How licence free pictures really affect your blog and where to find them
By: Christian Häfner
Tags: Creative Commons, Marketing, Blogging

There are blogs entirely without and others that crush the reader with it: pictures!

After working without pictures on this blog, I have begun to add them since some weeks. It was not only one comment in my last article but also the expected effect. I am using pictures in all blogs now but to various outcomes. The right choice of pictures for a blog is not that simple after all. Which motive? Which price? Licence free pictures or rather buy them? What format? As easy as it is to create a blog, just as complicated it can get with pictures. The topic of pictures in blogs opens up many questions which I look at systematically here and which I will answer from my own experience. From the choice of the right picture, to the platforms where good pictures are found, to the measureable outcomes, I will discuss all of that in this article.

One thing in advance: Some outcomes are actually really surprising!

A picture tells more than a thousand words

This quote transfers more content than initially conceived. The majority of pictures in social networks can be processed by our brain within only a few milliseconds. But somewhere is a limit. Besides the atmosphere a picture always delivers also emotions and information which we partly and unconsciously internalize, that in extension changes our reading habits, only to give one example. The article picture therefore has the intention to prepare the reader to the text and to adjust his basic attitude to it and to provide a better introduction. Also, the pictures should make you curious; pictures build up tension, so to convince the reader to click on the link to the article and in that way to learn more about the offered topic. Pictures are building bridges in between expectation and outcome. This aspect is particularly important within social media marketing but more to that later.

First we need to look at another question, if we want to understand why pictures create effect: How do we perceive a picture? Doctors at the University of Münster, Germany, have found in a research project that reviews to some extent the ‘picture superiority effect’ in collaboration with marketing experts and concludes the following: the brain turns off areas of reason when familiar brands show up and at the same time brain areas of emotional and instinctive action turn more active. A sign that peoples brains respond to certain familiar pictures and reflexively execute actions which stand in relation to it.

What does that knowledge mean in the blog environment?

The brand pictures are the article pictures and the reflexive execution matches with the click on the article link. If we offer the reader a picture which touches him emotionally or thematically, the chances that he will click the link are certainly increasing. So far I could have brought in this understanding myself. A further interesting reality is that we retain information of things six times better if they are read in context with a picture. If you offer your reader a (memorable, not just any) picture to your article, he will remember your blog, your article, and therefore yourself much longer. This precious information can provide you with a real advantage in times of the blogger-flood.

Pictures make noise and animate areas in the brain which convey the feeling of familiarity. The effect on the reader is clarified with that. But do pictures help to actually increase the reach? I have reviewed the effects in detail and evaluated amazing findings.

Facebook: Are pictures really increasing organic reach?

People get interested with pictures but with machines this looks rather different. We all know web-pages that draw attention with lurid headlines and support those with catchy pictures (heftig.co is a real go goer for that in Germany). It is exactly this effect that Facebook tries to counter act upon in preference of grounds for qualitative journalism. But the same effect can also be a role model to all: one headline that draws curiosity and a relating emotional picture to suit the message. If qualitative content would follow, also Facebook would do nothing about it.

Over the last years social media experts in my environment pointed out to me more than once that posts with pictures create a far better reach. That stood true for quite some time. At this point timelines and newsfeeds of users are bursting from the seams because they are crammed-full with pictures that often force and pose to build tension or frantically struggle for likes and clicks. It is a pity but a measureable outcome that we have to act upon.

I can derive the observation that Facebook is clogged up with pictures by taking a small sample from our FastBill — Fan page.

All data stands in relation to posts from the last three months and are aimed to deliver a small overview on the organic reach of our posts.

The astonishing outcome of my 10 minute analysis

The included links to posts always refer via a short link to the FastBill Blog and offer an added value.

It is clearly visible that the articles without pictures (besides one exception) reach an irregular but consistently higher range. This is followed by articles with a link-preview, spreading only very erratic. The articles with a text link and picture can hardly gain any reach and change only marginally in the lower value ranges.

The result shows that posts with link and without picture work, in this case for FastBill the best.

Be your own social media adviser! Sometimes you are your own best social media adviser! Analyses like above takes no more than 10 minutes and deliver insightful findings about your fans and your audience. Focus yourself on the best functioning kind of posts on your page.

Sources for qualitative and licence free pictures

To use pictures in posts and on the blog one has to find them first. To create them oneself is surely the best and most cost effective variation but as an entrepreneur we think efficiently. It is even simpler to make a brief search, download or buy. 20 Dollar for a picture is still cheaper than a one hour outdoor shooting with a handful of people. At the same time you benefit from the variety of picture-data-banks which you hardly have anywhere else. On the other hand you run into the danger that a picture you used appears somewhere else as well (just happened to me recently). In spite of this risk I decide to buy pictures or to download licence free pictures. Here are some resources which I am using for my blogs myself:

Picjumbo.com Picjumbo offers free and much licences free pictures which can be used commercially or private. The page is sponsored by advertisements and offers besides the free picture download also an option to sponsor, bringing you “into the Hall of Fame.” You can request to get the latest pictures sent to you via e-mail.

Littlevisuals.co Seven pictures every seven days. This is the system with which Little Visuals functions. Besides the free of charge download of the package on the web-site you can receive those also via e-mail. The majority of pictures are naturalistic, some jewels guaranteed within.

Unsplash.com Unsplash — a real insider tip. Brilliant pictures and motives which are not common stock and nevertheless available for free (free of charge and licence free). Every ten days one gets ten pictures — on request also via e-mail.

Deathtothestockphoto.com You wish for the death of the stock photos? They can reach that since their pictures are of highest quality. The makers of deathtothestockphoto.com deliver fresh pictures once a month via e-mail, which are bound to be found in many popular magazines. Free of charge!

Stocksy.com Stock pictures don’t have the best name. Often words like “simple” “boring” or “posed” come to surface. Stocksy brings that to an end. Besides standard stock motives you also find more offbeat motives. Often the coercion of payment and the not always cheap pricing from stock portals come under question. In my case, I do look at every post also as an investment towards my own visible presence and the increase in reach. If I compare the effectiveness of one blog post with other payable methods than 10 Dollars seem like nothing and add an appealing and suitable picture. Even 20 Dollars for the format which you require on Facebook is from my point of view very acceptable.

Everything that is law: the copyright

In principle always name the creator!

That does not necessarily reflect the legal situation but shows decency and appreciation. The majority of the stated sources above offer licence free, which means free to use pictures. Mostly even without stating the name. In order to communicate picture rights more clearly the Creative Commons (CC) Licence was called into life. Different symbols inform about the possibility of utilization and the joint responsibilities. You can find an overview of the symbols, the different ways of how the ownership has to be identified here.

The choice of the right picture is essential

Of course particularly pay attention to one thing: the motive. It has to suit the story in the text and the feeling of the blog. It should transfer the mood accordingly and should not be too fragmented, so that readers clearly grasp the representation.

Create an experience with every picture and make sure your readers acknowledge that each one is an “editor’s pick.” Plan in the necessary time for the picture research and avoid rushing your choice. This time is a good investment.

Also try to maintain your style that creates harmony between your pictures and is agreeable to the overall picture of your blog. Your readers will benefit from the clearly established structure and will like to remember your blog with that disposition.

The picture format

Besides the theme of your blog it is mainly Facebook and Google that specify the required format of your pictures. Here are the formats at a glance: • Facebook (http://www.jonloomer.com/2014/01/20/facebook-image-dimensions/) • Google+ (http://purrfectlysocial.co.uk/new-google-image-sizes/) • Twitter and further information on Facebook and Google+ (http://postcron.com/en/blog/social-media-image-dimensions-sizes/)

Practical tip: Currently I choose pictures that suit the Facebook format for the timeline (1200 x 627px). It also fits nicely into the formats of other networks. Should there be any problem with one of your pictures it is very important to build in a fallback picture. For WordPress blogs this can be read here. It is the fallback picture that is being delivered in case no other one can be found.

My findings

Article pictures and pictures in social media networks can increase the reach, but they don’t have to. In any case they do have an effect on your reader and how he is taking up your post. As in my case, for LSWW, I am going to continue working with pictures on Facebook. On the long run I will maintain the strategy: “The mix does it.”