Social media is what we like to call endlessly scrollable.
Every man and his dog has a social media account, which means it’s crucial that your content stands out from the rest, and has enough of a draw to make your audience want to stop scrolling and check you out.
In previous posts, we’ve talked about how you can improve the reach and effectiveness of your content by making it as visual as possible, but how exactly do you do that?
The answer: royalty-free stock images.
Check out our Top 4 Royalty-Free Stock Image sites:
Rarely a day goes by that we don’t pay a visit or two to Unsplash.
Here you’ll find a massive collection of high-quality, high-resolution images spanning far more genres than you’ll likely need. Every photo is licensed under Creative Commons Zero, meaning you can do whatever you like with them without attribution.
Take a scroll down our Twitter feed and you’ll probably see a few Unsplash snaps here and there!
Pixabay also licenses their images under Creative Commons Zero, and their collection is just as extensive as Unsplash’s.
What makes Pixabay shine, however, is the extra media they offer. You can filter your searches to include vector graphics, illustrations, videos and photographs, which makes this an excellent resource for taking your content to the next level.
When you’re looking for something a little different, Flick Commons is the place to go.
Their collections are a huge historical resource, featuring contributions from thousands of archival institutions across the globe. If you need classic advertising posters, or photographs of Victorian streets, or snapshots of key historic events, you’ll probably find it here.
But be aware that not everything on Flickr Commons is licensed under Creative Commons Zero. Certain images will require attribution, so make sure to check the licensing info before use.
Most of what you’ll find at New Old Stock will be available on Flickr Commons, but these are the cream of the crop.
NOS cherrypicks the finest that the Commons has to offer, which saves you the hassle of searching through the huge archives. Plus, NOS offers themed collections containing the best of every subject, category and genre.
With such a wealth of free content available to us, there’s no excuse for plain old text-heavy posts. Add eye-catching images to your social media strategy, and stop that audience from scrolling past!