Did you know that most blog posts only have a shelf life of three days? If you’re anything like me, it probably took you much longer than three days to write, edit, and optimize the post before you hit publish. So how can you be sure that you’re correctly positioning and promoting your content to help extend the shelf life? One easy way is to add images.
According to Pag Fitzgerald, images are the new call-to-action for your blog posts, and by effectively adding imagery to your content you can help encourage shares. Before you click away because you are unsure how to take photos of jewelry, here are four ways to use imagery effectively to help drive additional traffic to your blog posts that don’t involve photos.
#1: Use Images as a Brand Extension
Something that many don’t consider is that the images you post are an extension of your brand. This means that when you post to social media, use consistent filters, add your business logo, and even incorporate your business colors to help with the brand recognition. Ultimately, you’ll want your brand to be so apparent that anyone who sees an image will know it comes from your business.
#2: Use Images to Add Value
Images can add context to your content and even help readers retain information. Take advantage of this and create an infographic to display the same information in a visual way. A quote graph is another example of visual content that generates large engagement. Pull out a particularly meaningful quote and create an image that encourages sharing. Or, if you have ever given a presentation, host your content on SlideShare and use the slides as images to break up the text. Don’t forget GIFs; sometimes their silly tone is the perfect accompaniment to your content.
#3: Plan a Visual Marketing Plan
In the last few years, social media platforms have become so visual. If you tried to tweet without an image, would it capture the same attention? What about if you posted to Facebook without an image? Today, a social post without images is almost unthinkable.
So plan ahead! Make sure your content is grabbing attention by taking the time to create images in the correct social sizes:
- 1080x1080px – Facebook and Instagram
- 735x1102px – Pinterest
- 500x1000px – Twitter
#4: Share, Share, and Share Again
There is no such thing as over-sharing your content. Remember that the lifespan of content online is only three days, so reposting your content multiple times is the best practice you can have.
- Use this social sharing plan to see optimal results:
- Schedule multiple Tweets, both over several days and sprinkled out over weeks
- Post more than once on Facebook and spread this out over several weeks
- Share an image on Instagram and link to your blog in the bio
- Pin your article to multiple boards on Pinterest over time
What other tips do you have for using visuals with your content? Share them in the comments below!