If you have ever done any marketing for your business, there are chances that you have used stock images.
You can find stock images in almost all web pages. The purpose of a stock image is to fit a wide range of topics.
If you run a small business, using stock images for your business can either benefit it or hurt it. The trick to getting the most of stock image use is to personalize the image as opposed to using it as it is.
The advantages of using stock images
They save time
Under normal circumstances, to be able to use photographs in your campaign, you will require to hire a professional to take the photos and edit them. This comes at a cost to your business. You also spend a lot of time planning the shoot and waiting for the images to be web-ready. When you look at stock images, their availability eliminates the need to wait to use images for a campaign. There is a large selection of stock images to choose from online. You instantly download the images, do a bit of editing and use in your campaign in no time.
Stock images are versatile
There are hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of stock images on the internet. All these images can be used in a million different ways to convey different information to different viewers. You can choose to use pictures that fit a wide range of applications. Alternatively, you can go for niche-oriented photos. It all depends on your current needs. This is the versatility offered by stock images.
They are of high quality
Stock images are available in high quality, which eliminated the need to hire a professional to give you quality images. The quality of stock images does not deteriorate based on the platform used to view them.
Making the most of stock images
Customize them with a text
To make the stock images relevant to your small business, you can use text to edit the images. Having a text on the stock image draws a parallel between the image and the message you are passing across. You can customize with text to give the stock image a more branded look.
Crop to focus on the main aspect
Sometimes, you come across a large size stock image that has an element of what you need for your campaign. You can edit the image to magnify the subject. Crop the image to highlight the item you want to bring out in the picture.
Change the colours
Colours have the power to capture attention, inspire, shift moods, and even convey emotion. If you come across a stock image that matches your campaign save for the colours, you can adjust the colour setting of the image to meet your campaign needs.
Research deeper for your image
As a rule of thumb, you should not settle for the first stock picture you come across. You can check the image variations available for the theme you are interested in. Digging slightly deeper will reward you with more options that will probably fit your campaign better than the image you had seen first.
Paying attention to quality is the best way to ensure you make effective use of stock images.
