According to BrainRules.net, when various individuals hear certain information, they will probably remember only around 10% of it after three days. However, the same people can remember as much as 65% of the information they see after three days. This stat shows the relevance of visual content to the dissemination of information to customers across different platforms such as social media.
Therefore, if you are thinking about getting the most out of your social media campaign, it is a must to invest in visual content. If you are ready to improve your visual content on social media channels, you should consider the following 10 tips.
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Make it simple
Of course, stunning visual content can easily get the attention of the target audience. But you must note that it is easy to overdo it. If visual content is so complicated that many of the readers don’t understand it, then it is counterproductive. Therefore, you shouldn’t use 3D charts, excessively decorated illustrations, etc. that your audience may struggle to comprehend. Keep it simple to avoid any confusion.
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Use content suitable for social media
While everyone agrees that visual content is important to your visibility on social media, you must know that some content may not be suitable for the platform. So, you need to understand how social media works and the best type of visual content for it.
Generally, the best type of visual content for social media is content that stimulates emotional reactions from the audience. Such content will be able to spark conversations on your social media pages; thus, drawing more people to you.
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Utilize visual content that resonates with your audience
Although almost all social media users like visual content, everyone doesn’t like the same type of visual content. For instance, some photos will resonate well with teenagers but will not have a similar effect on older people. Given this, you need to use visual content that suits the tastes and needs of your audience.
To do this, you must first understand the demographics of your target audience. With this, you will be able to give them visual content that resonates with them. When your target audiences can relate to your visual content, you don’t have to beg them to get lots of Facebook Likes, Instagram likes, etc.
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Take advantage of varying types of visual content
Nowadays, there are so many types of visual content. The most common types include:
- Photos
- Videos
- Infographics
- Illustrations
- Comics
- Memes
- GIFs
- Presentations
- Data visualizations
Many of these types of visual content serve different purposes. Therefore, you should think about experimenting with these various visual content types to see how your audience will react. If your audience favors a particular type of content, you should focus on using it more than the others. Nevertheless, this doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t try others once in a while.
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Ensure your visuals have a good story
Sometimes, people will use eye-catching visual content on their social media pages, but such content may not tell any story. In other words, such beautiful content doesn’t pass across any message to the audience. Unfortunately, if your visual content doesn’t tell any story, it is just aesthetic, not functional.
Therefore, as you try to create astounding visual content for your social media campaign, think about the message it tells. Is the visual resourceful to your audience? Can people learn more about your brand through the visual? Does it establish you as an authority in your niche? Does it encourage more customers to trust your brand? These are important questions you must answer.
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Space the information appropriately
Having the right visuals is not enough, you must know how to present them to your audience. Sometimes, people will present numerous pieces of visual content to their audience at once; thus, making it difficult for people to focus on any of them at a time. Don’t make such a mistake; try to space the information appropriately so that people can understand it.
In addition, if you are uploading visuals on your website, try to use white space between them. This enables people to see each visual content distinctively.
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Size images to suit the platform
If you have used different social media platforms before, you would have known that these platforms differ in how they showcase visual content. Some social media channels will crop your photo; thus, leaving out some of its parts. If you are sharing infographics or photos, this can hinder your audience from seeing some vital information.
So, you should learn how each social media platform works. This will assist you to know the right image resolution and pixels to upload.
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Optimize visual content for search engines
When uploading text-based content, everyone looks for ways to optimize it for the search engines. However, many individuals don’t do the same thing for visuals. This is probably because visuals are not easy to optimize like text-based content.
Nevertheless, you can optimize your visual content for search engines. If you are uploading images, videos, or infographics on social media, make sure you add a text transcript to it. Use keywords as well as relevant hashtags when putting visuals on your social media pages.
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Be consistent with your branding
Just as consistency is recommended for text-based content, it is also essential for visuals. Whatever you want to upload on your social media page, ensure that it suits your brand. In addition, be consistent with the image styles, font sizes, colors, fonts, etc. that you use for your visual content.
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Understand image copyright
Of course, you don’t have to create your visual content from the scratch every time. Sometimes, you can source images from other platforms and use them on your social media page. However, you must never overlook the essence of image copyright.
Make sure you understand the rules for using stock images, illustrations, and templates. Learn about contracting and licensing. Also, credit anyone that you need to credit.
With these 10 vital tips, you should be able to make the most of the visual content on your social media pages.
