Save time and money
Content marketers do not have time to call photographers, tell them to shoot, and then tell them when they can edit. That takes a lot of time. What could be better than searching for photos on Google’s search bar or some useful stock photo websites?
It saves you time to plan your next content strategy and money because you can get photos for free or at a low cost.
Tips for Using Stock Photos Effectively in Your Content Strategy
Here are some tips about using stock photos effectively to improve your content strategy.
Don’t forget about your audience
What your audience wants—Prioritize this above all else. If not, your website suffers greatly. Persuading an audience is never simple, but smart visuals can.
Choose the images that reinforce your branding, increase the connection with your audience, and hit on their pain points. For example, nowadays, millennials like vibrancy, transparency, and something humorous. Observe their thoughts and infuse them into your content visuals. This will work!
Aim to use the latest images
Typically, stock photo sites have millions of image collections. As some popular images gain popularity, using them will not be smart for you. It degrades the freshness of your content. Avoid generic or overly staged images that may appear inauthentic or cliché.
For example, look for several high-quality stock photo sites instead of one to check out some uncovered and fresh images.
Make it unique before usage
Keep your thoughts distinct from others if one website uses the same images you want for your content marketing. So how does it make a difference? As you know, multiple users have access to stock photos.
That’s why we suggested you put your own stamp on the images by making them unique. Add overlays, texts, filters, or whatever you need for post-processing. It can help these images become more personalized and original.
Optimize the stock photos for SEO
SEO is one of the factors in getting your content ranked. If you optimize the stock photos for SEO, you improve the image visibility in SERPs, which drives organic traffic to your website.
For example, instead of “image789.jpg”, include your content keywords in a descriptive file name.
Even if you optimize your appropriate image sizes, that can help increase loading speed. Several SEO image optimization tactics provide value to your audience and primarily work for visually impaired search engine users.
Choose images that complement your content
Images should support the ideas in your content; they should not feel thrown in randomly. It undermines your content’s reader-friendliness. Pick pictures that complement your content better and speak directly to your audience.
Your posted images justify the content while also enticing your reader to read on. But make sure you don’t overuse the images; otherwise, it will irritate your audience and increase your website’s bounce rate.
