You’ve heard of stock images – but what are they and do you as a small business owner need them?
What are styled stock images?
“Styled stock images” are photographs designed and produced with business owners in mind. Online entrepreneurs, bloggers, graphic artists, and web designers all make use of them. … and that includes YOU!
They come in all color schemes, backgrounds… photos…. and make use of all kinds of props – flowers, office supplies, household items, people, etc. They range from flat lays to mockups, close-ups, model images, and still lifes.
You don’t need to be creative
And don’t stop and think just because you have no creative bone in your body that can’t use these… because you can and honestly you must to stay on-trend…. And with the rise of easy-to-use apps like Canva and word swag they are easier than ever for anyone at any talent level to implement.
Styled Stock Photography can help you create a look that is cohesive, consistent, beautiful, clean, crisp, and above all… professional for all aspects of your business and branding.
A strong brand needs to stands out in a densely crowded marketplace, especially for e-commerce business owners like yourself and styled stock images are part of the brand identity that can help you majorly with this effort.
The most obvious of suggestions, but there are so many ways you can use styled stock photography for social media.
Here are suggestions on where to get started:
- Email newsletters
- Lead magnets
- Sales Pages
- Email Sign up popups
- Promotional Materials
- Blog images
- Facebook posts
- Facebook cover page
- Twitter posts
- Twitter header
- Instagram posts
- Instagram stories
- YouTube header
- Pinterest Graphics
1 – Styled Stock Images help Build a Cohesive Brand
Professional brands, even personal brands like yourself… use professional content. They aren’t googling free images to use… If you are going for that professional… I’m a female entrepreneur look, which I’m sure you are…. Your visual content means everything.
As I teach inside my Brand Identity Basics Mini-Course, having a consistent look and cohesive brand earns you brand recognition… So by the way you visually represent yourself online… people will come to recognize you and what you have to offer thru products or services.
A brand is a person’s gut feeling about a company or person. Yeah… if you’re using lame, low res stock photos… that’s going to stick with most people and represent your brand in a way you don’t want to.
So even if you don’t have a fancy camera, editing software, or the money to spend on hiring your own photographer…. Utilizing the growing resources of professionally photographed-styled stock images out there helps your brand look legitimate – just as you want it to!
2 – Styled Stock Images Attract Customers & Increase Sales
Everyone wants to look legit… and great photos attract people. Professional images and coherent visual content send a real message to your customers: that your business is real, ready, and excited to serve them! It’s the visual language of your brand identity. Your products shine, your promotions turn heads, you grab more email addresses, you serve more people… and your sales go up!
But there’s a catch… having a pretty image to share to Instagram is great, but you also have to put emotion thru your copy to make that styled stock image work for you. Be authentic in your content as well as having that killer image.
3 – Styled Stock Images Save You Time
No one has time for a styled shoot every day! I would love to just shoot stock images for you all – all day every day but I have businesses to run too…
I mean, dragging out your own props, finding the perfect lighting while not to mention the editing…. It’s not super easy… However, having a supply of styled stock images on hand that fit your brand allows you to breathe easier while staying on brand.
So relying on professionally styled stock images to keep your business consistently connected with your customers is a HUGE must for me and should be for you too.
4 – Styled Stock Images Save $$$
Custom brand shoots with a professional photographer are an excellent investment, but are realistically out of the budget of many businesses. Whatever stage you’re in, styled stock images provide extremely affordable value – giving your brand an instant facelift without having to break the bank! There are many monthly subscriptions out there – usually running upwards of $30 a month… but if you are just new to getting started with styled stock …. Then maybe pickup up a few packs that are best for you, your brand, and your style.
Looking for FREE stock images? I’ve got you! Websites for stock images:
Visit kristinkorn.com/freeimages and subscribe for free images in your inbox each month.
Some of my favorite places to find stock images in my brand palette include:
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