Real people in their 50s to 70s, aspirational-but-realistic UK settings (home, garden, local high street), and hand-held / authentic shots beat stock photography by 40 to 70%. Text-heavy infographics underperform almost always.
What works - Real photos of real clients (where allowed) or a consistent paid model. - Natural UK settings (coastal, suburban, home interior). - Faces over objects — humans out-convert buildings or coins. - Hand-held mobile-style video clips. - Specific moments (signing papers, handshake, garden meeting).
What does not work - Stock photography of "couple with laptop". - American-style images (identifiable US features). - Cluttered text-on-image infographics (mobile-unfriendly). - AI-generated people with uncanny features.
Video specifics - Hook in first 2 seconds. - Captions always (85% of Meta viewers watch muted). - 15 to 30 seconds for prospecting, 45 to 90 seconds for retargeting. - Vertical (9:16) for Stories/Reels, square (1:1) for feed.
Creative rotation Refresh 20 to 40% of creative monthly to prevent fatigue.