We are becoming more visual every day; you’ve heard the phrase “a picture is worth a thousand words” and these social media platforms have proven that to be true. According to the 3M-Corporation, individuals process visuals 60,000 times faster than text. Social media platforms like Instagram, Youtube, Pinterest, and Slideshare are becoming increasingly more popular as visual content drives engagement. According to Simply Measured, just one month after Facebook released their new timeline allowing photos and videos to be shared, engagement increased by 65 percent. So – how can we use visual content to our advantage?
- Use customer posts – If people are talking about your company, use this to your advantage and share it! Plus, customers will enjoy being in the spotlight. (Make sure you get their permission of course.)
- Use photos of employees – This helps customers feel comfortable, like they know your company and your employees.
- Do contests – This is just a win-win-win situation. You can interact with customers, customers get the chance to win a prize, and you get your page shared over and over again through use of hashtags, likes, and tagging of your account.
- Showcase your products in a visually appealing way – If the customer sees a product and it looks bad, do you think they’ll buy it? Probably not, however, if it looks good they already have a nice visual to see themselves using your product.
- Be unique – Stay true to your audience and your brand.
Youtube
- Use engaging titles – This is the first thing a potential viewer will see/read. Your title should make them want to watch the video.
- Use keywords – In your video description, it is important to include keywords so that your video can be found easily. You can also add links back your website and other social medias here.
- Interact – Pay attention to the comments and respond when you feel it is necessary.
- Keep it short – Be sure your videos are no longer than about 5 minutes.
- Have a set strategy – Pin based on your goals and objectives. Why are you pinning? To drive traffic to your website, to boost your brand, increase your sales? Make sure you reflect your goals in your pinning.
- Be pin friendly – Make sure your website has the “pin it” button. This allows fans of your company to easily pin things from your website.
- 40-40-20 rule – Keep motivational and educational posts to 40 percent each. Only 20 percent of posts should be about your brand.
- Help other pinners – This allows you to engage with other companies as well as your customers. Utilize cross promoting as well. The more people you interact with, the more people will interact with you.
Slideshare
- Use well-designed slides – Again, we are very visual. If you’re going to use a visual platform to express information, it will be crucial that it looks good.
- Share good content – Follow normal content rules, such as having a good title, use lists or how-tos.
- Pair with LinkedIn – Post presentations to LinkedIn to stand out from the crowd.
Other Sources
Visual content is important on Facebook and blogs as well. The use of visual content is more for the accompaniment of text content. These visuals are there to help tell the written story. Using visuals on the aforementioned social media platforms is much more direct, as the visual components are the story – they must be able to stand-alone. With the growth in mobile web usage, these apps and websites will become even more popular in years to come. The tools are out there. Start engaging with your customers, they’re waiting!
