How to Stay Authentic
While Using Stock Photos
You’re ready to start using ‘Styled Stock’ but you want to integrate them seamlessly into your feeds – without them standing out and being too “obvious”!! Here are some tips on how to start using Styled Stock in your existing branding!
Stock photos will give your marketing and branding an incredible boost in terms of visual appeal. They help you go from messy & neglected to polished, cohesive and high-end; especially when all the images come from the same source.
Chances are its the same creator for all the collections, so ultimately you’re tapping into their style. When you find a style that aligns with yours this will be a major plus when it comes to getting your viewers attention in that 10 second window you’ve got to grab their attention.
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FIVE key Things That will help build your brand story while using stock photos
A common concern is how do you stay authentic when using stock photos. The fear is that you’ll look misleading, inauthentic to your audience – fake even!! This couldn’t be further from the truth. When used the right way, they’ll actually help you be more genuine and intentional to your audience.
1. Be intentional with your choice of photos, it will help build your brand persona.
Don’t just slap any odd stock image here and there and expect it to do anything for your engagement.
Think about your brand, your brand story and the message you want to convey to you ideal client. Images tell stories, they are there to help get your message across in less time than it takes to read. The above images could be used for:
• a Fitness or Yoga brand
• a Healthy Living Blogger
• a Life Coach
• a Business Coach that promotes – Work Life Balance!
We share our message in so many places; websites, emails, social media feeds. If it helps create a mood-board like the one displayed above to help you visualize your brand and keep you on track when your creating content. Your content material will automatically be more authentic to you and your story brand.
2. Use images that relate to your brand story.
But think outside the box! Regardless of your business model and niche, you can probably use a variety of stock images to discuss a wide range of brand topics. Just think of all the aspects of your customers journeys – from the struggles to the benefits of your solution. As you can see from this example, this image could be used for so many brand topics for so many business niches!
3. Use conversation starting images.
Ask questions to increase your engagement! High-end images catch your viewers attention so much quicker than lower quality visuals – and using stock images of a variety of content can really open some doors in terms of the kinds of engagement you could get. From Instagram story polls, to asking questions in your post, to encouraging your viewers to leave a comment or fill in an enquiry form.
4: Spread the word, give credit to the photographer or stock photo site.
This isn’t always necessary depending on your terms of usage. Magnolia & Sage members never need to use a credit – but they’re always welcome and greatly appreciated. Depending on the ways you’re using the stock image, it can help to give credit to the source so your audience know it’s a stock photo, and therefore no one will question it’s authenticity to you. Plus, the photographer may share it giving you a bigger audience!
5: Inspire Your Audience By Injecting Some Relatable Emotion.
Stock images have so much potential to evoke emotion, whether its funny or inspiring. No one questions whether the image is one of yours when you’re using it to relate to your audience in an inspiring or funny way. It just emulates the emotion you’re wanting to get across while letting your quote stand front and center.
We hope this has helped demystify how to tell your brand story when using stock photos. If you use our photos in your stories be sure to share – we love seeing how they get used, it inspires new collections for us to capture.
Here’s to building your brand and growing your business ?
Stay awesome!
