B2B marketing Rule #4: If you need a quick, easy, and inexpensive way to engage your audience visually, add a face! The vast majority of people find other people fascinating, or at least impossible to ignore. So capitalize on that when considering B2B marketing graphics.

Remember that before you can make your case, before you can get even one thought across, you have to get your intended audience to put everything else aside to focus on your message. Surely there are many creative ways to do that without people, but it’s relatively easy with people. The right portrait (and it can be a stock photo) can create drama, tell a story, or make an emotional connection more readily than days of manipulating product photos.

A related Rule of Thumb: If the person in your visual stands in for your prospective customer or your own team — and this is commonly the case, depending on how you’ve crafted your message — make sure that representation is accurate and respectful.