Using stock photography will literally save your life. OK, maybe thats a slight exaggeration, but they can be super helpful.

With everything already on your plate as a business owner, finding photos for your blog posts or Instagram stories is probably the last thing on your mind, but it’s still something you need to do. This is where stock photos come in.

And when I say stock photos I don’t mean the super cheesy ones you see used as memes or the ones that would make an professional designer cringe. There are so many modern and aesthetic stock photo sites out there, examples will be at the bottom of this post!

Some of the benefits of using stock photos:

They can help with clarity in personal branding
Easy to customize and use for promotional graphics
Accessible whenever you need them
Cute, fun, and creative
Professionally done so you look professional
Stock memberships usually come with other perks besides just stock photos
Tons of ways to use them!!

I could go on and on about the benefits of stock photos, but there is one I specifically want to focus on.

There are a ton of ways to use stock photos.

Use stock photos for social content

INSTAGRAM

Don’t have a picture of yourself to post? Use a stock photo instead!

It is proven that photos of yourself do perform better, but that doesn’t mean you can’t break up your posts with some stock photos.

I have used them before on my Instagram and they can assist in keeping up a cohesive feed very nicely, whether for filler photos or reel covers. You can spice up a filler photo by adding text or an overlay. Check out how I used some stock photos for my client, Emily.

You can also use stock photos for Facebook banners, Facebook ads, Twitter graphics, and whatever your imagination can come up with!

PINTEREST

I love using stock photography for my Pinterest images. I love it so much I just want to shout it from the rooftops!

I would have to say I use them mostly for this reason. For what I am looking for regarding my brand, using stock photos for my Pinterest graphics just makes sense. It’s so easy to create graphics in Canva and stock photos just have this clean and sophisticated look to them that will get anyone to click on your pin.

The best part is that other people might be using these photos too, but you make them yours.

Here are a few examples of pins I’ve made:

Tip: Having a few different variations of pins for one blog posts is always helpful!

Ways to use stock photos on your website:

FEATURED BLOG IMAGES

When writing blog posts using featured images are super important. This is the image that will appear on your blog’s homepage or on other specific pages when you make a new post. I usually use the same image for my featured image that I used in my Pinterest graphic for that post.

Just like your Instagram profile, you also want your blog to be cohesive and adhere to your personal brand. We already know that using stock photos can help with that! I believe using stock photos on your website make it look polished and put together. The great thing about stock photos is there are photos for any and every look you are going for!

So even though these pictures are quite basic and simple, they can represent so much and have small elements in them that can be associated with the blog post.

IN BLOG POSTS

Sometimes when you are writing a blog post you can get carried away and now it looks like a novel. Which, don’t get me wrong, I love to read, but when I’m looking for a blog post I want a blog post, and not a novel. So, if your post is looking like a hefty book, create some line breaks with some photos.

As you can see, the photo doesn’t really have anything to do with the topic of the blog post, but it is a nice image and works good as a break in the text. If readers see a super text-heavy blog post, they might exit out before giving it a shot.

PSST. Stock photos don’t always have to be of objects. Quote graphics are also acceptable in blog posts and will be apart of most stock photo subscriptions.

Use stock photos in email marketing

By now, you’ve definitely heard how important email marketing is for traffic. By utilizing an email list you will be able to grow a loyal following more quickly and easily. It takes a lot of effort, but it can be a really worthwhile investment.

You probably didn’t even think of using stock photos in your email newsletter, did ya? I’ve used them a few times in my emails, but never realized how much they truly added visually. Email lists have a reputation for being boring and well, do you even read them? Make it fun and personal by adding in those stock photos! Keep it consistent all across the board, even in the places you would least expect it.