How Images Help Social Media Marketing

2024-09-04
By photomaster
Posted in Marketing

For the most part, those of us who own blogs have gotten a little stuck in the whole ‘content marketing’ aspect of things. We have spent so long perfecting the way we communicate with words that we could put together a post in a half an hour and be assured of the traffic it will draw. It just becomes habit, and ends up leaking into other forms of marketing campaigns we embark on. Like, for example, social media.

Have you ever been on Facebook and seen a massive wall of text from the owner of the page? That is one way to pick out a blogger among the crowd. They continue on the same habit they have picked up through writing on their site, and they don’t even realize that they are missing the point. Social media is a way to engage users through multiple mediums, and the best way to catch their attention is through visuals.

Images are a big boost to social media, and they should be a part of your posts as often as possible. Here are some reasons why:

Visual content is more shareable, and people are more likely to repost a graphic than they are to copy/paste a status comment.
A preview image with a link tends to grab the attention of the viewer more effectively, and on sites like Facebook it will also provide the headline instead of just a glimpse at the link.
Pinterest is the fastest growing social media site on the web, and is a great way to expand your social marketing into a purely visual field.
A full 98% of Pinterest users also have a Twitter or Facebook account, according to a survey by PriceGrabber. This improves your chances of having images cross-posted to other accounts.
An engaging screen cap from a video will make the casual skimmer more likely to stop and view the clip.
An image can quickly convey a message that is likely to stick. Human beings are very visual creatures, and we are more likely to recall something that we can relate visually.

Dan Zarrella found that images ranked the highest for likes and shares on Facebook. If you take a look at your friend feed, it becomes very obvious that he is right…most of what is shared is inevitably an image, or has a related image.
Users can become involved through providing their own images. This goes back to engagement, which can really be driven by asking people on your social media accounts to share their pictures. Contests run on this principle always get a lot of interest.

A study done by Anson Alexander found that high quality infographics were read 30 times more than text articles, and traffic grew 12% faster when those infographics were published than those posts that didn’t contain one.

When creating your multi-channel visual marketing strategy, make sure to use tools like AllMyLinks to consolidate your multiple efforts through a single well-branded link in bio page.

Takeaways: Why Use Images for Social Media Marketing

How images help	Details
Visuals are Key for Social Media Engagement	Social media platforms offer diverse ways to connect with your audience, and visuals are the most effective way to capture their interest.
Images Increase Shareability	People are much more inclined to share visual content on social media. They’ll readily repost an image, while they rarely copy and paste text.
Images Improve Click-Through Rates	Including a preview image with your links significantly increases the likelihood of people clicking. On platforms like Facebook, this also allows you to display a headline, making your link more enticing.
Pinterest is a Powerful Visual Platform	Pinterest is experiencing rapid growth and provides an excellent opportunity to expand your social media marketing strategy using a purely visual approach.
Pinterest Users are Active on Other Platforms	The vast majority of Pinterest users are also active on Facebook and Twitter, increasing the chances of your images being shared across multiple platforms.
Images Enhance Video Content	Using an appealing screenshot from your video can entice those quickly scrolling through their feeds to stop and watch.
Visuals Improve Message Retention	Humans are inherently visual, and we remember things we can see much better. Images can quickly and memorably convey your message.
Images Drive Engagement on Facebook	Research has shown that images generate the most likes and shares on Facebook. Just look at your own feed, and you’ll see this in action!
User-Generated Images Boost Engagement	Encourage your audience to share their own pictures! This boosts interaction and involvement. Contests that leverage user-generated images are always a popular and effective strategy.
Infographics Outperform Text Articles	Studies indicate that high-quality infographics are read far more often than text articles and can significantly accelerate traffic growth.