How To Use Stock Photography For Small Business Marketing

When used correctly, stock photos can help small businesses boost online engagement and connect with local audiences. The following tips will help you take your visual marketing strategy to the next level.

Look for authenticity

When browsing stock photography websites look for images that seem natural and resonate with the audience you’re trying to connect with. They need to be inline with your brand to ensure authenticity. When small businesses use stock images that look posed or are ill-suited to their brand or their audience, they lose the trust of their audience very quickly.

A great way to personalise a stock photo is to add a text overlay. This doesn’t require any fancy editing software and websites like canva.com make it quick and easy. To ensure a consistent brand aesthetic, remember to consult your brand style guide when choosing fonts and colours.

Don’t be afraid to crop

Using a stock image as-is is a common mistake small businesses make. Look at an image and, if there is one particular element that draws your eye or suits your marketing campaign, crop the image accordingly. This helps to customize the image by making it less generic and also gets rid of unnecessary visual clutter in your design.

Be patient

While it can be tempting to opt for the first suitable image you find, it may be a good idea to save the first option but continue scrolling. When searching stock photography websites, the most popular images are usually shown first. By scrolling further down the search results, you may find images with less chance of seeing them in another brand’s marketing campaign online. By looking at a few morning options you may also find an image that’s a better fit for your brand’s aesthetic.

Browse the PICHA library for culturally-diverse authentic stock images of Africa!