Humans are sensory beings. Our experience and response to the world around us relies heavily on our senses. In the absence of touch, smell or taste, we need to be more highly stimulated to react to what we see. In simple terms, this is why multi-media content consistently performs better on social media than plain text updates.
But this doesn't mean you need to create extravagant video content or animated infographics on a regular basis to get the attention of your audience. In fact, studies show that simple photo posts on Facebook pages receive 53% more likes than the average post.
Such exposure can be vital to help grow your business.
So what types of visual content should you share? The types of image based posts that you share on your page will depend largely on the type of business that you run, as well as your audience.
Here are four ideas to spark your creativity.
1. Think Positive
Your Facebook page has a far greater reach in terms of impressions than most other advertising channels. With 1.55 billion monthly active Facebook users it offers one of the largest potential audiences for your brand.
Make sure you showcase your existing happy customers!
Photos which exude positivity immediately create a like-for-like primitive response in our brains and are more likely to get engagement. We are pack creatures at heart, and easily influenced by the experiences we see others having. Post images of customers smiling and generally happy with the service of your company.
Some of the common examples include bars that have photography albums on their page which encourage users to tag themselves.
If it isn't possible to use actual images of your customers, get creative!
Consider coupling a "happy" stock image such as someone jumping into the ocean on a sunny day, or people hugging with a caption that speaks to your overall customer satisfaction levels.
2. Make Them Want It
Showing what your business has to offer in the form of clear photography can be a really effective tool. Don't limit your product images to boring, generic photos. If you resell branded products then using a supplier's professional stock photos are great, but go the extra mile to make your business stand out from other stockists.
- Close up shots of product details. Highlight key features.
- Images that show the product in context. This can help your fans to imagine owning the product.
- Customers holding/using your product, paired with their testimonial.
- Photos of different options, asking which one your page fans prefer.
Take some time to create images of your products that are high quality, unique and appealing. This is especially important for food-related businesses. Even the most mouth-watering culinary creation can look unappetizing if shot in poor lighting.
3. Quotes
Whether they make you cringe or click to share, there's no denying that images featuring inspiration quotes are increasingly popular. The "Hang in there!" kitten poster phenomenon of the 1970's has nothing on the boom of memes in the new millennium. This trend of coupling of quotes with images has found a healthy breeding ground in social media, with new memes, cliches and clever quips peppering news feeds every day.
These types of images are easy to create, and can be tailored to suit just about any type of business, product or service.
- Quotes by famous people
- Short customer testimonials
- Statistics or interesting facts
The key is to create images that resonate well with your particular audience.
Another tip: do your homework! Make sure you correctly attribute a quote to the right source, and secure copyright permission for any images you use.
4. Before & After Images
If your product or service makes a visible impact then before and after photos are a strong addition to your Facebook post repertoire.
Businesses in the health and beauty industry are the ideal candidates for this type of visual post, but let's think outside the box.
Do people buy your product as a replacement or upgrade?
Can you highlight any makeover stories?
If you are still searching for ways to apply the Before and After theme to your business, think about how your business creates change for your customers. Can you post illustrations of key results such as an increase in the number of new customers, website visitors or a reduction in complaints?
If you are still struggling to get great visuals for your page then invest in hiring a photographer or enlist the help of an online marketing company who can help you to come up with creative ideas and source powerful images.
Read more online marketing advice and information at the Magicdust website, we are a Sydney web design company specialising in small business.