And How To Use It Wisely!

We are living in a world that is surrounded by pictures. Even when we were younger and couldn’t yet read, what we enjoyed most was browsing picture books. Funnily enough, that’s what we do nowadays; we are browsing pictures but through the Internet!

It was a matter of time for social media to be
fascinated by visual content. Smartphones have changed the social media market, since we can all access the social networks through our mobiles, with images capturing our attention. We even saw the rise of Instagram, a social network that is based only on visual content through mobile platforms.

What’s more, social media marketing has integrated a great amount of visual content as part of many campaigns since it has been proved that it is more eye-catching. According to a survey by ROI Research on “Participant Behavior and Social Engagement”, users are most likely to engage with a brand through a picture, with status updates being second and videos being third. Hence, brands are realizing, even more, day by day the importance of visual content in social media marketing, which may bring the desired engagement if it is used wisely.

First of all, it is important to note that by ‘visual content’ we don’t simply mean the images, but also the videos AND the infographics. Infographics have especially been used a lot lately since they are informative but also fun to read.

Secondly, visual content should be used as part of various social networks and not just in a single one. The rise of Pinterest and Instagram has made it even easier to upload visual content, increasing engagement and attracting more fans. In fact, Pinterest and Instagram are to be “blamed” for making the visual content trending and even a significant part of social media promotion. Creativity has been increased and many campaigns have been based on the uploading of pictures, either as a competition or as an effort to make them viral in just a few hours.

To sum up, here is what you need to keep in mind when using visual content on social media for business purposes:

  • Don’t rely exclusively on visual content
  • Be authentic
  • Mix the social networks and the types of visual content
  • Post what the users will find interesting and share
  • Make sure you know your audience to avoid posting inappropriate content
  • Don’t overdo it during the day
  • Mix the social networks and the types of visual content

Don’t forget: Visual content does not automatically bring engagement. Your interesting content does!

Now it’s your turn – how have YOU used visual content in your social media endeavors?