In today's digital world, brands only have a moment to capture attention, so it's only natural that the social media marketing landscape has grown into a medium where imagery has the same value as copy. Photography has become an essential element for telling a brand’s story, connecting with customers, and selling a product. Social networks embody the old saying, “a picture is worth a thousand words,” more than ever.

In fact, the social networks that started out as purely text-based are now jumping into the visual storytelling space.

Twitter's design includes a dynamic layout with a larger header and a greater focus on tweets with images. Users also have the ability to include up to four pictures in a tweet, which Twitter automatically turns into a collage.

Facebook brand pages are more image-focused than earlier iterations (and changing every few months). According to Kissmetrics, a web analytics agency, photos account for 93% of the most engaging posts on Facebook. They also receive 53% more likes, and 104% more comments than the average post.

Pinterest and Instagram both started as visual networks, and continue to grow.

For Photography: Use What you Have!

As new iterations of smartphones come out each year, the camera feature has become one of the main selling points for many users.

While professional photography is often the best option for winery websites and marketing collateral, smartphones provide an easy and affordable way for anyone – from the tasting room manager to the winemaker – to capture compelling images for social media applications.

Hiring a professional photographer for lifestyle images and bottle shots for websites, sales sheets and trade/media pages should continue to be a priority for wineries. But that doesn’t mean you can’t become a budding photographer for your winery’s social networks with a tool that can fit in your pocket.

 Have Phone Will Travel

“I'm a firm believer that the best camera is the one you have on you,” said Kristen Newsom, a photographer and content developer based in Sonoma County. “It's not always practical for me to carry all my gear around so my iPhone and iPad Mini are great tools, because they're always by my side.”

Nick Aguis, editor of online content and communications at Francis Ford Coppola Winery in Geyserville, California, also emphasizes the convenience of smartphones for photography. “You never know when or where a great photo opportunity will appear, so keep that phone with you at all times,” he advised.

And according to Dylan Elliott, e-marketing and social media strategy manager at Pine Ridge Vineyards in Napa, the type of camera isn’t the most important factor in capturing great images for social media. “Be passionate about your work and your products,” he said. “This is the foundation of all great photography. It doesn’t matter if you’re using a smartphone or a top-of-the-line DLSR.  Passion will shine through in your work.”

Expert Advice:

Here are some tips on how to take high-quality photos with your camera phone:

Phone Features

• Avoid using the flash. Smartphone flashes are glorified LED flashlights that can make images look artificial. Your best bet is to stick to taking pictures during the day, or in well-lit rooms at night. Full shade in natural light is optimal.

• Don’t rely on filters to make a bad photo look good. Ignore your camera’s filters for a more natural look.

• Before snapping a picture, tap on your phone’s screen to make the lens autofocus on the object you want to feature. By playing around with focus (tapping different parts of the glass on the phone) you can bring light to different parts of the image.

• Using the zoom feature on your smartphone will result in a poorer quality photo. Instead of zooming in on your subjects, crop your photos later in order to maintain the quality of the shot.

Best Practices

 • Keep the subject simple. Focus on one or two objects, otherwise the picture will looks too cluttered and the viewer won’t be sure what he should be looking at.

• Hold your phone as still as possible to get a clearer picture. Position the phone closer to your body to keep it from moving, or better yet, balance it on a table or use a mini tripod.

• Have a clean lens. Smartphones are full of fingerprints from use, so make sure to clean your lens for smudge-free photos.

• Take multiple shots of the image you want, and delete the unused ones after you post. Aguis suggests taking photos from slightly different angles. “Sometimes having the lens in a slightly different spot than your normal sight line can give a unique point of view and really make a big difference,” he said.

Shot Strategies

Taking great photos for social media involves more than getting the focus and lighting right. It’s equally important to capture compelling images that will appeal to your winery’s audience, or desired audience.

• Show off what’s going on behind the scenes at the winery. Snap pictures of the vineyard workers during harvest, the winemaking team in the cellar or the lab, or the tasting room staff with customers or attendees at events (with their permission). These images will make your social media marketing more personal, which is especially important for family-owned businesses that focus on relationships. Fans love feeling like they are a part of the action.

• Remember who your audience is. Does your brand connect with consumers who like luxury items? Take pictures of your wine with lobster, oysters or chocolate truffles. At the eclecticSleight of Hand Cellars in Walla Walla, Wash., winemaker/partner Trey Busch shares photos of tasting room visitors with album covers over their faces, with the hashtag #sleeveface. Every photo shared is a reflection of the winery’s personality and customers.

• Keep a bottle of one of your most popular wines in your car (or a dummy bottle, if you prefer to have an empty one.) You never know when a perfect sunset will happen, and if you have abottle of your wine on hand, you can easily take a few quick shots for social media. (When taking bottle shots, beware of the inadvertent selfie. Check the reflection in the wine bottle after you take a picture.)

Ultimately, making sure your visuals reflect the personality of your winery is the most important tip to remember. Every winery has a unique story and posting photos on social networks is one of the easiest ways to share that story.

Have fun with your photography because, after all, wine is social.

Taking Smartphone Photos to the Next Level

In addition to taking photos with your smartphone, you can download apps for free or for little cost that make it easy to edit images on the go.

• VSCO or Camera Plus: photo-editing software to help you crop, adjust the color and brightness, or add a frame to your photos. 

• OVER or Canva: easily add text to pictures and make cute quote images. BTW, Canva Pro is totally worth the $10/$12 a month cost. You can use it on your phone and desktop.

 • Color Story: Add filters, edit photos and videos.

At a Glance (aka TLDR):

• Photos capture attention in social networking.

• While professional shots are preferred for winery websites and marketing materials, smartphones can take excellent shots for social media.

• Natural light is best, and colorful, simple pictures capture attention more than “busy” shots.

• Get behind the scenes of your vineyard or winery; take photos that are personal to your business.

• Use advanced smartphone applications to edit photos, add text and create collages.