It’s not new information that humans are visual beings. You will remember an image faster and easier than you will a reem of text. To put it simply, as consumers we stop and engage when you grab our attention and we scroll on if you don’t. This is true online and offline. In a shop you wouldn’t stop at a product that didn’t draw you in. When marketing your business on social media, you need to have the same concept in mind.

But just having a photograph there isn’t enough. It needs to be relatable, shareable and memorable.

So what’s it all about – why does good imagery help your social media marketing?

We remember quality

Pairing high quality imagery with written content is a must. Research has shown that we remember 10% of what we read but will remember 65% more if paired with a photograph. For this reason, your images need to be up to scratch and remembered for the right reasons. If your photos are too busy, out of focus or just totally uninteresting- you need to up your game and rethink this part of your social media strategy. We need reason to engage.

Stand out from the crowd

Living in an extremely visual world where everything is documented and shared, you need to be seen. There are 350 million photos uploaded to Facebook daily and 95 million to Instagram. That is a very big pool of image content. You need to make sure that your target audience are seeing you.  Know your demographics and the kind of content they are engaging with and plan your approach. Good quality images in your social media will help you stand out in these crowded platforms.

Original Content

We could all use stock photos and crowd our pages with over used imagery that lack any creativity or thought. But is that really want your end user wants? I think not. We love authenticity and transparency. We like to get to know the people behind the brand and we want to see you showcasing you and your work. Stock photos won’t do this for you, having your own will.

A few points to consider

Social media is just that, it is social. Do not bombard everyone’s feed with unrelatable content just because you have a good photo. Your images need to be in line with your brands vision, they need to draw your audience in while giving value and complimenting the written text. Do not be salesy. Using only images of your products gets boring fast. Here are some image content ideas that will help your social media strategy

• Show behind the scenes
• Your manufacturing line and your tools/ equipment
• Your team
• Have you any user generated content you can share? We love what others love!
• Showcase the benefits of your product/service and how it fulfils a need

Keeping your end user in mind, draw them in with quality – be relatable, shareable and memorable.

Here’s some additional reading you might like – one from Hubspot on visual content marketing and one from The Guardian on the future photography in the age of Instagram.

This blog post was written by a guest blogger – Caoimhe Millar of Jade Tyler Photography. You can check out her work here.

Related Blogs:
4 Ways to Become a Successful Social Media Content Creator
How To Use Social Media For Your Small Business