Blogging on a regular basis is a great way to create content for social media channels and drive traffic to your website. Though the text of a blog is the bread and butter of the content, photos are an important component for overall impact. These days, it’s almost expected that blog posts will contain an image or two. Photos allow you to connect what you’re writing about with an illustration and provide a better overall reader experience (while adding a little eye candy!)
Here are some tips to help you effectively use images in blog posts:
What Type of Images to Use
Before you go searching the web for images, you need to know what type of images you’re looking for. The photo(s) you select for your blog should be high resolution. When sharing photos online, 800 by 600 pixels is a good size to go with. Also, most cameras and scanners save in the JPEG format and this format utilizes file compression to keep file size down. Always use the JPEG format for photographic images you will be sharing online. It is a standard file format that any computer can read. You can always crop or compress the photo to fit your needs in the post. These details give photos the kind of quality you want your blog to represent. If a photo isn’t pixilated correctly, it won’t look very visually appealing.
How to Select the Right Images
You will need to decide what kind of images will work best with your blog posts. Sometimes it helps to make a list of categories in which you will be blogging about (i.e. yoga poses, flower arrangements, bedroom décor). Try to narrow down your topic to a few key words and be as descriptive as possible to get an image that illustrates your post correctly. However, it’s not enough to be relevant. The image you choose should also be compelling. In other words, it should be eye-catching, interesting, appealing – you get the picture, right? Remember, the first image in your blog post is usually the one that gets pulled in when people share links to your content on social media channels like Facebook, LinkedIn and more.
Where to Find Images
It’s important to note that just doing a quick search on Google and grabbing an image isn’t going to land you in jail, but it can get you in some trouble because of copyright policies. There are a few safe places to go to select free photos for your blogs. For instance, Getty Images, one of the world’s largest photo services, recently announced that they will be making the bulk of their images free to the public. Additionally, websites like Stock Xchange is a great resource for finding free photos to use on your blog. You can also use Flickr and Instagram photos on your blog as long as you give proper credit. Different photos have different restrictions, so be sure to check the copyright and attribution requirements before you use a photo.
Now, you’re ready to blog and use images to illustrate all those great posts!
For more social media information, find us on Facebook!
