Tag Archive for: How to get found online

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Top 3 Stock Photo Websites

stock photo

A picture is worth a thousand words. This saying is very accurate! Using photos is extremely important as people are drawn more to photos rather than text. Using stock photos has become a very popular choice for people as it saves you the time and money of hiring a photographer. Stock photos can be found online and are already created and ready to be downloaded for your use. Before downloading a stock photo, you will need to pay for it in order to hold the license (although some websites do offer free stock photos).

Types of Uses for Stock Photos

There are two most common uses for stock photos: commercial use and editorial use.

Commercial Use:

  • Marketing
  • Social Media
  • Branding
  • Used on Your Website

Editorial Use:

Accompanying text content such as:

  • Blogs
  • Articles
  • Magazines
  • Newspapers

We have done extensive research on various stock photo websites and have come up with our top 3. Best of all, we have included paid and free options.

Pexels (Free)

Pexels is a royalty free, high-resolution photo marketplace. All photos on Pexels are free for commercial and personal use. Pexels offers thousands of photo options all at high resolution, and they even offer free stock videos as well. Unlike many stock photo websites, Pexels does not require you to register for an account – anyone can upload and download photos! Giving credit to the author is not necessary but is definitely appreciated by both Pexels and the author. Just remember, you CANNOT use these photos for resale.

Pixabay (Free)

Pixabay is another free stock photo website that offers photos, videos, vectors, illustrations and more. Currently, there are more than 1 million options to choose from on Pixabay. All contents are released under Creative Commons CC0. This makes them safe to use without asking for permission or giving credit to the author/artist. Like Pexels, Pixabay does not require you to create an account in order to download the photos, although certain features do require registration. You may not use the photos and videos from Pixabay for resale, but you can most definitely use the graphics they offer for personal or commercial use.

123rf (Paid)

123rf is a paid stock photo website that offers millions of options to choose from, however this is our personal favourite here at Rosewood. This stock photo site offers thousands of photos, videos, audio, and vectors. You can choose to either do a monthly subscription plan or pay for credits and top them up as you need them.

Each photo/video is downloaded based on size. You can choose to download small (2 credits), medium (4 credits), large (6 credits), or extra-large (10 credits). Typically for most uses, small will work just fine. However, if you require a higher resolution photo, you may want to purchase medium, large, or extra-large. Like Pexels and Pixabay, the contents offered on 123rf are not allowed for resale, unless you purchase an extended license. One thing that is especially great about 123rf is the customer support they offer. When you create an account, you will be assigned an account manager who can help you with any questions or concerns you may have.

Let’s Recap

After looking into Pexels, Pixabay and 123rf, we can honestly say that all three of the stock photo platforms are great! If you aren’t looking to spend money at this time, Pexels or Pixabay is a great option for you. If you are looking for a little bit of an improved and efficient library to choose from and are willing to pay for it, 123rf is your best option.

Let’s Connect

Rosewood is a digital marketing agency outside Toronto dedicated to helping entrepreneurs and small businesses grow their online presence. We work with clients across North America and Europe to identify, strategize and reach their marketing goals!

You can join the conversation online on Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn. Or contact us to chat about your marketing goals for 2020!

Sign up for our Newsletter to keep up with our latest news!

Until next time,

Cassandra

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Social Media Content Solutions for Small Business

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A social media presence is one thing, but ensuring your digital platforms remain original, on brand, and content-driven is another. No longer is it acceptable to not be creating your own media to share with your audience; those reposts and #throwbackthursdays are only going to get you so far.

Further, our most recent findings across social media algorithms have shown that, particularly over Instagram, if you aren’t posting more than five times a week, don’t expect results.

Staying Up to Date with Changes in Habits, Platforms & Algorithms

People’s habits change, new software is created and platforms need to update their algorithms to keep up with the influx of data all fighting for first place. This can influence how people use and react to social media marketing, as well as how marketers (us!) reach our target audiences.

We all need to make sure we stay ahead of the curve when it comes to social media. Doing so ensures you have the right tools at your disposal, an up-to-date strategy, and the required skills to make the most of your digital presence.

Content Packages Specifically for Entrepreneurs & Small Businesses

From blogs to photos and videos it can all get overwhelming to keep creating kick-arse posts for your business. It’s a fulltime job, right? Well, what if I said we can help with that?

Our professional photography and videography services are designed specifically for entrepreneurs and small business owners to help tell their stories.

Our friends over at Hubspot in their most recent 2020 Video Marketing data shows that 72% of customers would rather learn about a product or service by way of video. Additionally, they found that people who don’t currently use video are set to bite the bullet this year, with 59% of them expecting to utilize it in 2020.

We Recommend Quarterly Media Shoots to Stay Seasonally Relevant

But, we aren’t here to just push video – because sometimes it just doesn’t apply to your business offerings. That’s why we offer photography services, too. We typically recommend quarterly photoshoots, to ensure that your content is seasonally relevant. These pictures can be used in blogs and as social media content. Not only do they tell your story, but they help your audience resonate with you and build trust.

Feeling overwhelmed? Don’t be. We are here to help. Believe it or not, our process is very streamlined, and you can have fresh content ready for posting in less than a week.

Our Process:

  1. Content Planning Session
  2. Photo/Video Shoot
  3. Editing
  4. Use Your Photos! Options: Either the client can manage their social with special training from Rosewood on BEST practices OR Rosewood can manage your social media presence

Want to know more? Check out our Videography and Photography page HERE for all of our package details. We even have a special running for January to give your social media the 2020 facelift it needs.

The sooner you contact us, the sooner we can get started!

Looking forward to seeing you through the lens,

Georgie

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5 Genius Facebook Marketing Ideas for Your Business

facebook marketing tips rosewood deanna simone

Facebook marketing may seem tricky at first, but once you get the hang of it – you will be able to take your brand’s online presence to new heights in no time! Check out these 5 hacks which will help you generate traffic and successfully target the right people.

  1. Specify Your Target Market

Facebook allows a highly complex level of ad targeting and is undoubtedly one of the main reasons to be excited about Facebook marketing as a whole. You can target a specific group of people based on their exact language spoken, age, geographic location, hobbies, interests, # of kids, and so much more. Hopefully, you’ve already dedicated time and resources to analyzing your customer base and forming buyer personas. And now you can put those personas to use and advertise directly to the people that are most likely to be interested in your products or offerings.

  1. Target Your Existing Leads

Using Facebook’s ‘Custom Audiences’ feature, you can target leads you’ve captured from your newsletter signup or other lead generation efforts, or even a group of your current customers that you’re trying to upsell. In addition to focusing on insanely targeted audiences, you should also be creating ads for the clients/customers you already have, but in an even more personalized way. For example, if you have a list of people who downloaded a guide titled “Introduction to Building Your Own Website” – you can upload that list and target these people with a custom ad that discusses the next steps for taking their website to the next level.

  1. Clone Your Main Revenue-Generating Audience

Once you’ve acquired enough data, you can actually clone your top-performing Facebook audience! Facebook’s has a ‘Lookalike Audience’ feature which allows you to take an audience you already have and expand your reach by finding new leads that have similar characteristics. In other words, you can duplicate your best customers. It really is that easy! 

  1. Humanize Your Brand with Employee Photos

Facebook’s foundation is built on connecting people. The original intent of Facebook was to interact with friends, and not necessarily advertise your business, but it’s easy for digital marketers to forget this. Focusing solely on product-related messages will only take you so far. Showing the people behind the scenes will allow you to connect with your audience in a more relatable and human way.

  1. Make Effective Use of Emojis

According to AdWeek, 92% of online users use emojis, and frequent users feel emojis express their feelings more accurately than words. Emojis are kind of like dogs and babies – (almost) everyone loves them! In short, use emojis in your Facebook marketing posts to add personality and emotion to your text.

And there you have it! And you never know, by putting these 5 hacks to use – Facebook Advertising may soon become your fastest-growing marketing channel!

Questions? Get in Touch!

Until Next Time,

Deanna

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