Social media storytelling: stop the scroll

Social media enables companies to connect with their customers, create excitement about their products, and share their values, history and identity. For food and drink brands, visually appealing content that helps consumers virtually taste, smell and experience products is integral to social media success. In this post we look at how food and beverage photography and videography can be used to stop the scroll and make products look irresistible, creating intrigue and driving sales.

The power of appetite appeal

Let’s face it – we eat with our eyes first. And nowhere is this more evident than on visual-first social media platforms like Instagram and TikTok, where food and beverage brands see the highest engagement rates. Wonder why? Studies have shown that looking at images of food activates the same ‘taste’ and ‘reward’ sections of the brain as actually eating something! But visual content isn’t just about aesthetics. It directly impacts bottom-line results through increased engagement and conversion. According to one consumer survey, 76% of US consumers have purchased a product seen in a brand’s social media post!

At Equator, we work with food and beverage brands to create visual content for a range of touchpoints, including social media. Our approach varies from platform to platform (and we’ll get into that later) but here are some of our general recommendations to stop the scroll.

Get creative with composition

While different social platforms naturally lend themselves to certain compositions – Instagram’s square format often works beautifully with centered, symmetrical shots, and TikTok’s vertical layout can amplify the drama of a drink pour – the most powerful compositions nail that hero shot. Sometimes that means capturing the convivial atmosphere of a fully dressed dinner table from above, letting viewers imagine pulling up a chair. Other times, it’s about getting up close and personal, capturing the perfect cross-section of a crusty sourdough, for example. And great composition goes beyond just finding the right angle. It’s also about creating depth and visual interest that makes viewers feel like they could reach through their screen and grab a bite.

Leverage the power of lighting

At Equator, we’re passionate about getting lighting just right. Natural lighting setups are our go-to for creating authentic, appetising results that make products look as delicious as they taste. Managing reflections and glare in beverage photography can be tricky, but that’s where our expertise comes in handy! Whether it’s capturing the perfect sparkle in a glass of champagne or the rich, velvety texture of a specialty coffee, lighting is the secret ingredient that makes your products shine – literally and figuratively.

But lighting isn’t exclusively about making products look good; it’s also about creating worlds that social media users can step into. Take our work with Molson Coors’ limited-edition Miller Lite / Luke Combs beer can, for example. We transformed a Manchester pub into an authentic American dive bar, using coloured gels and smoke machines to capture that distinctive Nashville nightlife vibe. In contrast, our work for Accolade Wines called for an entirely different mood. We crafted lighting setups that captured the golden warmth of a perfect summer’s day, even though we were shooting in a studio. By combining natural-looking light with thoughtfully selected props, we created inviting outdoor scenes that had viewers dreaming of sun-drenched garden parties.

The importance of food and prop styling

Often, the magic of food styling comes down to creating moments that feel caught in time. They are powerful because they invite the viewer to become an active part of the storytelling process. Imagine a table setting where the cutlery isn’t quite aligned, a hot cross bun bears the telltale smear of melting butter, and a scatter of granola has escaped its bowl onto a crisp linen tablecloth. These thoughtful details make viewers feel like they’ve stumbled upon a family breakfast, mid-moment. Combined with clever lighting and the right angle, as we touched on above, food styling and props can transform a simple product shot into an immersive experience that engages all the senses.

Combining different types of visual content

A strategic mix of beautiful photography and various video styles is key to keeping your social media presence dynamic and engaging. Different formats allow you to tell your story in multiple ways, keeping your feed fresh and your audience interested. One thing that’s worth pointing out is that short-form video consistently delivers the highest ROI compared to other marketing trends. TikTok plays into this perfectly and, on Instagram, you can focus on Reels and Carousels, which tend to drive more engagement than single images. Video is a powerful way of capturing emotions and experiences. At Equator, whether we’re using stop motion to evoke nostalgia, or playing with speed (slow motion on those unctuous foodie moments) to create appetite appeal, our aim is to create content that engages people on a deeper level. You can read more about creating short-form content in this post over on our LinkedIn.

A word of warning…

This might sound like a no-brainer but it’s important to create visual content specifically for social media, rather than trying to repurpose visual content that was created for a different format (i.e. packaging). Packaging photography, for example, is typically created with specific crops and cutters in mind – focusing only on what will be visible on the final pack. This means that elements outside the packaging frame are often left unfinished. When you try to use these assets for social media, where different aspect ratios like pillar box crops are essential, you quickly run into limitations. The smarter approach is to think strategically from the start. While packaging timelines often dictate that these shots come first, it’s worth investing the time and budget during the initial shoot to create complete, versatile images that can be cropped and adapted for different channels. Not only is this more cost-effective than having to reshoot months down the line, but it also ensures visual consistency across all touchpoints.

Ultimately, standing out on social media is about more than just beautiful imagery. It’s about creating visual content that tells your brand’s story in a way that resonates with your audience. From composition and lighting to food styling and props, every element needs to work together to create those scroll-stopping moments. And when you get it right – when you combine technical expertise with creative storytelling – casual scrollers become engaged followers, and engaged followers become customers.

Ready to make your food and beverage brand impossible to scroll past? Get in touch with our team today.