A major part of of your brand is the visual elements that you use. These colors, form, and shape of these elements convey things that are not communiucated verbally. Consistency, of course is a large part of  building a strong brand. Using the same name when commenting on other blogs and social media is good, but including a consistent image is even better in establishing a recognizable identity.

Since it is not possible to upload your image every time you comment at a blog, how can you consistenly use the same image? The answer is Gravatar.

What is Gravatar?

Gravatar stands for Globally Recognized AVATAR. An avatar, of course, is a photo or other image that represents you when you interact in places across the web. Your Gravatar will be displayed in every Gravatar-enabled site you visit. However, you only need to upload it once, when creating your profile.

How Gravatar Works

Gravatar is a free service for site owners, developers, and users. It is automatically included in every WordPress.com account. It  is maintained and supported by WordPress parent company, Automattic, After registration at the site  you can add any image logo, or icon. This image will be associated with the email you used to register. Whenever you comment on a Gravatar-enabled site,  your Gravatar is shown with that comment.

Some advantages of using Gravatar.

1) Consistency of your images across the board helps people make the association neccessary to imprint your brand on them. Gravatar can definitely be a part of enhancing this goal.

2 Clarity– putting a face with your name makes you more recognizable. It can help separate you from a business with the same or a similar name.

Why Not Use Gravatar?

In terms of value, Gravatar seems (at least to me) to be all upside. It can potentially bring you more attention and scrutiny, leading to a greater following. Isn’t that the goal most of us have as bloggers? What do you think?

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