Unleash The Power Of Social Media Images

As you already know, social media is a powerful tool in the digital marketing industry, but what many people don’t realize is the power of images in social media. As a brand you want to nourish your social media accounts on a daily basis, so continue reading to take your social media images from boring to adoring!

Powerful Social Media Images

This study shows the importance of utilizing social media images and reports that Twitter posts with images got 150% more re-tweets than those without and Facebook posts with images had a much higher click-through rate (CTR) than posts without. The facts speak for themselves – images in your social media are a must!

Social Media Image Guidelines

When you upload photos, keep in mind that there are some requirements you must follow for the photo to look the best it can. If your images are too large they may not upload because of the file size requirements of that social media site. On the flip-side, if your image is too small it could look blurry, or stretched, and that just looks unprofessional.

• Recommended image size for the site
• File sizes below 400kb
• Short, descriptive file names (no more than 6 words)
• Images that are compressed to 60-80% of the original size

Remember, everyone hates waiting for a page (or image in this case) to load so don’t skip the relatively simple solution of optimizing each of your images so they look their best. Here are some free images sites and tools to help with that.

Choose Image Colors Wisely

When you are creating or selecting images, psychology can come in handy. As shown in this infographic, certain colors create certain reactions from potential customers. Think about the end-goal of your image – why are you posting it and what do you want people to do or feel when they view it? Know the purpose of the image before uploading, so that you can include certain colors or colored text to help accomplish that goal.

Color Statistics

• Brand recognition increases by 80% with color.
• Colored ads are read 42% more than black and white ads.
• Blue is the world’s most favorite color and makes people feel like they can trust the post/business.
• Men prefer green and blue at the age of 19-24.
• Yellow gets people excited and enthusiastic about what they are seeing.
• Red makes people feel like they need to take action right away.
• Green makes people think of wealth and prosperity.

Be Original

Perhaps one of the hardest things to accomplish with your social media images, yet one of the most important, is originality. Most social media users are just mindlessly scrolling through posts…until they find something that catches their eye. You want your picture to be the eye-catching one and not just one of the countless images that get lost among all the rest. While there’s no “secret formula” for originality, there are a few simple tips that can help.

• Check out your competitors images and dare to be different
• Choose images that appeal to your target demographic (this involves research!)
• Choose images that utilize colors and evoke emotion
• Take note of the pictures that jump out at you; figure out what makes them “pop”

Use Local Images To Get Attention

Since I am known online as the #QueenofLocalSEO, I can’t close this post without talking local, so here goes…

Let’s face it, we are all visual at some level and we connect easier to things we recognize. Step out of your office (or hire a photographer to do it for you) and take some pictures of the local area that your business serves. Integrating photos that people will recognize as being down the street from where they shop and live into your social media accounts will get attention and additional buzz for your business. Optimizing your images to attract local traffic is a must.

It’s time to stand out from the competition on social media and attract your potential customer!