Content for a New Business Launch: What to Shoot First

The week a business opens is the one week when people are paying attention, and most new owners spend it with an empty Google listing, a Facebook page with a logo and nothing else, and a website with placeholder photos. The content needed for a launch has to be made before the launch. Here is the list.

Before opening

1. 1.A logo and a brand kit, with the files in every format the sign shop, the printer and the web need.
2. 2.Exterior photos of the building with the sign up, from the road and from the parking lot.
3. 3.Interior photos of the finished space, empty and clean, before the first customer scuffs it.
4. 4.Owner and team portraits, in the space.
5. 5.Product or service photos: the menu items, the work, the inventory, the equipment.
6. 6.A short video walkthrough with the owner talking about what the place is.
7. 7.Photos and clips of the work in progress if there is a build-out, because the transformation is a story people follow.

Why the order matters

Everything downstream depends on the logo, so it comes first. The photos of the finished space can only happen once the space is finished, which is usually days before opening, so they need to be booked in advance for a specific window rather than squeezed in. The owner interview can happen any time, and it is better recorded when the owner is not exhausted from the opening week.

Where the content goes

• Google Business Profile: the exterior, the interior, the team and the products. This is what people see when they search you.
• Website: everything. A new website with real photos of the real place outperforms a template with stock every time.
• Social: a countdown series from the build-out clips, then the opening, then the products one at a time for the first month.
• Print: flyers, menus, business cards and the banner on the fence, all from the same brand kit.
• Local press and community pages, which want a good photo of the owner in the space.

The opening day itself

Cover it. The ribbon, the first customers, the line if there is one, the family who helped. Those images become the anniversary post next year and the about-page photo for a decade. A commercial or promo cut from the opening and the walkthrough will carry the business's advertising through its first year.

After opening

A launch produces a burst of material. The month after, it runs out, and the page goes quiet. A monthly marketing plan keeps a steady drip of photo, video and graphics coming without the owner having to think about it. Read getting a year of content out of one shoot day for how to make the launch shoot last.

Local businesses in Coffee County can also get in front of a local audience through Douglas Right Now, the community page we operate.

The website

A new business needs a website that says what it is, where it is, when it is open and how to reach it, with real photos and one short video. It does not need twelve pages. What it needs is the content ready before the site is built, because a designer with no photos will use placeholders, and placeholders have a way of staying live for a year. Shoot first, then build, and the site launches looking finished.

A launch checklist

1. 1.Logo and brand kit, with all file formats delivered.
2. 2.Google Business Profile claimed and filled in before the photos arrive, so they can be added the day they are ready.
3. 3.Exterior, interior, team and product photography booked for the week the space is finished.
4. 4.Owner interview and walkthrough video recorded.
5. 5.Flyers, menus, cards and the banner designed from the same kit.
6. 6.Opening day coverage booked.
7. 7.The first month of social posts planned from the launch material.

Frequently asked questions

How far before opening should I call? As soon as you have a date, even a rough one. The logo work takes longer than the photos.

Can you do all of it, or do I need several vendors? Logo, print, photo, video and the monthly content are all done here.

What if the space is not finished when I planned? We move the date. It happens on most build-outs.

32 Productions is at 500 S. Peterson Ave, Douglas, GA 31533. Call (912) 592-3376.

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