So you have just finished writing that compelling blog post you have been working and it’s ready for publishing, but there is one thing missing. Some cool images to spice up things! Yes, you need some cool photos but where exactly do you find them? Finding the right photo online can be time consuming and more so when you are looking for copyright free stock photos. Luckily, we have conjured up a quick guide to help you sieve and separate the wheat from the chaff fast. Just read on and take some notes!
Why Use Stock Images
There is no denying that these days, images are more or less the message especially among millennial people who are known to have short attention spans. Images have grown so powerful that they even influence things like purchasing decisions. Now, this is where the power of stock images can come in to help deliver a message and improve conversions.It is no fluke that stock images are growing in popularity given that they are not only mostly free plus they are also of very high quality not to mention that you can always get some well-designed ones if you do some clever digging.
Where To Find Copyright Free Stock Images
Frankly, there are lots of places to find stock images but the real hurdle has got to be finding authentic images that you haven’t seen somewhere else around the web. Some of the best places to look for free and paid for stock images include Burst, Pixabay, LoremPixel, 500px, Wikipedia Commons among others. Burst is particularly marvelous given that you are bound to get lots of fresh photos under Creative Commons Zero (CC0) license. This is to say that you can use and edit the photo without giving any credits whatsoever.
Finding The Perfect Stock Image
Now that you know a thing or two about where to grab a stock image, here are few tips to guide you through finding stock images that are a match to your blog.
- Use Fresh Images
Again, authenticity is key when looking to deliver engaging content thus you should always look for fresh images to compliment textual content. In other words, avoid those generic images you have seen being reused all over the web and try being as creative as possible. For instance, don’t just jump into Burst’s collection and pick the popular images. Why not filter into the database using proper keywords and find other cool images?
- Spice Up Your Stock Images
Talking of authenticity, you can move a step even further and edit your images to give them an authentic look. You can do this by adding some text over the image, using brand color overlays, cropping the image, editing the image background etc. You can get as creative as you can using tools like Canva, Photoshop, GIMP, Sketch etc.
- Use Images That Blend in With Your Content
Most bloggers would tend to drop in stock images into their posts even if they do not fit in well with their content. This is wrong! The right way to go about this is to find stock images that give users a glimpse of the textual content or rather, the images should be in tandem with what you are talking about in the posts. To give more unique feel to the stock images you can customize them by editing at Canva.
- Find Stock Images That Fit in With Your Audience
Your images shouldn’t just be used to fill in the gaps. They should communicate to your audience and this is why it is vital that you select your stock images with your audience in mind. For instance,if you have an audience made largely of millennials, pick a photo with a lot of cool graphics that exude vibrancy and energy in a bid to catch their attention.As a rule of the thumb, find an image that clearly resonates with your brand and your consumers.
Final Remarks
There you have it! This is just the tip of the iceberg but this quick guide should set the ball rolling as far as using stock images is concerned. The ball is in your court now. You can now start using stock images smartly to drive engagement to your content.
