On average, people spend 147 minutes, or two hours and 27 minutes, on social media every day. This number is just an average – in some parts of the world, people spend a lot more time on social media than this! With social platforms being some of the best tools we have to stay connected, it’s no surprise that this should be the backbone of your internet marketing strategy.
As much time as people spend on social media, their attention spans are growing shorter. Nowadays, the average attention span of a consumer is about nine seconds. This means that your social posts must capture your audience’s attention in just a few seconds, which is hard to do with so much competition. Fortunately, social media images can help you stand out!
Let’s learn more about why images are so important in social media marketing, as well as some tips you need to know for 2022.
Why are Social Media Images Important?
Social media marketers know all the statistics. Humans are visual creatures. Our brains can process visual content at incredibly high speeds, 60,000 times faster than it’s able to process text. Furthermore, 90 percent of the information transmitted to the brain is visual.
Now that people are exposed to tons of written content on the internet, they’re reading less. Thankfully, the human brain is uniquely wired to take in and process huge amounts of visual data. Consider that human eyes are able to register 36,000 visual messages an hour! This is about double what you can read in words, and visuals pack a lot of information into them.
Tips for Creating Engaging Visual Content on Social Media
Posting strong visual content to your social media platforms gives people a reason to follow you and interact with your posts. Here are some tips for choosing the best images for your social media marketing strategy.
- Have a strong social media marketing strategy. Images are an important part of your strategy – but they can’t carry a poor strategy. Every visual strategy should include audience research, consistent themes, great content and the right timing.
- Know the basics of good visuals. Brush up on your understanding of what makes a great visual. You should have a clear subject, use natural light and keep it simple. Choose complementary colors and avoid over-editing your photos. You want them to look natural.
- Utilize free tools and resources. There are plenty of tools online that will help you transform your photos into great custom content for your brand. Utilize these resources, design tools and templates to make things easier!
- Understand image copyright. Whenever you use stock photos, templates and illustrations, make sure that you understand the copyright rules. There are serious consequences for misuse.
- Size images correctly. Images with the wrong aspect ratio or low resolution won’t look good on social media. Be sure to tailor your content accordingly for each social platform. And as always, aim for the highest quality images in terms of pixels and resolution.
Need help with your social media marketing strategy? Contact Yovia Social for a consultation. We can help with your social content AND your visuals – and we do this all at an affordable rate. Let us know how we can help you succeed with great visuals for your social media marketing strategy.