We know, it’s so easy to download something reasonably relevant to the content of your presentation or webpage and some stock libraries are even free! However there are some good reasons to commission your own images.
It is critical to keep in mind that the usage of stock images in your marketing efforts can have a significant impact on the authenticity and credibility of your brand or business. A multitude of businesses and brands nowadays rely on stock images in their marketing efforts, this is not the best approach. When you decide to use stock images, you run the risk of making your website and social media channels appear impersonal and unoriginal. In addition, there’s a good chance that your competitors or other businesses in your industry may be using the exact same images as you, which can make it difficult for your brand to stand out.
Furthermore, stock images may not align with your brand’s unique messaging or visual aesthetics. They can also be perceived as overly staged, making it difficult for your audience to resonate with them. On the other hand, generating original content such as taking your photographs or creating custom graphics may help your brand communicate more effectively. By doing so, you instil a sense of uniqueness and reinforce your brand’s core message, ultimately increasing the efficiency of your marketing endeavours.
Commissioning a local photographer will not blow your marketing budget and will deliver content for all your marketing output, it just takes a little bit of planning. A half-day shoot with a good reportage photographer should provide you with images to populate your website, presentations and social media streams for some time. Furthermore going forward the photographer builds an understanding of your products, people and services so begins to understand and develop an image style and library for your business which further strengthens your brand.
Our advice would be to use a local photographer if possible. Someone you can call upon to use at short notice if necessary so they can document your business regularly and help create that all-important consistent content we all need.
