Tishs Tuesday Tip 4
My weekly tip series.
Please join me every Tuesday as I release a new tip to help you in your Online Marketing efforts.
Nov 26th 2019
#TishsTuesdayTip: Sourcing & Using Great Images
Images are key in helping us to shine online! We depend on using images in our online marketing – for Websites, Facebook, Twitter, of course Instagram & Pintrest, and LinkedIn too.
We need a constant source of good quality images. And the internet has blessed us with many free and paid stock photography websites, apps and platforms to allow us to sources those images. Plus Headshot Photographers are more in demand now than ever before as the demand has grown for those good quality headshots and photoshoots for our websites etc.
However a bit of confusion still exists regarding the free images especially on Google’s image search. Many people use those images in their social media posting and on websites.
Sure they’re there for the using, right?
No, definitely not.
Images are subject to copyright, and you need to find out if you have legal right to use them – whether you find them on Google, social media or stock photography websites.
You cannot simply right click an image on Google and use it in your own promotional material. There is a setting in Google Image search which allows you to search for Images labelled for reuse however unfortunately these images are usually lower quality.
The best ways to source images you can freely source and use are as follows:
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Use a Free Photography Website
There are many out there eg Unsplash and Pexels. Check their License advice on the site to ensure you can use freely. For example on Pexels they say:
- All photos on Pexels are free to use.
- Attribution is not required. Giving credit to the photographer or Pexels is not necessary but always appreciated.
- You can modify the photos. Be creative and edit the photos as you like.
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Use Images from The Creative Commons
Use images with The Creative Commons license, which gives photographers the ability to release their photos to the public, while still retaining some control over how they are used. All photos with a Creative Commons license fall into two categories:
- Those that allow commercial use.
- Those that don’t.
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Purchase from Stock Photography Websites
Purchase a set of images for your business from stock photography website such as Big Stock or Shutterstock. These are great, especially for business images. I especially like BigStock and recommend my business clients purchase a months worth or images – for £69 you can download 10 images/day for 1 month. You can build up your own personal library of 300+ images which will keep you going for the next year or two!
- My recommendation is to spend an hour or two going through to see which images you feel best represents your business, or are inspirational for your customers
- Add to a Lightbox, whichis away of storing images you are considering using
- Then subscribe to purchase a months worth of images
- Set a reminder each morning to download 10 for the day and by the end of the month you have 300 beautiful royalty free images to use on your marketing materials
PS: Remember to unsubscribe after the month if you don’t want to continue paying! See more here.
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Invest in a good quality Photoshoot
No images will represent your business or yourself better than a good quality photoshoot. I advise this to my clients all the time. It’s especially important for your website! It can help potential clients build up trust in you, as they see a real person there, not an impersonal website. Plus you get to have a range of images for all your social media platforms.
There are some amazing photographers who offer reasonable rates for full or half day shoots. This is especially important for Personal Brands – eg if you are the main part of the business such as a Life Coach, HR Consultant, Graphic Designer etc.
Google local photographers, or find one through some of the many amazing local networks we have. Check out past work and see if your a good fit. then invest in yourself, your definitely worth it! I used Madlen of Venice Peach in Derry for my headshots and I’ve had been able to use them across so many different areas since, it was so worth it 😀
- Other ways to get great images are to subscribe to Canva or Design Wizard which will provide you with loads of images for your promotional materials and graphics. The premium versions will give you the best choices 😉
- Another free photography sites is Pixabay
- Flickr, Pintrest and even Instagram are full of beautiful images.
- Always make sure you get permission and check the license use.
Check out my upcoming workshops: Planning Your Website for Success Workshops Nov 19 Derry
