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3 tips to select the right images for commercial use

Like all businesses, you want to get your name out there, be noticed and bring attention to your brand. With a good product or service and a few smart ideas, a marketing campaign can be on the way in no time at all. But how can you design it in an attractive way while respecting your brand image and goals?

At ImageSelect, no surprises, we think it all starts with the proper images.

Any commercial activity needs appropriate visualisation. No matter how many words you use to describe your product or service, without pictures it will simply not work. That’s also where ‘TLDR’ comes from after all.

We have a library of more than 250 million images so the perfect one for you is definitely there but defining which one exactly you need can be challenging. Let your stock photo experts guide you through and let’s find out how to select the right images for commercial use.

1 - Define your goals

group meeting to discuss business goals and setting objectives

All who have accomplished great things have had great aim so let’s first define your goals.


- Scope

Defining how many people your campaign will reach will help you know how much resources you can allocate in terms of time and budget but also which licence you will require when purchasing your stock images.

Do you have a specific objective in terms of number of impressions, copies you need to distribute or the amount of people that will see your ad in the street?

If you are only targeting a small number of people, think about a more personal message and accompanied by warmer pictures.

- Target audience

Of course, your campaign needs to be tailored to your audience. Your approach will change depending on if you are trying to cater to businesses or directly to consumers, but even maybe depending on your target country. Be especially aware of cultural differences. You might not use the same images in Germany like you would in the United Kingdom for example.

Maybe your audience already understands your subject or its context already, in which case, you will also need to elaborate a different sales pitch and, consequently, images.

An image is a kind of art and self-expression. It can describe a situation in a glance and be used to express many emotions. Choose the one that will resonate with your audience!

2 - Choose pictures beneficial to your brand image

designers choosing colour for the branding of the business - ideal for choosing complimenting images

When we talk about brand image, consistency is essential. No matter the image you want to give when people think about your brand (fun, modern, elegant…), the key is to keep the same communication tactics all along the way.

What that means for images is that you need to keep colours, themes and designs consistent. If you started including high quality images with a desert theme, you can keep putting images along the same subject with rocky mountains for example. Otherwise, try to add pictures with similar sandy colours. They will fit right in.

If our company has a graphics chart, then that’s even better. Try to choose either photos that go along the colours proper to your company, or pictures that compliment them.
For example,  if your logo has bright colours, black and white pictures can further accentuate your branding.


3 - Do not compromise on quality and go for high resolution images

A simple spell but quite unbreakable. Think about the form your campaign will take. Whether it is online or through printed products, a blurry picture is instantly noticeable.

Many companies do not check the resolution of their images before using them and end up being disappointed in the final product.

What defines the resolution of an image and what are hires images?

Hires stands for high resolution or denser image quality. Images are made of tiny pixels (picture elements), or squares of color which you don't usually notice because they all blend together to form the picture that you recognize.

Full HD, also known as FHD, is the resolution that's currently most common among computers, televisions, and video content. The image is 1920 pixels wide and 1080 pixels high: a total of 2.07 megapixels.

It is therefore essential that your image contains the right amount of pixels for your use. If it’s going to represent a tiny square on your website, it may not be necessary to go for 1920 x 1080 pixels but the higher the quality, the less you will have to worry about having to resize the image later on. HD images are therefore the way to go whatever you need to design. A high quality image will make all the difference.

 
What did you think of our tips? Do you have some yourself? Let us know!

 

(Jul 9, 2021) Clemence Servonnat Getting started

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