Visual social media - the new phenomenon
It feels like the birth of the sweeping social media phenomenon occurred just five seconds ago, with Pinterest’s viral growth to dizzying heights, Facebook’s takeover of Instagram and Twitter launching the new network, Vine.
The new medium is continuing to grow and evolve, spawning a new phenomenon of its own: visual social media.
Like moths to a flame, humans are innately drawn to visual elements including images, photographs and sensational design. As more of us are increasingly mobile and engaging with social media on smartphones, viewing an image is far less tedious than squinting to read a few lines of tiny text on a moving train.
Facebook now gives users the option to upload a photograph with every single status posted, while one can only draw the parallels between Pinterest’s high levels of traffic and the quality images it hosts – it is now the fourth largest traffic driver worldwide.
According to research, 44 per cent of users are more likely to engage with brands it they post pictures than any other media. In August last year, Instagram surpassed Twitter for daily active mobile users, growing its user base by 8.5 times in six months.
Businesses and brands have to take note of these stats in order to leverage the power of visual marketing, using images, photos, videos and other media in their online marketing in order to boost the chances of readers viewing their messages. In turn, this drives people to your website and connects with them, promoting a sense of brand loyalty.
Want to harness the power of visual social media? Here’s how:
1. Why tell if you can show? A picture tells a thousand words. Wherever possible, use visuals to share your message through pictures, images, infographics, videos, graphics or animations. Facebook’s timeline format gives marketers the opportunity to show off stunning visuals and feature them prominently on the page.
2. More than 80 per cent of pins on Pinterest are re-pins, not original content. Be the original 20 per cent and create your own work, whether it be through professional graphic design or photography.
3. Tell your own story. Instagram is a great platform for storytelling and sharing your brand with the world. The mundane is made beautiful through the social medium’s photo filters, so snap and share away.
4. Infographics are a great way to showcase facts and figures without turning your post into a snorefest. Highlight valuable, up-to-date information through creative, colour charts and cutting-edge design – this makes sure people are engaged with your brand and read what you have to say.
5. Last but not least: don’t forget to add words to your image. Make sure you caption and tag where you can, but make sure the text doesn’t overpower your visuals. Keep captions short, concise and to-the-point, while adding hashtags can often help you reach new audiences as well.
Don’t forget – this applies to your personal brand along with your business brand, so be careful of what you say, snap and post. And most importantly, have fun with visual social media and all it can offer you!
─ Eliza Sum
Leave a comment
Make sure you enter all the required information, indicated by an asterisk (*). HTML code is not allowed.
comments ( 8 )
financial planner Lake charles la
28 Jan 2015Hello! TҺis ρost couldn't be written any better! Reading this post reminds
Replyme of my good olԀ room mate! He alwаys kept talking about this.
I will forward this page to hіm. Fairly certain he will hаve a
good гead. Thank you for sharing!
plany domów jednorodzinnych
15 May 2013Preserve the good good article, I read few posts for this web page i
Replythink which a weblog is very interesting and seems to have lots of superb info.
Stephanie Frendo
23 Apr 2013In this day and age, marketers have to realise that people, especially teenagers, have incredibly short attention spans and if they stick to the more traditional styles of social media, they are going to watch as interest in their site slowly falls. Sites such as Livejournal and Blogger were once 'in' but have now been replaced by Tumblr and PinInterest and applications such as Instagram. Even popular sites such as Facebook are updating and evolving to integrate a more visual side to the social network.
ReplyPeople want something they can do while watching television, and using their mobile phones which is where visual social media comes in. People also like to express themselves to their friends and family, maybe show off something new, or express love and emotion in a picture and tell their own stories but are not particularly fond of things like writing, spelling and grammar.
I completely agree that pictures do tell a thousand words. I believe that businesses who make use of visual media are more likely to drive consumers to the site, actively engage them and continue to retain brand loyalty so long you keep their attention.
Will Bowman
12 Mar 2013Utilizing imagery and having a visual association with a product is so important for the currency of a brand. It seems straightforward, but those companies with products that tie to visual cues must use social media platforms such as Instagram and Pinterest as often as possible to ensure continued visual association with the brand.
ReplyFurthermore, the importance of clear and concise hashtags coupled to the imagery posted by organisations must be consistent in use. Hashtags should link all imagery associated with a product to the one source, making navigation easy and simple.
As the rise of visual social media platforms becomes more pronounced, organisations must capitalise on the benefits that they provide!
RYAN WILLIAMS
22 Feb 2013Imagery is the strongest medium to get an idea or message across to someone. It can translate emotion, ideology or information and is most definitely the most effective tool that modern businesses can utilize due to the numerous social networking websites that exist today and the unparalleled audiences that they can reach through them.
ReplyManon
19 Feb 2013Social media has become very important and it is an interesting tool. Social media has a big impact in public relations. So companies have to adapt with the new trends.
ReplyArnaud Mariette
19 Feb 2013I think nowadays we definitely live in a more visual world. As you said we can now use a lot of social media and networks (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest...) to generate and receive visual content and more than ever brands must consider this fact. Even if people are more and more surrounded by images, these remain the most efficient. It's clear we are more attracted by visual than written content because pictures can directly catch our attention while written content can sometimes seem boring at first sight.
ReplyMore than ever I think brands must consider the use of visual content to strengthen their own image.
Also visual content could be a great tool to develop customer loyalty by showing them more "behind the scene" pictures of the company on Instagram,...
Mina Arsala
18 Feb 2013How true! Social media continues to become more visual and short. Less words, more graphics. Our viewers are becoming more fast paced in their lives and want information cut down to the minimum. We have to adapt with the trends.
Reply