With nearly half the worlds’ Internet users being active Facebookers, and more and more platforms becoming mobile-friendly, it’s no wonder why visual content and social media are the Beyoncé and Jay Z of Internet marketing. Whether it’s directly from your blog or website, or your respective social media brand pages, sharing is caring when it comes to graphics and the World Wide Web.
In 2013 476.59 million Facebook users uploaded and shared photos, and 104.31 million Tweeters shared photos of a brand. Not to mention the image-based platforms like Instagram, Pinterest and Tumblr, which are now the fastest growing global social media platforms… The entire concept of these three revolves around sharing, reposting and pinning.
Can you see the potential yet? These stats are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to creating brand awareness through sharing.
1 Real Estate
Social media real estate that is! Graphics put your brand in the spotlight when it comes to social media. Photos and infographics take up a lager percentage of space on any newsfeed than a simple link or quote, giving you a far better chance of standing out to a potential client who is scrolling through blocks of text.
Social media also has an extremely fast turnover rate, particularly with platforms such as Twitter. There are so many active users tweeting and retweeting that your brand and its message (despite the number of followers you have) can quite often miss the window of opportunity.
With Twitter now offering its users the option to embed a photo, every business should be using it to their advantage and taking up prime Twitter real estate with graphics. Your page needs to be seen before it gets shared, and graphics are the way forward.
2 We Like Pictures
No really, we do. Stats have shown that more people interact with infographics and images than they do regular Facebook posts. Social media users are far more likely to click ‘share’ or ‘like’ when it comes to visual content. Businesses are making the most of this with the introduction of brand and editorial infographics.
Brand infographics promote the current state of the brand – the achievements, the information, and even the products, whereas the editorial infographics use images to portray history, the results of surveys and other research. There are hundreds of free tools online any average Joe can use to create something personalised. Try remixing the blog graphic above.
3 Make it Easy
Once you’ve cottoned onto the real estate value of graphics, you’ve got to make it easy for your potential customers/fans to share it. If the graphics are already on your site – include ‘share buttons’ – the most effective are the ones that include the social media icons. These are easily recognisable and people know what to expect when they click on them. This is a phenomenal way to reach new clients and create brand awareness.
4 Make it Share-Worthy
Image Source: Funders & Founders
The most popular infographics of 2013 were those that were either inspirational and/or resourceful. Check out the infographic How to Never Give Up, featured here on Entrepreneur. Using the metaphor of a challenging hike and including simple, yet relatable images and language, this graphic was one of the most shared of 2013. Notice it has share icons both above and below the image itself?
Graphics are a fun and funky way of giving people information for free. The more original and resourceful an image is, the more likely it is that people will share.
5 Link it Up
The whole purpose of sharing graphics is to reach potential clients. But what’s the point if you haven’t included links to all the right places? Make sure that every graphic you create, promote and share links back to the hub of your business, whether it’s a Facebook page, portfolio website or an e-commerce store. Google algorithms will appreciate the unique content more when it’s linked to your website, making it more likely that your site will be bumped up in search engine results as well.
6 Start Today
Graphics are an incredible way to get your brand personality out there. The more valuable the content, the wider the reach will be across social media platforms, which will result in more traffic being driven back to your website. No matter what business you’re in, your competitors know this. So here’s five quick tips to get you started:
- Promote sharing of the graphic across social media with a giveaway or competition.
- Make your graphic a valuable resource – provide information that people want, for free!
- Inspire! Jazz up an inspirational quote with a splash of colour and a funky font – practically effortless.
- Use the free tools (mentioned above) to reinvent your existing content into a visual masterpiece!
- Pay it forward by interacting with other brands’ graphics; you’ll be surprised at how many return the favour!
Want to create your own social media graphics?