The images you choose for your social media and blog posts convey an important message about your brand and attract potential readers to your website.
Consumers these days are bombarded with information from emails, social media posts and web advertisements. Most readers spend just a few seconds glancing at a post before deciding whether or not to open it.
For this reason, it is extremely important that you use your images to grab their attention. Plus, social media posts with compelling images get more views, more shares and more comments than posts without images.
The following tips will help you find images that will boost your social media presence and maximize engagement with users.
1. Use images that are relevant to your post
Pretty much everyone loves pictures of flowers; but unless you’re promoting a landscaping or gardening company, you shouldn’t just be using pretty pictures for your social media posts. Make sure you select images that match your topic so you don’t mislead your readers.
When planning your social marketing strategy, you need to remain focused and tie your images to your company’s brand.
2. Before you post, make sure you have permission to use the image
Copyright law is no joke, and you run the risk of getting sued if you use an image without permission. Although some images are subject to the fair-use doctrine, this protection doesn’t apply if you’re using the photo for marketing purposes. You can select images that are in the public domain, or you can pay for rights to use the photos.
3. Pay attention to the image’s dimensions
Different social media networks crop images when displaying them in feeds. Make sure you’re up-to-date on the network’s optimal image sizes before you post.
Otherwise, you run the risk of having your image show up as blurry, stretched or cropped. These poorly-sized images will reduce the chances that your content will be read and shared with others.
4. Use compelling images
Although the images you choose should be relevant to your brand and content, it is also important to choose powerful images to capture readers’ attention.
Use the concept of visual storytelling to your advantage and select images that convey emotion such as excitement, fear, shock, awe or inspiration.
Ready to Get Started? Let Us Help
These tips are a great way to get started boosting your social media presence. However, if you really want to boost your company’s reach, let us help. Our social media managers have years of experience engaging online audiences with compelling images. Contact us today so we can start building your social media following.
