If you are a content manager, you know how important it is to have a well-organized and accessible photo library for your projects. Photos can enhance your content, attract your audience, and convey your message. But how can you create an easy-to-use photo library for your content management needs? Here are some tips to help you.
Choosing a platform to store, manage, and share your photos is the first step. There are numerous options available, like cloud services, online tools, and software applications. When selecting your platform, consider features such as storage space and security for your photos, easy upload and download options, metadata and tagging capabilities, search and filter functions, editing and resizing tools, sharing and collaboration options, as well as integration with other platforms and tools. Depending on your budget, preferences, and goals you should consider which of these features are necessary for you.
If you're managing content for clients or a company, create a shared cloud space with tons of storage where your client or team members can upload photo and video files. Having access to those resources will empower content creators to use visuals that truly reflect the brand.
The next step is to organize your photos into categories that make sense for your content. You can use folders, albums, or collections to group your photos by topics, themes, or projects. For instance, consider creating categories like products or services, events or campaigns, customers or testimonials, team or staff, locations or landmarks, and industry or niche. This will help you keep your photos organized and easily accessible.
You could even organize them by content pillars. Doing this makes it easier to have consistent visual language in your content and reduces decision making when designing graphics for your content.
The third step is to add metadata and tags to your photos to make them easier to find and use. Metadata is information that describes your photos, such as title, date, author, source, license, etc., while tags are keywords that identify your photos, such as color, style, mood, subject, etc. You can use the platform's features or tools like ExifTool or Metadata Anonymisation Toolkit to add metadata and tags. For instance, you could add product name and price with a description of the product; event name and date with the location; customer name and age with their feedback; team member name and role with their bio; location name and address with its history; industry name and trends with challenges.
The fourth step is to follow the copyright and licensing rules for your photos. You should always respect the rights of the original creators and owners of the photos you use, as well as comply with the terms and conditions of the platforms and tools you use. Sources such as Creative Commons or Unsplash are great places to find free or low-cost photos that you can use legally and ethically. When using these photos, it is important to adhere to certain rules such as crediting the author and source, linking to the license, not modifying or using them for commercial purposes without permission, and not infringing on the privacy or reputation of the people or places in the photos.
The final step is to update and maintain your photo library regularly. This means keeping your photos fresh, relevant, and consistent with your content, as well as removing or archiving any photos that are outdated, duplicated, or unused. You can use tools like Duplicate Photo Finder or PhotoSweeper to identify and delete any duplicate photos. Additionally, you should add new photos that match your content goals and audience needs, delete or archive old photos that are no longer useful or accurate, rename or move photos that have changed categories or projects, check and fix any broken links or missing files, and back up your photo library to prevent data loss or damage.