Q&A: Christina Minshull, Head of Marketing and Design at Stocksy

Founded in 2013 as an artist-owned cooperative, Stocksy is a royalty-free stock media company based in Victoria, B.C. Unlike other sites with generic leaning-in-to-peer-at-a-laptop pictures, Stocksy’s collections are beautiful, creative and richly diverse.

The company is dedicated to raising the bar on customer expectations through stock imagery, with a focus on correcting for biases and underrepresented perspectives by seeking out media that depict a diversity of skin tones, ages, nationalities, ethnic backgrounds, abilities, and body sizes. Stocksy is also committed to ethically and sustainably paying creators for their work, who receive 50% to 70% of license fees.

Read on for our exclusive Q&A with Stocky’s Head of Marketing and Design, Christina Minshull.

Q) How does Stocksy differ from traditional stock photo websites?

A) "Stocksy is dedicated to raising the bar in the stock media industry. We focus on curating premium content with a strict policy correcting for biases and underrepresented perspectives. We ensure our collection depicts diversity in all forms - skin tones, ages, nationalities, ethnic backgrounds, abilities, and body sizes. We’re also committed to being a connector - building meaningful dialogue with our both clients (marketers, creators, designers) and artists (photographers, videographers, illustrators). We’re celebrating a decade as a progressive artist-owned company that is collaborative and inclusive—with strategies and innovation guided by a commitment to demonstrating our values and benefiting our artists (who receive 50%–70% of license fees). Here at Stocksy, we are really, really picky about who we work with. After ten years in business, our contributor list still features just 1900 collaborators out of countless applications. And it shows: unlike other sites with all those leaning-in-to-peer-at-a-laptop pics, Stocksy’s collections are creative, richly diverse, and just gorgeous. With a new marketing strategy looking to tap into the power of social media, Stocksy looked for a technology partner with values and a reputation that would complement our own—and Hootsuite was the obvious choice.”

Q) What was the biggest challenge when it came to launching Stocksy?

A) “The challenge was tapping into our clients’ pain points. How do we understand their journey by tapping into the dialogues that are happening in the social ecosystems on a variety of different platforms? We’re taking the approach of putting down that megaphone, putting on the headphones, and listening to our audience. And Hootsuite has helped us with that. Even with less than a year’s worth of data from the platform, we are already using that data to refine the content it creates and the conversations we’re having with our audiences. The strategy has led us to focus less on creating content about our own business, and instead turning up the volume of conversations and engagement around topics including diversity, equity, artists, and the usability of art.”

Q) How did Stocksy leverage social media from a marketing perspective?

A) “Despite our solid value proposition, we faced challenges in our competitive industry, growing our social presence, and proving to our leaders the value of social – that is, until we turned to social. By onboarding Hootsuite, we’ve streamlined our content strategy, gained real-time insights on customer feedback, and amplified the voices of artists in the community – achieving a whopping 596% increase in reach, 600% increase in total mentions, and a 14% increase in year-over-year growth—all in less than a year.

Our company blog and social media channels dive deep into the diversity of the people and subjects present in stock media, and of the people who create this media. It’s a loud voice among those calling for a more equal, varied, and meaningful representation of subjects to reflect the real world.

Since rolling out our new content strategy with Hootsuite, we’ve put more focus than ever on our artists. We’ve seen newer artists getting more engaged, and this change is big thanks to the way Hootsuite made it easier to welcome our new members, give the artists visibility, and involve them in the new marketing strategy. We used to just share the product catalogue. We’re sharing that real, authentic user-generated content that gives a glimpse into our artists’ lives. And that, I think, has really translated well in terms of our audiences. They want to see our illustrators, photographers and videographers, and their processes and thoughts behind the scenes.

We’re also using all features within Hootsuite’s platform. We’re publishing and scheduling, we use it for approval systems and crisis management, we use the content library to help with efficiency, we use tagging to make meaningful decisions, and we use the listening platform to see what our audience is talking about and see where content gaps exist.

We’re getting value from smart features like recommended times to publish, which gives personalized recommendations to extend reach, build awareness, increase engagement, or drive traffic. We have people all around the world consuming our content so knowing when our clients and artists are active helps boost our engagement rate. In 2021, we were posting at times that we thought people were active and once we implemented Hootsuite - the data proved the opposite. Since using Hootsuite’s recommended publishing times, our engagement rates have skyrocketed. Without that tool, our engagement rates wouldn’t be what they are.

Hootsuite also allows us to be really nimble in how we approach real-time marketing. We set up alerts in our Insights tool and weekly reports so we can make realistic decisions on where to pivot, where to allocate more resources, or where to ante up our existing strategies. We track content using tagging and campaign tagging, and rely on Hootsuite’s Insights Powered by Brandwatch for competitive benchmarking, share of voice, brand sentiment, and topic analysis for our content and blog strategy. Data is transparently shared across various departments to drive decisions around content and strategy including tech, product, finance, operations, HR, creative research, and artist relations. Our whole company gets to see the numbers, ask questions, and get involved—and it’s working really well. We’ve seen increases in engagement rate, share of voice, overall mentions, and traffic. And we’re seeing that translate into real business results.”

Q) Why was it important for diversity and creativity to be at the forefront?

A) “Stock media has become an indispensable part of our lives. It is ubiquitous, appearing in everything from advertisements, to movies to social media posts. Stock media is essentially pre-existing images, videos or illustrations that are licensed for specific purposes, making them easily accessible and affordable for businesses and individuals. However, a pervasive problem with stock media is the lack of diversity - with most stock featuring Caucasian, slim, able-bodied, and conventionally attractive individuals. This lack of diversity can have serious implications for society.

Companies have been recognizing the importance of creating inclusive and diverse workplaces, and the same is true for stock media. Businesses that recognize this and use photos and videos that reflect this real world are more likely to build trust and create a sense of inclusivity with their customers. This can ultimately lead to increased sales and brand loyalty.

Incorporating diversity in stock photography can have a positive impact on social and cultural norms. Representation in stock media is crucial because it can shape how people see themselves and others. When we see diverse images, we become more aware of the different experiences and perspectives of people from different backgrounds. This can help break down stereotypes and promote empathy, understanding, and acceptance.

Creativity is another important aspect of stock media When we think of stock photos, we often picture generic images that lack originality or creative flair. However, this cringe-worthy content need not be the case. Creative and original stock photos can be just as accessible and affordable as generic ones, and they offer a range of benefits. At Stocksy they have a few technologies and teams dedicated to help brands better convey their message. Stock photos are often used to illustrate concepts or ideas, and creative images can do this in a more conceptual and engaging way. For example, instead of using a polished generic image of a person working at a computer, a business could use more creative and relatable business stock media that speak to the nuances of the modern world of business.”

Q) What advice would you provide an entrepreneur looking to break into a competitive digital space?

A) “Outside of my 9-5 as the Head of Marketing at Stocksy, I actually am an entrepreneur so I can speak from the heart on this. In 2021, I launched The Brand Audit - a consulting company where I help both people and brands with their LinkedIn presence. In the short time I’ve learnt a lot and the advice I would give is:

• Take Intelligent Risks. Fear aversion is the number one killer of amazing ideas and brands. The biggest risk is no risk at all. Entrepreneurs have to have a growth mindset and be open to disruption to break through in the digital space.
• Be Curious. Above I talk a lot about listening and in my business it’s no different. When I first started my business I had a ton of different service options. And the customer experience was segmented. By analyzing the quantitative client data and listening to qualitative data I identified what works and did more - including refining my service offering, promotion channels and messaging.
• Know when to Say No. As a new entrepreneur its always tempting to take on everything you can to grow your business. It’s also tempting to take on every idea that is offered up. There’s power in saying no and ensuring that you’re only working on work that impacts and with clients that see your true value. It’s okay to fire a client. Not everything is a fit.
• Be in the dialogue. It’s vital to stay up to date on industry news and world events - especially in the fast-paced digital space. Every morning and every night I read digital marketing and social media industry news to ensure that I have a perspective to offer if my clients ask me. It takes discipline, but I truly believe that success is a result of the habits you keep.
• Invest in your Personal Brand. A personal brand is one of the most crucial investments for an entrepreneur. Having a strong brand presence helps you differentiate yourself in the market and attract new opportunities. I’d recommend spending a lot of time networking both online and IRL. The majority of my clients have come from referrals from previous colleagues that trust me or followers I’ve networked with through being a LinkedIn and TikTok creator.”