Why Stock Photos Hurt Your Business

Jul 18

Stock photos might be easier to find what you’re looking for and download to your computer to use for your website and marketing materials, but it doesn’t mean they are effective.

In fact, stock photos may be actually hurting your business.

Here’s why…

Why Stock Photos Hurt Your Business

Here’s a great example. A fitness studio needs photos for their site to show a woman running on a treadmill — simple, right?

On the right, you have the stock photo - a women running with a white background, no smile or logos, pretty generic.

Now on the left, you have a custom branded photo - women and a man running on treadmills, smiling and having fun, flashy neon lights from the fitness studio, branded with their t-shirt logos and tagline on the wall in the back.

Now, which do you think will generate more business and revenue?

Whether you are a solo-entrepreneur running your business alone, you have a small growing team, or you have hundreds of employees, here are some reasons why stock photos actually hurt your business and marketing:

Everyone is using the same stock photos — How many times have you seen the same stock photos online? Exactly — so have your potential customers.
They don’t speak to your target client — The type of customer you target will make or break your marketing, and it’s simply something stock photos just don’t speak to.
They are too generic — As a business, you have a vision, goals, and values that you want to portray as part of your brand. You also have colors, themes, and logos that all speak to the professionalism and image of your business that a stock photo can’t show.
They aren’t branded — As mentioned above, there are so many different elements that go into creating the brand of your business. Even at the most simple level, stock photos will never match your color pallet of your brand, or worse, it might even clash with your branded colors.
They don’t actually show what you do — Stock photos will never be able to show the real experience of your products, services, events, or offerings. They are meant to be simple and generic.
Many aren’t high quality — Free stock photos often allow you to download the low resolution for free, but charge a pretty penny for the high resolution use license. At this point, you might as well invest that money in your own photo session to get more effective photos.
They don’t make your business or information memorable (i.e. no brand recognition) — If you use stock photos on a blog post with very valuable information, readers are never going to recognize your business as the expert. Instead, if you pair valuable blog content with branded photos that represent your brand, especially if it includes your logo, readers will start to associate your brand with the value it provides. Plus, they might even realize they need to reach out and hire you!
They definitely don’t convey the most important piece to your marketing:

Stock photos will never show what set’s you apart or makes you different from your competitors.

This is a huge issue because using stock photos in your marketing will make it less effective — you might as well be throwing money out the window…

But if you’re a business owner ready to up-level your brand, get more ROI on your marketing investments, and increase your bottom line, here’s what to do instead:

Find a Professional Photographer

Think about what types of photos you need to capture to market your business, services, products, or events. Search for the following:

Product photographer — There are photographers who specialize in physical product photography and can shoot for the exact size, dimensions, setting, and specs you need. Make sure you know what you need the product photos for so they can help you get the right photos you need to best represent your products.
Branding photographer — Typically these types of photographers are best for personal brands, usually solo-entrepreneurs or small businesses who provide services from the person — capturing someone who is the face of the business. Be aware that these are more than just pretty pictures or a portrait session. A great branding photographer designs your session around the client you are working to target and will show more than just you working on a laptop with a coffee mug.
Event photographer — If you host events, work in the events industry, or are promoting a specific event for your business, you need to find a photographer who knows how to capture the magic of the event. Not just posed photos of guests, but the emotion and experience that makes your event come to life through the photographs! After-all, THAT is what you are really marketing!
Headshot photographer — Wether it’s just you, a small team, or teams of staff, all websites and professional marketing collateral need great headshots of the real-people behind the business. These should be professional, fit your brand tone and feel, and have a cohesive, consistent look among all of your team’s headshots.
Marketing photographer — This may not be the thing you would think to search for, but most likely, you need a mix of all of the above! Typically, a business needs a mix of headshots, group shots, products and services images, event photography, and lots of in-action, branded shots to make your marketing most effective - this is where marketing photography comes in. A great marketing photographer knows the right questions to ask you about your business, brand, target customer, and marketing goals in order to design the perfect photography shoot to get the photos you need to be most effective!

You can also check out my portfolio to get a reference on what photos you need.

Then, Download the Free Marketing Photo Checklist: The types of photos you need to effectively market your business to increase your bottom line here: