Perfecting a visual strategy for social media is essential to building an authentic experience for users. According to the Visual Teaching Alliance, 90% of the information the human brain receives is visual, which the brain processes 60,000 times faster than text.
However, far too many marketers still default to using stock photos as their visual digital marketing strategy.
Many of these images have been overused, particularly on social media, over the past few years – a customer could very well see the same image multiple times on their timeline.
Brands that want to stand out in the crowded online world and retain users need to design social media visuals that are attractive, engaging, and tell a story.
Social media visuals have become a mainstay of content marketing efforts – but how can brands create the kind of visuals that boost traffic?
How to improve your Social Media Visual Strategy?
Optimize your images for different social networks
To maintain a social media presence, be sure to post regularly across a variety of marketing platforms including Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Google + and LinkedIn. Posts with images get a substantially more engagement than links and text so keeping your visuals looking their best is critical to an effective social media strategy.
Include your logo in your profile image
Using your logo as your profile image is a good general rule of thumb. Don’t be afraid to get creative and design a variation of your logo, as long as your audience can still immediately recognize the brand.
Your profile image and cover photo should complement each other
And on that note of profile images, your cover photo and profile image should complement each other, whether that’s through color, imagery, mood or text. Applying a filter to the cover photo image can help achieve this harmony and balance.
Use a consistent style of images
Pick images that are a) consistent and b) consistent with your brand. Consider:
These questions are a good guide to discover the personality and characteristics of your brand and to find images that suit. And when it comes to retweeting or sharing, choose images that also align with your brand to avoid inconsistency.
Create templates for consistency
Create templates so you have consistency across and within your social media pages and so have images ready to go when you need them.
Data visualization
Charts and graphs are an essential type of visual to use on social media platforms. When a brand has data to share, which can place themselves as an expert in the field, it is best to take a visual approach for presenting that information.
Make images easy to share
Make it easy for users to share, post, tweet and pin images from your website. Include ‘share buttons’ featuring the recognizable social media icons. When users share your images they’ll reach new users, boosting your brand awareness and brand recognition. That’s potential new users, followers, fans, clients, and customers without any legwork.
Make images share-worthy
Of course, users are only going to share good content so make sure all graphics are share-worthy. Monitor analytics and social media pages to determine what graphics get the most traction and interaction. And add a call-to-action to encourage users to share images.
Ensure graphics link back to your website
Every graphic posted to social media or your website should have a link back to your website or main port-of-call. Google algorithms have greater appreciation for unique content when it’s linked to a website, bumping your site up the search engine ranks.
Memes and GIFs
Lightening the mood on social media with memes and GIFs can win a lot of points, as long as you know there are also times when you shouldn’t use them. Memes may not seem professional, but if you understand how to use memes in social media marketing there are several advantages to using them:
- Memes are ready-made content so marketers don’t need to design something from scratch.
- They are easy to create using online tools and mobile apps.
- Due to their popularity, memes are instantly recognizable and users can easily understand their context.
- Memes have a greater potential to go viral.
