There are numerous websites offering stock photography. While original photography that showcases your unique brand and creates fresh content can’t be rivalled, there’s a case to be made for stock images, too. Here are the pros and cons of each approach.
When to use stock
There’s a number of websites offering free stock images (you can find a full list on one of our previous blog posts here). However, when you use stock, there’s no guarantee that a competitor won’t be using the same images to promote their business. Despite the risk, stock images can still provide great visuals for your regular digital marketing content, especially when it comes to social media where you need lots of visuals to fill your content daily. Stock images can be an inexpensive way to fill in the gaps in your social media calendar.
If you do this, we’d recommend that you overlay the images with a specific filter or template to ensure that your brand maintains the same look and feel across all posts. For instance, we use the same template for our clients Al Bacio when posting their Instagram content to ensure that the brand is easily recognised and consistent across their Instagram channel.
When not to use stock
Despite the pros of stock images, there’s still a case to be made for original photography. When you’re designing a new brochure or building your brand new website (content that will stay with your brand for the long term, as opposed to the short shelf-life of your social media posts), it’s a good idea to create unique photography that will showcase your brand in the best possible light and give it a professional look.
On that note…
We have a brand new studio at our new office at Filwood Green Business Park in Bristol where we’ve just finished our first photo shoot. This was for our clients Protechnic, the custom flight case manufacturers who asked us to design a new brochure for them.
Whether you’re looking to boost your digital marketing content with some fresh visual content or want to redesign the entire marketing strategy for your brand, contact us today and our talented team of professionals to see how Cre8ion can help.