The hero shot is a staple of internet marketing, but it is a relatively new term and not everyone knows what it means. Moreover, many people aren't sure what defines the hero shot, even if they are familiar with the term. In this article, we will not only explain what the hero shot is, but identify the characteristics that make up a great hero shot and explore the reasons it is used.
What Exactly Is A Hero Shot?
A hero shot is an internet marketing term that is associated with the primary image of a product or service. Actually, this applies almost exclusively to products, but it can be used for services as well as in some cases. The hero shot is designed to make the customer want to buy. The hero shot can refer to the leading image on your website, your sales page or it may even refer to the primary image of your entire campaign.
What Makes Up A Good Hero Shot?
There are several characteristics that make up a really great hero shot. We will be covering the five characteristics this type of photograph.
First, your hero shot needs to match your keyword. Whatever keywords that you are using to draw in traffic, whether it is through organic search are paid search; you want to make sure that your keyword matches your picture. if your key word is related to plumbing in some way, then your first shot needs to be related to plumbing. Generic pictures such as posed business people simply aren't going to do the trick. Your keyword drives the advertisement but you have to draw them in deeper once they arrive and avoid the bounce, so that first picture has to be absolutely incredible and send the message that this is exactly the solution that they were looking for.
Next, your ad needs to be as relevant as possible. In fact, it needs to be very specific to whatever it is that you were trying to sell. If you are offering a solution to acne breakouts, many people just search stock photo sites for someone that looks young and has clear skin. But what you really want with your hero picture is for you to be able to take away all of the other elements like your headline and description and look at the photo alone and see if it seems like it is trying to sell you a solution for acne.
Third, your hero shot needs to evoke some sort of emotion. It is not enough to have a shot that is relevant and matches your keyword. People buy based on how they feel. If you can evoke an emotion that makes them want to buy your product some of them will, but you have to make sure that you know which emotion you're trying to evoke and you don't do the opposite by choosing the wrong picture.
Fourth, you need a picture that matches the rest of your page. Normally this isn't too much of a problem, since your headline and description are all based around that image, but if you have other elements on the page or other designs, you want to ensure that all of them are working together with your hero picture. This includes any supporting pictures that you may have further down on the site. You also want to make sure that your hero shot is the focal point of the site or page and that it draws the eye and points towards your headline and description that will then sell your product or service.
Finally, you have to make sure that your hero shot absolutely reeks of authenticity. This may seem difficult considering that you're using stock photography in order to find the perfect shot, but that is the whole point. You have to find the perfect shot. You don't want to find one that comes close, or one that you can live with; what you want is the best possible picture that you can find to represent your product or service even if you have to look for a really long time to find it.
Conclusion
The hero shot is a vital part of setting up a sales page or website. As long as you look for the perfect picture that has the attributes listed above, your hero shot should be sufficient to draw people into your page and get them to read your pitch. Remember that you are competing with other websites and visual mediums, so your hero shot doesn't just have to be great, it has to be absolutely perfect. But if your picture meets the above requirements then you should be fine and be able to draw in traffic and convert enough of them to make your page worth it.
