Should I Brand Images That I Use On My Blog?

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Have you ever wondered whether you should brand images that you create for your blog and social media? You are not alone. Today’s Thursday Q&A is “Should I brand images that I use on my blog?” In today’s post, I am going to answer this question

I will also explain what it means to brand images for your blog and why bloggers would want to brand their images. If you are new to blogging or branding, you will walk away with a better understanding of what branding is and how to get started.

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The word branding is more complicated than you may realize. There are many components that play a role in branding your business or blog, not just a logo.

What Is Branding?

I am going to mention 5 business names and I want you to write down (or think of) what comes to mind when you hear these names. These brands are American-based, but even if you are not from the U.S., chances are that you’ve heard of them before.

The business are:

Wal-Mart
McDonald’s
Nike
Amazon
KFC

Now think about what you visualized when you read each of those names. Did you have an image in your mind? Did you remember the company logo or think of specific colors? Maybe you felt an emotion or remembered an experience. You may have been repulsed, excited, or maybe even a little hungry.

All of these things; the appearance, the emotions, and the connections you have with a company are its brand. That is why large corporations invest billions of dollars into protecting and improving their brands every year. Branding can easily make or break your business.

Bloggers Should Always Brand Images – Here’s Why

There are so many blogs and online businesses that exist. You need to do everything you can to stand out from the crowd. Your images are a part of your branding and are often the first thing your readers will notice when they visit your website.

You need your images to be recognizable to your readers at a glance. To be honest, there are a few bloggers out there whom I always read or share their posts simply because I recognize their pins at a glance on Pinterest and I know their work.

This is something that I have been working on for my blog over the past few months and it is really paying off. I find that I have more repeat visitors to my blog from Pinterest, a visual search engine. My on-site engagement has also been increasing since I pinned down my branding.

The following are some of the benefits of branding images on your blog.

Brand Recognition

As I stated above, you want people to pick your brand images out of a sea of images. I can scroll through hundreds of images on Pinterest and recognize my images pretty quickly. Readers have also expressed that they were able to do so with my pins as well.

This is a great feeling because I know these people are looking for my images and that my content has made enough of an impact that it stands out to them. This is what every blogger wants.

Protecting Your Images

I’m going to be brutally honest with you. If you have images on any social media platform, they can (and likely will) be hijacked at some point. There are content thieves in every corner of the internet that want to ride on your coattails. And who could blame them? They get all of the benefits of your hard work without lifting a finger.

Using your logo, watermarking your images, and establishing your brand help you to identify content theft more quickly. If I find a pin on Pinterest that links to a page other than the one in the image’s URL or branding, I send a message with the pin URL to the original blogger.

I know other bloggers that do the same. This allows the original pin owner to contact Pinterest and report the pin as their intellectual property. Once Pinterest is notified, they can remove the pin and may suspend the hijacker’s account.

This will help protect your brand by ensuring your images link to only content you approve of. This protects your brand and public image.

How Does One Brand Images?

Branding essentially creates a visual identity for your blogging business. This will help you to more effectively market and promote your blog and blog posts. The following are effective ways to brand images used on your blog and social media.

Use a Template

The easiest way to ensure you have a consistent brand image is to create and use templates for your Pinterest, blog, and social media images.

I create all of my images from a template that I created in Canva. I have a few templates for my images, but they all distinctly represent my brand and include many of the following elements as well.

Use An Image Filter

When using photo editing software, be sure to use the same filter each time to give the photo its own unique tone. This will create visual consistency.

There are filters on Instagram, Canva, and other apps and programs. Try to use similar filters when posting between formats to help with branding continuity.

Include Your Logo and/or Web Address

It sounds simple enough, but I see far too many pins on Pinterest and have no clue which website the pins come from. To be honest, in group boards, if I don’t recognize the brand of a pin immediately, I am less likely to repin it to my boards.

For example, if I see a pin from TwinsMommy.com or MeeraKothand.com, I will instantly repin or schedule it to my boards. That is because I know both of these bloggers write high-quality content.

Including your web address or logo will also help identify your images in the event they are hijacked.

Use Your Brand Color Palette

In Tuesday’s post, I wrote about how to create a color palette as part of your blog’s design. These brand colors should be included in everything related to your blog.

Use your color palette in all of your social media posts and emails. This consistency will strengthen your branding significantly.

Use The Same Fonts

I use two to three fonts on my images. Never use more than three or you will look like an amateur. I always use Raleway for my standard text. I do, however, bold the subject and make it a larger font than the rest of the text to help it stand out. I also use Mr. Dafoe, a playful script for power words in the title.

This formula works well for me. I will, from time to time, try out different fonts on some of my embedded pins (one of these is Edo). These are more experimental, but I always maintain the other branding elements and only try out one thing at a time to determine what works and what doesn’t.

Always Brand Images On Your Blog

If you want to have a successful blog, branding is a very important part of your content strategy. It is what distinguishes your blog and images and builds a reputation with your audience on a subconscious level. Branding your images will also protect your images from theft and will help you to manage your marketing better.

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