally, I prefer restaurants where I can dive into crab dip, my
favorite appetizer. So I seek those out!) For the Depot, we shot a few desserts, but this shot of the ultimate brownie being drizzled with chocolate is tempting and will definitely be a popular up sell.

Once we
have a solid shot list of drinks, appetizers, entrées, and desserts, we
are almost done. But what else makes a dining experience amazing? Is it
your attentive waitstaff? Is it your candlelit tables? Is it your
outdoor patio? The dining space, ambiance, decor, and waitstaff all make
your restaurant the best place in town. So let’s add some shots of
these to your shoot as well. For the Depot, we had to get shots of their amazing bar. The intricate wood work, the exposed beams..you just want to sit down and have a drink there.

Now that we have a
solid shot list, we plan a date and time for the shoot so that we are
not shooting during your busy times. Everything will be done in your
down time, so that diners are not inconvenienced. If needed, I have
linens and non-reflective silverware that I can bring along to the shoot
so that every detail is attended to. Then, we do the shoot!