5 Top Tips for stopping stock imagery from damaging your brand (and what to include in your photos instead!)
Small business owners, did you realise that stock imagery can actually damage your brand?
I’m sure you know from when you’ve visit other websites or see sponsored posts on Facebook that stock images are easy to spot, they look insincere, and they mean people cannot get a true sense of you or your business.
You want to build connection and trust with potential clients and customers, so you need to show the real you and your business. Stock images just don’t do this and potential clients/customers will also question whether what you are doing, and what you offer, is real.
As a brand photographer, I know how important images are, and how every photo you use needs to reflect you and your business.
So now is the time to move away from stock imagery and use my top tips for what to include in your photos instead!
Claire with the Camera x
1. Show where you work
People love to see behind the scenes and connect with the real you, so whether it’s your home office, studio or front room, share where you work and what you do. If you are on your way to a client, if you have a pet who joins you (or a child home with covid) – they are all great stories to share!
2. Tools of your trade
Close ups of the things you use in your daily business give great detail, and focus on the love and effort you put into what you do.
Perhaps you are a baker, artist, or create bespoke jewellery and you can take close ups of the art or items as you progress along each stage, from the raw materials to the finished product?
Perhaps the tools of your trade are coaching books that you read and your laptop? Whatever they are, they are a key feature to visually sharing your business story.
3. Who you work with
And I don’t just mean your cat or dog at home! Showing your connection and interaction with customers and clients, helps people to understand what you do and what you bring to others, enticing them to find out more and see how they can get that same experience.
Whether you can do a screenshot on your next Zoom call, take a selfie at your next client meeting or take a photo of team you are working with, these are great ways to show the great relationships you build.
4. The range of what you do
Sometimes we are so used to what we do, that we don’t think of it as interesting! It becomes second nature and we don’t realise there’s a story we can tell.
Have a think about some of the things you do that you could use in photos – perhaps as simple as unpacking a stock delivery, preparing for your next coaching session, sharing a testimonial a client has WhatsApped to you, or even something that didn’t go quite as planned – that’s a great way to invite others to share their learnings too!
5. Bring your brand to life
What are your business brand values? What are your brand colours? Use these consistently in your posts and create a suite of templates you can use to make posting easy; Canva is fantastic for this!
Including your brand values can seem harder, but first have you identified these?
Mine are:
honesty and integrity
supporting others, lifting them up and creating confidence to be who you are
celebrating our unique superpowers
showcasing the passion for what we do
What are yours?
Once you know what they are, you can start tying things in with them – perhaps you have a mug you drink your tea or coffee from every day, that brings out your humour or a brand colour, perhaps your notebook or journal reflects what’s important to you. Or maybe you have some key books that you often refer to which help guide you and represent one of your values or ways you approach life?
Each of these can be a photo that you use to talk about what your business does and what you believe in.
And finally
Having your own library of photos helps to provide a consistent look, strengthening your brand and increasing awareness so your customers and clients get a proper understanding of your business and its values.
If you would like to find out how I can create your very own image library brimming with beautiful, bespoke photos which you can use each day to tell your story, connect with your ideal client and enable your business to grow, message me at claire@clairewormleyphotography.co.uk for a no pressure chat.
I love hearing from other small business owners about your business and what challenges you face to see how a brand photography shoot might be able to help you.
Best wishes
Claire
