The Hidden Damage Stock Photos are Doing to Your Brand (and How to Fix it)

You have spent the last few weeks (or months) curating your website and social media, and now you are ready and excited to show it to your family, your colleagues, and to your potential future clients. You’ve got beautiful imagery on your website, except…none represents you and your brand.

Your website is beautiful and vibrant, but there is still something lacking. Your website looks quite similar to the websites of your competitors in your local area. So, let me guess…you’ve used stock images to fill in the empty space on your website?

You probably spent money purchasing stock images, or you even managed to download some for free, and you thought you are doing yourself a favour. I know for a fact that many businesses do the same, because they do not do the research to see what works well from marketing perspective and how to improve their marketing strategy.

However, relying on stock images could be holding your brand back, or even undermining your brand identity. And I am here to give you several ideas how to fix this.

Adobe explains that stock images are licenced photographs that companies often use for commercial purposes, such as their website, leaflets, brochures, etc. There is often a massive library of stock images that people can choose from. Most commonly, people purchase stock photos, although you might find some that are free to download. Businesses often choose to rely on stock images because they offer a fast and convenient solution for meeting visual content needs.

Here are four reasons why stock images could undermine your brand identity:

1. Many businesses use stock images, so your business and your brand don’t really stand out from your competitors.

Anyone can download the same images and those could be used by many businesses over and over again. People have started recognising when stock images are being used on a website or social media, so you potentially risk blending in, rather than standing out in this saturated market. These images do not reflect your business, nor your brand. Interestingly, I once visited the website of a Manchester-based business, only to find a generic photo of well-known London landmarks on their homepage.

2. You miss the chance to build personal connection with your audience.

You’ve probably heard this saying before that people connect with people. They want authenticity, and people connect with brands that are relatable and show personality. It is all about the human connection and real experiences, rather than describing your brand with the use of stock images that often feel staged.

3. Each brand is unique and has a story. Stock images can’t capture that.

Think about why you love what you do and what was your journey like, how did you manage to get to the point to where you are now. That in itself is a story worth telling. Stock images are generic images, they are not tailored to your personal identity or your business brand.

4. Stock images can be inconsistent with your brand identity.

Going back to the point regarding your website – you’ve probably spent hours thinking about your logo, the colours that you’d want to have on your website, the font, the structure, and everything in between. I can image it must have been very hard to decide on all those aspects. But that is your brand. For instance, you might be a yoga teacher teaching classes in your garden. It would be inconsistent with your brand to then put photos on your website and social media of a yoga class in a large gym studio, unless you teach yoga there too. Generally, businesses tend to use stock photos that look good, rather than photos that capture the essence of their brand, which could undermine their brand identity.

So, what could you do this month to fix this?

Here is a list of four suggestions that you could adopt (if you wish) to transform your brand and elevate your business:

1. Invest in Brand Storytelling Photography (highly recommended).

Each individual has a unique story to tell about their journey to the career that they have chosen to pursue. If you are self-employed and running your business from your home or a local studio, you can absolutely inspire others with your story as to how you’ve decided to work for yourself essentially, as opposed to being employed at another company. People enjoy listening to inspiring stories and this can absolutely be translated into visual content for your business. If, for example, you are running your business from the comfort of your own home, I can come to your location and take photographs there. You will simply show me what you normally do on a day-to-day basis, and I will capture photographs that show the real you in action. What do you think would connect your audience with you better – a generic image found on a stock photography platform or a genuine photo of you showing people what you do and how you do it?

2. Show the process behind the scenes.

Times have changed. People now want to see genuine behind-the-scene photos of the process behind the product or service. It is not enough to smile and look at the camera whilst the photographer takes the photo. Trust is built when people see what you do. For instance, if you are an interior designer, it is not sufficient to just show the final product. People want to see you in the process of planning, organising, selecting products, selecting materials, colours, and putting everything together. This genuinely shows what it takes to go from A to Z, and people value this. It shows the work behind the final product, which always looks magical but we know that it takes more than a magic wand to achieve that. And we need to be real about that. That is why you can not go wrong by investing in brand storytelling photography.

3. Be prepared to highlight the actual people behind your business – and if you run the business independently, then show your potential customers/clients who you are.

Audiences crave human connection. The marketing strategies constantly change and nowadays, people like to get to know the person who runs the business. They want to know what this person does outside of work, where they travel, what their hobbies are, what they prefer to eat or drink, etc. It is all about expressing your personality through a visual content. Previously, companies invested money in headshots photography for its employees. Although this is still highly recommended, you need to take a step further than that. You need to show what your company culture is like. If you organise a particular social event for the company, such as team day away or Christmas party, it is advisable to invest in a photographer who can capture those special moments for the team, which you can then share on your website and social media. If you are running your own business independently, there are still plenty of ways to visually showcase your identity and personality, such as during events that you organise or taking time to do your hobbies that refuel you and recharge you and give you ability to always be positive with your customers/clients. Stock images cannot showcase your personality.

4. Create a photo library unique to you and your business.

Work with a photographer to curate images that speak your language and translate your story into a visual content ready to be posted. Having a photo library of consistent, on-brand visuals means that you can build consistent approach across all platforms. Equally important is that this photo library will be unique to you and your business, meaning that there is an opportunity to share different aspects of your story or of your work with each photo that you post. You can reuse these images times and times again.

The final point that I would like to make is that stock photos are easy to access and very convenient, especially when you are in the need to urgently post something on social media. However, using stock photos in the long term may damage your authenticity, trust, and connection. Don’t forget that your real story is your best asset.

Ready to ditch the stock photos and show up as the face of your brand?

Let’s chat and create beautiful images that will represent you and your brand authentically.

This article is written by Martina Ignatova with the help of AI.