In the world of online business, appearance is everything. You only have a few seconds to grab and hold the attention of your audience. A huge part of your online appearance and branding is photos – everywhere you look online, you see photos. On websites and social media accounts, in emails and on business cards. They are everywhere.
It’s a given – photos are a great way of building your brand and showcasing your personality. But how?
Today I thought I would share a few simple ways that you can use stock photos in your business.
1. A BANNER AT THE TOP OF YOUR HOMEPAGE AND BLOG
As I just mentioned, first impressions count for a lot online. So, when someone lands on your website what is the first thing that they see?
Capture their attention by filling your website above the fold with a beautiful, bold image that not only catches their eye but accurately portrays everything about your business in a single image! Make sure you add your own branding like your fonts and colors so that the image looks specific to your brand.
2. TO BREAK UP LARGE CHUNKS OF TEXT
Whether it’s a log paragraph on your homepage or a 2,000-word blog post, breaking up large chunks of text with images is a great idea.
When faced with huge reams of text online, most people won’t even bother to try to read, they’ll scroll right down to the bottom to see if there’s a CTA, or they’ll just leave the page altogether.
So, use some stock photos to break up the text to make it appear more manageable for your readers.
3. FOR SOCIAL MEDIA POSTS
We all know that images perform well on social media. How many times have you been scrolling through your Facebook or Instagram feed and been stopped by an image that made you really read the caption?
Adding images to your social media posts make them more likely to be seen and engaged with by your audience.
4. PRINTED MATERIALS
Whilst we focus a lot on online businesses, a lot of people operate businesses that function offline too and materials like flyers, brochures and business cards will be needed.
Add a personal touch to these items with some eye-catching images.
5. EMAILS
There are 3 main ways that you can use photos to jazz up your emails.
Firstly, you can create a branded header for any newsletters that you send out. Secondly, you can break up the text of your emails with a couple of images. Finally, you can use a nice headshot to create a professional looking signature!
6. ON DIGITAL OR PRESS PRODUCTS YOU CREATE
Adding images to your products more generally will make them look better and more appealing to your audience.
Just remember though, if you’re using stock images, to check the terms of use. You may need to purchase an extended license to use the images on products that you are selling.
And there you have it, a few simple ways that you can use photos in your business!
