You’re looking for striking styled stock photos that allow you to tell your story. Images are not one-size-fits-all, even in a library with over 8,000 high-quality styled stock photos. When it comes to deciding which images are perfect for your brand, it can be a bit difficult. There are lots of images to choose from, after all! Here are our top tips for how to choose the right styled stock photos for your small business:
Know Your Audience
Ask yourself who you're really trying to reach. Who is your ideal client? What does she do? What gets her pumped up? What makes her happy? Is she a night owl or a morning person?
Not only that, but comb through your stats to actually get to know your followers as of right now. Check out your Google Analytics reports or peek at Facebook Insights and Instagram stats. You’ll be able to see what times they’re looking at your profile or website, genders and age ranges, and more.
You can also look at your most popular posts – what content is most visited on your site, or what images on Instagram have the most likes. Do your flat lays get ten times the love on your Instagram? Then there’s your answer! You need some gorgeous flat lays for your grid.
Define Your Style
The key to defining your style is making purposeful choices and remaining consistent. Your brand should have a clear aesthetic and mood that you look for in every stock photo that you select.
Head to Pinterest and create a vision board, or check out some of your favorite brands and take notes on their style rules. If you have a very clear minimalist brand style, then you’ll want to steer clear of colorful imagery – even if you personally love it!
Consider Your Brand Colors
A color scheme is like a set of guideposts for your brand. By selecting and reusing the right colors, you build brand recognition and familiarity among your audience. Colors can play an immense psychological impact on the way audiences perceive marketing messages, so it's important to choose wisely.
Once you have a primary brand color and a few complementary tones, look for styled stock photos that highlight those gorgeous shades. The color filter tools in the Styled Stock Society member library make it easy for our members to search and filter for images with specific brand colors.
Plan Your Content
Once you know what you're looking for in a styled stock photo, you need to decide what you're using the image for. The best stock photos are as versatile as they are eye-catching, but naturally, not every picture is picture-perfect for the project.
Will you be creating an irresistible Facebook ad, a shareable blog graphic or a #doubletapworthy Instagram post? How much space do you need for text and other design elements? What size and orientation image do you need?
Luckily, the Styled Stock Society has your back with a massive collection of gorgeous styled stock photos filled with chic image options to fit your brand. You can filter by square-cropped, vertical, or horizontal images, find the perfect iPhone mockup, search for a specific keyword or browse tons of images within a more general category. Styled Stock Society Members get exclusive access to over 5,000 high-quality styled stock photos that make it easy to plan whatever content you're creating.
Need a little sample to get the creative juices flowing? Download twenty five free styled stock photos today!
