5 Reasons to Re-Think that Stock Photo

As a Marketing Manager, I’ve spent hours perusing iStock.com, Dreamstime.com and all of the other stock photo libraries online for photos that capture just the right “image” for my clients. Sometimes stock photos are the perfect answer, however, many times they aren’t – especially when they feature people.

I will just come right out and say it – I hate stock photos.

Here’s why:

They’re impersonal. If you’re a small to mid-sized business with a relatively small staff, there is absolutely no reason that your website or marketing materials should have stock photo staff members. Come on! You can spot a stock photo a mile away, we know this isn’t your break room!

stock-photo-12076709-international-business-associates-in-a-meeting

They’re fake. If you want to portray the type of company that brainstorms through doodles made with dry erase markers on the windows… then be that company! Don’t try and be the picture of something that doesn’t really capture the way your business runs. In fact, Dave, our Business Development Manager, does this all the time. I don’t know about you, but I’ll take a half decent photo with some character that actually tells you about the personality of a business over a stale stock photo you can find in one Google Image search for “marketing.”

FAKEREAL

They aren’t relatable. People like to see people, and even more so we like to see people we recognize. If you’re going to portray a happy customer – why don’t you portray an actual happy customer?! I can bet that many of your customers would be happy to be the face of your next print campaign (if they are truly happy with your product or service), and people will respond much more positively if they recognize the person in your ad. Not only is it a conversation starter, “Hey, I saw you in that XYZ ad!” but it’s relatable to your audience.

happy customer

They can be a tad-bit corny. Need I say more? (This photo is titled “Happy Business People Having Fun” by the way).

stock-photo-8506568-happy-business-colleagues-having-fun

They lack credibility. If your product is a teeth whitener and you pull a stock photo off the internet of a person with really white teeth – where is the credibility in that? Whatever it is that you as a business sell as a product or service is what is marketable – invest your money in a photographer and show your potential customers what YOU really produced.

And just for fun, here are some really, really ridiculous stock photos.

stock-photo-1560844-hippie-with-beerbelly stock-photo-11354678-girl-eating-spaghetti-with-hands stock-photo-15717230-lunatic stock-photo-18747661-man-startled-awake-by-intruder

What do you think about stock photos? Yay or nay?

Back to All Insights

Brittany Mathisen

2023-09-27

OTM has been a wonderful marketing partner for the last four years. We have shifted marketing plans over time and they are very open and explained all the details as we moved forward with new plans. They have done everything from help design and update offices, managed social media, planning marketing events, and many more things. The Hear for Holidays Event that we do each year is one of my favorite events that we work on together. Rachel and the whole OTM team have brought my marketing vision to life and I love everything they have done for my business. I look forward to what the future holds as we continue to work together.

Yvonne Myers

2023-07-30

I worked with Old Town Media (OTM) on a quick grant project that had a 6-week timeline. They were very thoughtful about whether they could meet the grant expectations and needs before accepting the work. The team at OTM then completed extensive research and facilitated focus groups to ensure the product they created met the needs of the end-users. They met all of the grant deadlines and far exceeded our expectations of the portal they created for us! I would not hesitate to use their services again and highly recommend them to others looking for a professional, high quality, and FUN team to work with.

Julie Dokoupil

2023-07-18

OTM is a locally owned firm that I have worked with for over 13 years. They are an amazing team of people who know and understand current marketing technology and strategies. My husband and I are starting a new business and they have helped us out even with small details to get our business going.

TunDesign

2023-06-20

I have seen a significant increase in community engagement which has helped bolster our brand presence, exceeding the expectations of the entire team. Carrie and her team provides consistent communication through slack and emails which has led to an effective and trusted partnership. Truly appreciate how hard-working, agile, and driven everyone on the team is. Thanks again for eveything your team has done for our company.

David Haase

2023-06-07

OTM has done a fantastic job bringing the Fort Collins Peach Festival back to the public! OTM is dealing with several volunteers on a committee and keeping everyone informed, best in business advice and a platform that will serve us for years. We didn't know what we needed and were presented with choices and educated about each before implementation. Kerrie and Brianna have done great work for us! Dave Haase Committee Chair Fort Collins Peach Festival

Dana Sednek

2023-03-15

Using their Path to Growth Model, OTM not only gave me a path forward, but they helped me clarify my strategy, direction, and actions for how to set and launch my business. I was able to launch quickly and I see the flywheel ahead that is necessary to accelerate customer intake and revenue building. Thrilled with the outcome!!!

Liza Adams

2023-01-13

As the Head of Marketing at Encompass Technologies, I considered Old Town Media an extension of our marketing team. OTM worked closely with us on rebranding and repositioning, multiple industry-first product launches, key industry events, and integrated demand generation campaigns while we grew our marketing team and acquired new companies. With the help of OTM, we grew our pipeline and bested industry benchmarks for Software as a Service (SaaS) sales and marketing efficiency metrics. We came to rely on OTM for tactical execution to augment our team but where they added the most value was in our rebranding strategy and market positioning efforts. OTM played an integral role in conducting research and deeply understanding our market dynamics, ideal customer profile, customer challenges, competitive landscape, products and innovation, key differentiators, vision, and mission. This was no easy feat with a highly complex ecosystem, multiple segments, wide variety of audiences, and a broad array of products. Armed with market insights, OTM helped us develop a compelling brand, an inspirational story reflecting our vision and strategy, a unique and defensible market position, and messaging that was relevant to our target audiences. I appreciated that the team was respectful and empathetic, intently curious, insightful with their observations and recommendations, and candid with their feedback. OTM set realistic expectations about deliverables/scope, level of effort, roles, timeline, and cost. The team was responsive, highly collaborative, and open to suggestions. OTM plugged our expertise and resource gaps which allowed us to break the compromise between doing good work and doing it quickly. On top of that, they were fun to work with. OTM was truly a partner of the business.

Eric Dengler

2023-01-11

Great team! Small company service. Big firm power and expertise.

zach fulton

2023-01-06

Simply put, OTM is a well oiled machine! Thanks for all you do

5 Reasons to Re-Think that Stock Photo

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