Say No to Stock Images: Better Alternatives for Your Presentations

Thanks to perfect-looking models and smiling, hand-shaking employees they usually look good at first glance: stock images. We all know them, and we’ve probably used them before.

But even, if this sounds promising at first, stock photos stage an illusory world over and over again and thus create a certain distance to your customers. In their search for the perfect provider, customers are more likely to be looking for a company that uses pictures that signify closeness, authenticity and genuineness.

What are stock images?

You might have heard of the term before, but what exactly are stock images? Stock photos are generic images that, since they are licensed, can be purchased on various websites for small prices.

The disadvantages of stock images

Stock images are tempting. But you should be cautious about using them. You should keep the following disadvantages in mind:

#1: Stock images appear staged quickly

No one is born perfect, as we know, yet stock images often look very perfect and thus appear staged easily. The body postures of the models seem unnatural, and the emotions portrayed can quickly appear inauthentic.

Finding stock images that fully reflect your company can be a difficult task – even though there are countless providers of them online.

#2: Stock images can be used by everyone – not just your company

For this reason, stock images are far from being a unique selling point and can undermine your brand quickly. In addition, many motifs have already been seen several times and are therefore not associated with a specific company.

If your competitors have used the same motifs or images, this can be unpleasant, especially in front of an audience.

#3: Stock images are exchangeable

Since stock images often look very similar, they are not suitable for representing a company or a product. They are simply exchangeable, which that they have no recognition factor and therefore do not form a good basis for brand loyalty.

In the worst case, this could evoke negative associations in your potential clientele, which then affects your brand.

Poor content limits brand loyalty

It’s no secret that content, whether visual or not, shapes a brand’s image. Every single image or video and every text or post on social media influences interested parties to form an opinion about your brand or product.

And do you really want your sales to drop just because you used stock images? No? Then we’ve put together some tips on what you can use as an alternative to stock images in the next paragraph.

The alternative: Build your own image databases

One of the easiest solutions is to invest the money and organize a photo shoot to build your company’s own image database. This way you can present your company, products, and employees as they are and create a visual world that matches your corporate design.

Your audience can identify more with you company’s content if you appear authentic and likeable.

A very good example of a company-wide image database that all employees can access is Canto. The images can be downloaded in various formats and resolutions and inserted directly into PowerPoint presentations.

Also: better rules for the use of images in corporate presentations

We also recommend that you have clear rules for the use of images in presentations by your employees. And if you ever do use stock images, have them edited by a designer to match your corporate design.

Conclusion: Stock images – how to create better alternatives

Images are important because you can reflect and tell the company story. The style of your images determines how your brand and company are perceived.

Do you have questions about stock images or PowerPoint in general? Do not hesitate to contact us at [email protected], we will be happy to help you.

Are you looking for visually supportive and professionally designed slide templates? Feel free to take a look around our store. Here we have numerous slides prepared for you to download on a wide variety of (business) topics. Take a look today! ►To the store

Further articles, that might interest you:

• 2 Ideas of Inklunding Images skilfully in PPT
• Scan&Paste App: Insert Images faster in PPT
• Pecha Kucha Presentation: 20 Pictures in 20 Minutes