The festive season: why your visuals should be prepared from October

Every year, it is the same story. At the beginning of December, the shop fills up, the orders pile up, the phone rings. And it is precisely at that moment that you would also need to post, announce your special opening hours, show your gift boxes, update your website. The result: communication comes second, and the visuals arrive late, or not at all.

The festive season is not missed in December. It is missed in October, when you tell yourself you still have time.

What your customers look for before the festive season

Before buying a gift, booking a table or ordering a platter, your customers look. They browse your social media, open your website, check your Google Business Profile. They want to know three things: what you are offering for the occasion, what it looks like, and how to get it.

If the only photo they find dates from last summer, they do not know that you have a festive offer. They will go and look for it elsewhere. It is not a question of the quality of your products, which you know better than anyone. It is a question of visibility at the right time.

October: decide what you are going to highlight

Before photographing anything, take an hour to answer a few simple questions.

Which products or services will be your stars? A gift box, a special menu, a gift card, a limited edition. Choose only a few, and show them well.

Which dates matter to you? The last day to order, your extended opening hours, your closures. This is information your customers will look for, and it must be easy to find.

Where do your customers find you? Social media, website, shop window, word of mouth. Each place will need its own visuals.

Early November: produce the images

Once you have chosen your stars, organise a photo and video shoot dedicated to the festive season. Decorate a corner of your business, or just a table, a shelf, a counter. There is no need to transform everything: a simple, well-lit setting is better than an abundance of garlands that drowns the product.

During this shoot, remember to capture:

• Your flagship products, on their own and staged, in daylight.
• The gesture: wrapping a gift, plating a dish, preparing a gift box. Film it, these few seconds will make your best short videos.
• Your team, smiling and at work. The festive season is a time when people also buy from people, not just from a brand.
• Shots with free space, on which your dates and opening hours can be written.

Take every shot in both vertical and horizontal format. You will save precious time when it comes to adapting the images.

Mid-November: prepare the materials

With these images, you can prepare everything in advance: a series of posts for social media, two or three short videos, a poster for the shop window, a visual to announce your opening hours. And above all, update your website.

This is often the most costly oversight. A customer who arrives on your website in December and finds no trace of the festive season concludes that you have nothing special to offer. A simple section highlighted on the homepage, with your seasonal products, your dates and a clear way to contact you or to order, completely changes this first impression.

December: all that is left is to post

If everything is ready, December becomes much calmer. You post what is already done, at the pace you have chosen, and you keep your energy for what really matters: your customers, who will be coming through the door in large numbers.

You can always add a photo taken on the spot, a short video of the full shop. But it will be a bonus, not an emergency.

Getting ahead, with a helping hand

You know your trade, your products and your customers. What is often missing is the time to turn all of that into images ready to post, just when business is picking up.

That is where Agence PowerCom comes in. From your photos and your videos, we create your edits, your retouching and your festive visuals, and we can prepare or refresh your website so that it is ready to welcome your December customers. October is the right time to talk about it: there is still time to do it well.