How to Choose the Best Stock Photos

You’ve heard the adage – “A picture is worth a thousand words.” Images are a powerful and effective communication tool, which is why using the right pictures in your marketing is so important. When marketing your business as an independent financial advisor, the images you use to represent your firm create an impression of your brand in the minds of your clients and prospects. In most cases, those images will be stock photography.

Stock photos are the most popular choice for financial advisor websites, blog content, social media, and printed marketing collateral. While some cases call for custom photoshoots, stock imagery is typically the most economical and convenient option.

If you’re unfamiliar with the term, stock photographs are pictures taken by a photographer without a particular client or project in mind. The photos are then licensed and typically sold for a fee to be used by the licensee on their websites, marketing materials, or other permitted applications.

But not all stock photography is created equal, and choosing the wrong photos will convey the wrong message. What do you need to know about selecting the best stock photos to support your marketing strategy?

Connect with your audience

All your marketing, including the stock photography you choose, should connect with or reflect your target audience. Always keep your ideal client avatar in mind. Specifically, who do you work with? Who do you want to attract? Every stock photo you choose should be one in which that person can see themselves.

If you work with wealthy retired couples, your photographs may include images of older, well-dressed adults in well-appointed homes, gardens, wineries, boats, or vacation settings. If you’re targeting mid-career executives, choose photos of professionals in an office, at their desk, or at an airport. For young families, choose pictures that reflect mealtime, baseball practice, or carpool lines.

Convey meaning

You don’t have to use a literal image of the content’s subject matter. For example, if you’re sharing a blog post about the stock market, you don’t need to use a market chart image or photo of the stock exchange floor. Instead, consider using analogies or stories to inspire your image selection.

For example, portfolio diversification may be compared to food groups – the more varied and colorful the whole foods on your plate, the healthier your meal is. A financial plan may be compared to an architectural rendering, recipe, or map. Topics like estate planning or life insurance could use family images to convey the importance of protecting loved ones.

How do you want your audience to relate to the article? How do you want them to feel? All of this will tie into the meaning you strive to convey and the stock photographs you should choose.

Avoid visual clichés

We’ve all seen certain images used repeatedly, year after year. Generic stock photographs of gold eggs in a nest or piggy banks stuffed with money are so overused that they get lost in social media feeds. Instead, think of what those images are trying to convey.

Go for an alternative angle and take a fresh approach. If money means peace of mind, security, adventure, or freedom for your clients, think of creative ways to represent that – a locked door, a couple cozied up in front of a fireplace, grandparents smiling at kids playing, a woman rock climbing, a man driving a convertible with the wind in his hair. You don’t have to go too far outside the box, but steer clear of trite and cheesy images.

Consider practical limitations

Your photos will not just be used in the original format. Because your stock image may be used in a variety of ways – added to your website content management system (such as WordPress), your email service provider (such as Constant Contact), and on different social media channels, it could be cropped and reshaped to fit the platform.

Does it look right in your social media preview – the image that automatically pops up when you use the URL on Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn? Are important parts of the image cut off or cropped out? Does the image even make sense anymore with different backdrops or in different contexts? For example, large panoramic images or images with the subject far to one side may not fare well.

Stick with compliance-friendly images

Some of the stock photos aimed at financial audiences will get you into trouble with compliance. Remember, as a financial advisor, your marketing cannot include exaggerated, unwarranted, or misleading statements, opinions, or claims. This includes imagery.

Pictures of swooping arrows that only point up, stacks of gold bars, or money trees can be interpreted as a guarantee of success or earning large sums of money. Even if you’re not making any promises or intending any deceptive messaging, compliance will not likely approve their use, so we suggest you skip them.

Cheaper is not better

As with most things in life, with stock photos, you get what you pay for. Free or low-priced images tend to be lower quality and overused. If you find a high-quality image at a low cost, chances are many other people have also purchased it, and it’s available with few limitations. Your audience will likely see the image elsewhere, associating it with brands other than yours, diluting or cheapening its impact. High-quality stock photos with limited licensing cost more.

Be sure the image’s resolution is high enough to display well for your intended use. While it’s true that you can save a little by purchasing lower resolution images, those savings will be lost when your brochure or website displays blurry or over-pixelated photos.

Be mindful of legalities

If you don’t pay attention to the fine print, you could pay big time. Without proper permission to use the photo as you intend to, you can get into legal trouble and be charged exorbitant fines. It does happen, so read the terms and avoid using images that are not rightfully yours. For example, if your license allows you to use the image online but not in print, you would be able to use the photo on your website or email but not in your print newsletter or company brochure. Also, be mindful of how long the license is valid because when it expires, you will need to cease using that image in your materials.

More than a pretty picture

Selecting the right stock photos is more than choosing a picture you like. It’s a chance to connect with your audience, convey a powerful message, and elevate your brand. Choosing poorly is a missed opportunity that can work against you.

At Crystal Marketing Solutions, we always take the time to carefully match the right image with the right message, ensure that it looks great on all platforms, and check that it meets compliance and legal guidelines.