Sad to say, it isn’t unusual for us to see examples of frozen yogurt copyright infringement on websites, social media, and other public places. Some offenders seem to constantly reuse other people’s artwork and photos without attribution or permission. They’ll even go as far as to use image editing software to remove the owner’s logo or name. This is just a bad idea for several reasons.
First, it’s illegal to use someone else’s images or artwork without getting permission from the owner first. It can also be misleading if people think those images represent your business. Or if viewers recognize those images as stolen, it creates a negative impression of your business. And, using images without permission could lead to a lawsuit.
Ideas for Finding or Generating Visual Content for Your Froyo Shop
There’s no need to steal other people’s photos and designs. If your shop doesn’t have good photos of its own, take some or even better, challenge your customers to get creative by sponsoring a photo contest. You could pick the best photo each week and offer the winning photographer a free cup of froyo. Be sure to ask for permission to use the photo. It could be as simple as using the following language when announcing the contest, “By entering this contest, you grant [your shop name] permission to use your photo in perpetuity.”
If you see a photo you really like that someone else took or artwork that someone else created, ask for permission to reuse it. Many people are flattered when their photos or artwork receive recognition.
There are also many sources for free images, including images in the public domain or licensed creative commons. This article from Buffer has a comprehensive list of sources of free images, https://blog.bufferapp.com/free-image-sources-list
If you are willing to pay for images, try iStockphoto.com. It is a leading marketplace for stock images.
Creating Unique Images for Social Media and Marketing Materials
Our advice for small frozen yogurt shop owners is to keep your graphics simple and use free resources to create unique custom designs.
Here is a list of free online design tools:
Canva, https://www.canva.com/
Canva is very easy to use. You can start with one of their templates and edit it or build something from scratch. Some of the images and templates are free and others require a small fee for use.
Pablo by Buffer, https://pablo.buffer.com/
This is more of a photo editing tool. Pablo includes a database of images, with the option of upload your own images. You can add text to images, use photo filters, insert graphics and logos, etc.
BeFunky, https://www.befunky.com/
BeFunky has graphic design templates that you can add design elements to and over 1 million free stock images.
Crello, https://crello.com/
Crello claims to be the easiest to use online graphic design editor. They also provide design templates.
