The Lowdown On Effective Use of Stock Content

Stock content are mostly ineffectively used. Your blog posts or marketing materials may be stellar, but they could be even better with the right images. Images enhance online and printed copy, while eliminating images from production detracts from the overall attractiveness and effectiveness of your story.

Even if you’re just providing a list of tips about how to write a successful business plan, do your best to include a picture. Stock content serves as a popular resource for professional-quality photos that can support the message you’re trying to send. It’s a step below a custom shot photos and a step above your Instagram-filtered iPhone pics. If stock content sounds like the solution to your image needs, read on.

The Genesis of Stock Images

In the “olden days,” (as in the days before stock photo content), photos had to be taken by a photographer who had the skills and equipment to take the shots. A photographer would take generic shots of a scene to convey a mood or tell story. The generic shot would be versatile enough to use for various types of promotional materials, subject matters and themes in different geographic locations. At some point, photographers had collected “stocks” of extra, unused photos from previous photo shoots. Ah ha! The stock photo was invented as a new product, describes VisibleLogic. Photographers would buy stock photos from one another, and then eventually, stock agencies provided inventories of images for designers and businesses, while paying royalties to the photographers who originally contributed the images.

The original stock images source, iStock by Getty Images, re-invented how digital stock photos were distributed by replacing CD-ROMs that were available to purchase with free online distribution. Web designers now excitedly downloaded pictures and uploaded their own images to the Web. Turning this “radical idea” into a business, iStock started to sell credits for digital media files, including photographs, illustrations, videos, sound effects, and more, according to the iStock site.

What Is A Stock Photo, Exactly?

In the ever eloquent words of iStockPhoto, “stock photos are ready-made images that are licensable for use in your advertising or promotional materials to illustrate specific things, concepts and ideas.” These photos “are the raw materials” that can inspire the aesthetic visions of designers or enhance the impact of a piece of content. Royalty-free stock photos are used for blog posts, Web articles and the graphic design of media and marketing materials, for example. (Keep in mind that when you buy a royalty-free photo, you don’t have to pay royalty fees for every time you use it, regardless of its specific use).

Businesses that rely on stock images can risk using the same photos repetitively, and the pros do outweigh the cons. Selections of superior-quality photos from professional artists are not only easily and quickly accessible, but they offer a consistent style for anything you print or publish. You also avoid copyright issues, save money (some stock photo resources are even free!) and acquire photos with a single download. To maximize your stock photos, check out the following tips:

Do’s & Don’ts of Using Stock Content

• Take the time to find the most relevant and compelling photo to convey the most influential message. Show your audience what you are trying to communicate. The popular or most downloaded images may catch your eye, but you may also risk sharing the photo on your blog’s homepage with hundreds of other sites. Subscribing to a stock site may also provide you with more exclusive selections and unique images from which to choose.
• Get creative with your stock photos by editing. Draw attention to your focal point by cropping or blurring elements to customize the image and highlight unique focal points. Use Photoshop filters, special effects and other editing techniques (lines, shadows or vector art) to enhance an image’s aesthetic. Creating a collage, using a stock photo for an infographic and using text overlays or frames are also ways you can unleash some design creativity.
• Make sure photos are up-to-date and trending. For instance, use a smartphone instead of a flip phone for a technology article about apps. Be cautious while using photos with people as well. Even clothing and hair styles can look old-fashioned.
• Don’t be afraid of playing with color. Use color to lighten, darken, soften, and highlight specific areas. Turn a photo black and white for dramatic appeal, for example.
• Don’t be careless about sizes and resolution. Sizes and resolutions used improperly can turn out blurry, pixelated or grainy. Even though high-resolution images take longer to download and cost more, they’re worth the splurge for an important purpose. Always consider the details of your design needs.
• Don’t use stock photos to represent your business’s real staff or family members, for example. Using real portraits of the people you’re referring to establishes credibility and helps build the relationship you have with your customer or site visitor. The same goes for products. E-commerce sites should use actual high-quality photos or graphics of your products to not mislead customers.

What Is Stock Footage?

As an alternative to photos, stock footage (or videos) can also add motion pictures to a post, give a marketing campaign edge or add content to a film project, such as a documentary or interview. Stock video clips may have been part of a production, extra unused footage or outtakes. iStock, for example, offers stock videos of wakeboarding, a lightning thunderstorm, an urban sunset, and floating lanterns.

For a flawless sequence, always use high resolution footage. Look for a legal guarantee and license agreement terms to ensure you’re not violating copyrights, trademarks or rights of intellectual property. Lastly, just like you would with a photo, ensure it is relevant and fits the theme of your content. Purposefully integrate stock clips into your content with intention and meaning. Identify how it will help describe a location, arouse emotion or add an interesting element to storytelling.

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