I love using Stock Photos. They are a great tool that can be used to supplement little to bad quality images for Businesses. They are generally professionally taken photographs that can help you tell a story and build vision around what you are trying to achieve. I know that the jury is out for some Business Owners though as they struggle to come to terms with whether or not stock photos should be used to help promote their Brand. So let me give you some things to think about.
Stock Photos are great for…
- Businesses that need high quality generic images on a certain theme/topic to help market their brand.
- Creating shareables for your Industry
- Websites – good clear crisp images are important on a website
- Backgrounds – I love using photos as backgrounds, stock photos are one way of adding a background to your content, and if you have a PNG version of your logo, that can be added as a top layer to help further promote your brand.
- Blog post images
Stock Photos aren’t that good for…
- Businesses who sell retail products. Obviously if you need specific products promoted you would be best to engage a photographer to assist you in making the best impression as possible, and in doing so, giving your products the spotlight they deserve. But don’t let that stop you from using Stock photos. Its just that your product photos need to be your own.
- Sometimes location type Businesses, for example Bed and Breakfasts or Beach houses. There are lots of generic images available for all types of things, just remember that posting pictures of Hawaii on your river shack rental are probably not the best way to market your Business. The image needs to be as consistent with your brand as possible. Yes a beach is a beach, but if you are promoting Hawaii waves, and your piece of Heaven doesn’t offer the same, you are mis-representing your Brand. Once again just be aware of this, doesn’t mean you cant use other stock photos for other things!
- Its best that Photographers use their own images. We’ve heard the horror stories of photographers trying to look professional, using other peoples photos and claiming them as their own. This is a big issue, and we need to give credit where credit is needed.
Other things I need to mention…
- It’s a personal decision not a one size fits all strategy.
- You don’t have to use them forever, it may just be that you need a helping hand to get started. As your Business grows and your budget for this type of thing grows, you can consider getting someone to take photos for you.
- Stock photos come with varying licenses, generally speaking you cant print them in bulk or use them in magazines. It’s also nice to credit the photographer where possible.
- You don’t need to be paying $40, $30, $20, $10 per image, Ive recently come across a much better solution!
- You can also get stock videos and stock audio for use in Marketing through Graphic Stocks other websites.
With storytelling and shareable images becoming a major part of the Marketing we carry out for our clients (and our own Brands), we’ve been testing out Graphic Stock. I have always been a Dreamstime tragic, but Graphic Stock allow you to pay one fee for 12 months unlimited downloads over having to pay per image or pay per certain amount of credits. Just imagine how much fun you could have with unlimited images! Enjoy unlimited downloads of high-quality, royalty-free photos, vectors, illustrations & other design elements.
Simply Click on the link below to check out the current deal, but hurry, I don’t think they will be offering this great price forever.
PS. This is an Affiliate Link. We take pride in only recommending high quality resources. We love Graphic Stock and know you will too!
