Be it a brand or an individual, everyone is trying to master social media. But is everyone successful?
No, just a few only are thriving on social media even though everyone has the access to the same tools. In order to get all the attention, one needs to learn the laws of attraction.
(Source- BuzzSumo)
According to Hubspot, Facebook posts with images gain more than twice engagements than those without. Moreover, 90% of the information that a brain acquires is in the form of visuals. Pretty impressive, right?
But this is not the whole truth, around 95 million photos are shared every day solely on Instagram. The competition is already touching the heights even in the visual industry.
And so, you need to power-up your social media strategies. Here is how to be a visual guru on social media-
1. Do the Groundwork First
Any strategy is incomplete without proper research work. This can be done by analyzing what your competitors are doing. Target the brands or profiles that are related to your niche and have at least 50K followers. Study all the aspects of their photos, the background, the subject, the lightings, everything about their images.
All the things in their photos are placed according to some strategy that might help you with yours. Do all the groundwork first and then get out with what works for your niche and how can you implement that.
2. Storytelling Works
Many times you’ll find an image that lacks in quality but still gets viral. Do you know how? It’s the strong story behind it. People often uploaded photos that seem beautiful to themselves but what about your audience? Your audience is your priority and you need to hook them to your photos. Put a story and let them know what makes your picture unique. Apart from colours, that special story will add life to your photos.
As the primary model of any social media marketing strategy says, attract, engage and then convert. Attract through your photos and then engage with the storyline.
3. Editing it like a Pro
Do you remember the “#NoFilter” hashtag that became popular in no time? Well, that was the effect of the reality that filters are everywhere. People soon realised the fact that most of the photos are filter-prone.
However, there is no problem with editing photos and adding some more spark to it. Most of the social media influencers also prefer editing over the natural image. Some of the basic features of editing are adding filters, removing photobombers, adding photo frames, adjusting saturation and vibrance, etc. Now that some great photo editing apps are available on the smartphones even, you don’t need the pro skills. Here are a few that might interest the artist in you-
- Snapseed
- VSCO CAM
- Lightroom
4. Try Self Explanatory Images
(Source- Buffer Instagram)
You are on social media and so is everyone else. Then is how are you going to stand out? You need to do step up and provide plenty of awesome and unique content. So, here is another hack for you. Images without captions can make them look incomplete but not the ones that are self-explanatory.
In order to look different from the crowd, you need to do differently from the crowd. Uploading images that are not so common in the niche can be your viral strategy to attract followers.
5. Play With Graphics
(Source- Instagram)
As per Hubspot, Infographics are “shared” and “liked” on social media three times more than any other type of content. People like content that could add some value to their knowledge and skills. Find out what is your audience craving for. Fill the gap by embedding the required knowledge in the form of graphics. Such images can go viral in no time, leading to attract a bunch of followers and higher engagement rates.
Creating Infographics is no more a tough job when we have plenty of online tools. Some of the best tools are-
- Canva
- Pictogram
- Visme
6. Adding the Creative Part
Images that lacks the photographer’s interest can’t be his best shot. The best shots are those that capture your passion and interest. Capturing such images can let you add the creative angles to it. The best ones are those that include both creativity and attraction. To try capturing such images, you need to
- Look out for your passion or interest.
- Juggle with the angles.
- And finally, select the best ones.
For example, take shots of your workshop or your kitchen or your pets. Whatever that interests you might also interest the people in your niche, all you need is the creative angle. Such social media photos are rare to find as everyone tries the same overused paths.
Wrapping up-
Visual Content Marketing is on a rise, more and more people are opting for it. In order to be a real social influencer, you need to implement the right strategies. Your content is your weapon and it needs to be attractive enough to gain higher engagement rates. These little tips can help you in standing out. Just be active and consistent, slowly and steadily you’ll be termed as a true authority in your niche.
Can you think of any other tips? Let me know in the comments.
Originally published here.
Read more: