How Stock Photography Could Be Hurting Your Brand
At some point you’ve likely used or thought of using stock photography to tell your brand story. What could possibly be the drawback?
The images are not specific enough to represent your products.
If you sell a physical good, this is a no-brainer. You need images of the actual product you’re selling. You also need to build familiarity with your store/office (if you have one). Are the items in your photos recognizable to your place of business? If you show a pile of gift wrapped items, is that the gift wrap paper you use in your store? If it is, your customer will have more familiarity with you when she walks through the door and sees it. But in addition to this, you need images that create a mood and an identity around your products. You need images that tell your customer what “people like us” is. When you post a picture about a larger concept such as relaxation or health, is your product incorporated into it? A pretty picture in and of itself says nothing. Our world is awash in beautiful imagery but connecting the dots between what you do, what the customer wants and expects based on your imagery takes more thought.
The images do not show you.
This is a big one. Stock photography sites don’t feature you. Unless you are particularly masterful at lighting, photography, and Photoshop, you probably aren’t compositing yourself into these photos. How much does your audience want to see you at work, doing your thing? It’s probably a lot more than you’d think. This is especially true for personal brands or for solopreneuers. People love to see behind the scenes. They want to pull the curtain back and see how the magic is made. If you let your audience into your world, they will feel a connection with you and trust you
The images are not location specific.
Does your business cater to a location specific audience? If most of your clients live and work in the Minneapolis metro area, showing that you too are in Minneapolis is important. For example, if you were to post an article about traveling to Thailand, would you include the stock picture of a young woman’s feet on a white sand beach beach or would you use a picture of you in Minneapolis setting off with your suitcase? The former picture itself is beautiful, but it tells the customer you don’t care enough to make something more specific to your brand. The latter option looks much more intentional. It also connects to your audience because they can recognize the location, they can relate to the picture. Ugh! February in Minnesota! Get me out of here! Obviously, once in Thailand, post pictures of you in Thailand.
The images are not processed consistently across different platforms/photographers.
There are a million and one ways to take and edit pictures. You want a consistent look across your social media outlets and your website. When you pull images from multiple sources, keeping the look and feel cohesive is time consuming. Some people prefer a less contrasty, lighter look, while others prefer more grit. Some people prefer warmer imagery, some cooler. A study by Loyola University, Maryland found “color increases brand recognition by up to 80%.” The list goes on. A consistent look in your images is one part of the larger umbrella of brand consistency that tells your audience you are trustworthy, that they should know what to expect from you.
Using stock photography might shortcut the strategic work of developing your brand.
What are the consistent colors, look, and feel of the imagery you put out? Why? These are, at a very basic level, ways to build brand consistency. How do these choices help drive sales/conversion rates? Do you have a plan for the visual communication of your brand? These are big questions that need serious thought.
Your competitors are using similar images.
If you decide to use a stock photo site, do image searches to see who else is using the photographs. A competitor could be using the same images and that doesn’t serve to set you apart. Shutterstock has 1.4 million people marketing with their images. Getty images has 1.5 million customers And Pixabay has a 1 Billion+ users. True, there are a lot of pictures, but there are also a lot of users.
Your customers are more visually sophisticated than you are giving them credit for.
There’s a high likelihood that your customer recognizes stock photography for what it is: non-specific. In 2020, customers are very sophisticated image analysts. They can recognize when different brands are using the same picture. Customers can also easily tell when you are using one stock image occasionally among many non-stock photos, especially when the images are next to each other. The lack of a consistent look damages trust.
Stock photography can be cliched and even possibly very weird.
While I won’t say this applies to all stock imagery, there is certainly a risk here. For a good laugh: https://www.buzzfeed.com/daves4/unexplainable-stock-photos.
