Before and after comparison as a method - not only for plastic surgeons and interior designers

Successful results are one of the most compelling building blocks of trust. But how can they be communicated easily and quickly? A good content marketing solution is before and after comparisons in website copy.

At the beginning of the year, I wanted to lose weight. The general Corona inertia with home office, gym closure, and curfew combined with frequent cooking and delicious food had made for a few too many kilos on my scale. In search of the right method for me, I looked around online. Providers of all kinds of diets advertise there for the attention of users. Many show before and after pictures with often impressive results. The great thing about this method is that it works at a glance. In the fast-paced online world, this is an advantage that can hardly be overestimated.

The use of before/after pictures is especially popular with all providers who offer a physical change. Besides weight loss courses, these include hairdressers, braces and related providers, a few specialty doctors, and plastic beauty enhancers of all kinds. Hair transplants must be a huge business if you extrapolate the number of ads on Youtube, Instagram, facebook, etc. Clearly, this is the best way to communicate these changes.

Before/after comparisons are basically very well suited for everything what can be captured with the eyes. This clearly includes the real estate industry in all facets. Whether it is the complete house furnishings, the conversion of the attic, the new garden or the interior design. For all providers in these segments, I can only warmly recommend to think about photography in time and use this method.

This also applies to car restoration, tuning and repair. Even a simple broken mirror or headlight can look impressively different in a before/after comparison. This also applies to garment cleaning and, in general, to many fashion vendors. Why not just photograph a few people in their "normal" look and then restyled in comparison?

In many of these industries, such comparisons are frequently used. But why hardly any in other industries?

In my view, this is an omission worth reflecting on. This is true for many industries and companies, even in the B2B business. Just think about the visible impact of your product or service.

A workplace without and with a new machine can look extremely different. Or a construction site with old and new construction machinery. They don't just look different. They also feel different for the employees involved. You can also show this by photographing your customers before and after.

This brings me to services and the many products that are not immediately visible, such as software. For all these products and all services, a photo of the application's empty space before and after with a satisfied customer face can speak volumes. As a software provider, for example, you can simply photograph your customer at his workstation - with a happy expression on his face, of course, because he now gets to use the cool new software.

It is important, and this applies to every before and after comparison, that the direct comparison should always explain the difference. The minimum is the date, so that it is comprehensible for the user. If possible, you should show the result directly large on the photo. In the case of losing weight, this would be -15 kg, in the case of software, for example, 3x faster processing of a process.

Another great advantage of this method is that it is perfect for use in social media channels. Whether on Instagram and facebook for end customers or LinkedIn for B2B customers, only posts that quickly show what they are about get attention. Before and after comparisons are ideal for this.

And if you already make the effort to photograph selected projects or applications, I strongly recommend you to record a video about it. In this video you explain what was done. Your customer then reports on the result. The number of visits of such videos on Youtube are high. And you can also simply integrate the video directly on your homepage. This way you automatically get a customer statement and have used the before/after method perfectly.

By the way: I have decided for slim in sleep and lost 12 kilos in two months :-). The related book is available here Amazon.

Photo: INÉS GRESS Interior Design