portrait street photography foap UGC
Sourcing photos for your website, social media and marketing can be tricky. Not every creative team has an unlimited budget or an in-house photographer to supply a needed number of images and this is why majority of marketers and designers turn to stock services. Despite the numerous solutions and a few global players everyone is familiar with, the process is still quite time-consuming and not everyone has just learned the lesson of the Everywhere Girl.
Dog days of stock are over
“The use of stock images is decreasing as businesses turn to personalized images and videos. Because stock photos don’t necessarily support a brand’s unique identity, audiences tend to get lost in the mix — there aren’t a lot of ways they can relate to brands that favour stock” writes digital marketing guru, Josh Steimle.
In advertising and branding it is all about getting attention, since 90% of the information that comes to the brain is visual. However, we are already bombarded with immense number of ads and visual messages, so if there is a weapon just anyone can use to still have a saying in this game – it is authenticity.
Micro-stocks – macro-content
You have approximately 8 seconds to engage the viewer further – make it count by choosing the right imagery that will really grip your audience.
This is where micro-stocks are coming into play. Micro-stocks crowdsource their content solely via Internet from a wide number of photographers. Both sides enjoy the social media and user-generated content revolutions as the bedrock of this phenomenon. Many contributors enjoy the idea of making few extra dollars for their hobby that enables them to keep investing in it.
Yet, the micro-stocks have a great advantage over the big, macro players and it is originality. There are less pictures to choose from, but when it comes to quality of images who needs vanity numbers? There is less stocky, fake-looking visuals of people smiling at their hilarious salads but more content from real passionates.
So if you want to un-stock your branding, design and advertising, here is what you should get from micro-stocks like foap.com/market
1. Authentic Portraits
News as old as the world : images with real people in realistic contexts simply resonate with audience more easily due to the natural desire for authenticity and when human factor comes into play, you can count on engagement awaken on the sense of believability and earnesty.
Fun fact:Photos of real people showing faces get 38% more Likes.
2. Flat lay
Although the style is not new and has been perfected by fashion and food bloggers to the extreme, it is very appealing and hot. Balancing on the 2D illusion and fusion of geometric layouts, the trend is nourishing on our inclination for order and simplicity. Don’t be fooled, though. As uncomplicated as it looks, it calls for quite a skill.
3. Creative off-the-hook imagery
All praise the novel and original, but sometimes it is just pure stockiness that one is after to simply illustrate the message, while designing another ad or email campaign. If you are looking for some off-the-wall branded imagery, micro-stocks are there to serve you. They are full of trendy, funny images with a bit off-centric composition, bright colours, some quirky subjects and humour.
4. Street and travel photography
Ever seen the NatGeo Instagram profile boasting over 80M followers? They have great visuals and descriptions supporting the art of story-telling. Micro-stocks open a vault of unique content: real passionates’ travel journeys, urban adventures and contemporary lifestyle. If you want to stand out, do not miss out on the hottest trend of social photography. Images created by the crowd make content and storytelling more personal, playing on the personal interaction between you and your reader more naturally and effectively on a psychological level.
So are you ready to take a slice of that UGC-cake? Visit foap.com/market and explore the creativity of over 2M global photographers now!
