Have you ever looked at the images used on someone else’s social media platforms and thought to yourself, “where do they get these amazing ideas from?”
The truth is, it’s not that difficult.
You can boost the success rate of your social media marketing by just following a few simple techniques to improve the quality of images in your posts drastically.
Whether it is your personal account or your firm’s social media pages, you want the stuff you post to get people’s attention and response.
First, you do not need to do much to understand what components of a photo, image, or poster grabs the viewer’s attention. Take a closer look, and you will easily figure out that most effective social media images have a few things in common.
Without further ado, let’s talk about these common factors that can help your images get better responses.
1. Brand your Images with a Consistent Style and Theme
If you are just starting off with your business’s social media page, it’s ok to experiment with your creativity in the beginning.
Over time, you need to set a particular style, theme, color, or design elements that will become your identity, especially on Instagram.
Make it so consistent that whenever a follower or a customer sets his eyes upon an image you posted (without looking at the logo), they should know right away that it’s yours.
Without a consistent theme, you won’t be able to form long term connections with your followers and customers.
Think of having a theme like having a particular tone. It represents the mood of your brand or product. If it varies too much, your viewers will get confused and may stop paying attention.
For instance, if one day you are jolly and humorous, you shouldn‘t jump to very serious posts the very next day. Except for some particular events, keep your tone the same.
It’s also a good idea to schedule social media content to enhance your brand’s awareness. It will help you be consistent.
2. Use Captions
Captions are like a hook for your images.
A combination of a great picture backed up by a strong caption can have an effective impact on the viewer. A great caption can compel the scroller to stop on your post. The longer someone spends time with your post, the better your post will rank on social media.
Captions give you more than just ranking. They allow you to build an organic and stronger relationship with your audience.
You can use captions in multiple ways to synchronize them with your images.
By far, storytelling is the best way to connect the caption with the image. It’s a great idea to narrate a short story about the picture.
And in case you may not have a story to tell, you can just express your emotions.
Remember, don’t overload your caption. Too much text can ruin it.
Set your captions keeping the social media platform in mind. For example, you can use longer captions for Instagram but shorter ones for Facebook. For Pinterest, you have to use captions with shareable keywords.
3. Use Image Editing Software
You don’t have to be a professional to start using image editing software. Editing can make a dull image look quite vibrant.
You may have someone in your friends list who keeps posting flawless images. You can make your photos look the same if you know how to use Photoshop or any other image editing tool.
You can make your images look more vibrant and sharp. Even if you only want to add text or a logo, a photo editor is necessary. While there are various tools available for graphic designing, you can consider one of these fantastic canva alternatives.
You can also experiment with a little typography or with text effects on your picture. And if you are looking to add a specific feel to your image, try using filters.
4. Size Your Image According to the Platform
When it comes to images for social media, they are the center of attraction for your profile or page. Every social media platform has different requirements.
You want your social media images to look their best, so you have to make sure that you resize & optimize your images as required by a particular platform.
According to Buffer, the image sizes for each platform are:
Sharing Images: 1200*628 pixels
Sharing Images: 1200*675 pixels
Sharing Images: 1104*736 pixels
Sharing Images: 1080*1080 pixels (square pictures), 1080*566 pixels (horizontal picture), 1080*1350 pixels (vertical pictures)
Sharing Images: 800*1200 pixels
5. Follow Trends
If you want to stay competitive, you must follow trends and adjust to changes.
Adjustment to change is not a contradiction to the previous tip of being consistent. Consistency must also be fulfilled by specifying a logo, a design element, color, font etc.; things that will be used in all your posts.
Trends are formed by what people want. Follow them, and you will see that your images are far better received.
Failure to accept change or follow a trend will be perceived as orthodox or adherence to an old ideology which will adversely affect follower and customer loyalty. So, go with the flow.
6. Add Text to Your Images
Words help to add context and emotion to your images. Text can make the image more relatable. You can add any relevant quote to your image to make it more powerful and attractive.
You can also include a header in your image which will again add meaning to it and help people to understand its context. Remember, that your image and text should synchronize.
To make your image more attractive, use attention grabbing fonts.
7. Optimize Your Images for SmartPhones
We are living in the smartphone era and it’s no secret that most people use mobile devices to surf online as compared to laptops or desktops.
The use of computers and laptops is now limited to office work or for entertainment purposes like watching movies.
The point is that you have to optimize your images for smartphones. They don’t have a big screen like traditional computers, so your image should be sized with the phones’ display in mind.
Secondly, your image should ideally contain no more than one subject or point of focus.
Thirdly, don’t overcrowd your image with a lot of text. Keep it short and simple.
Moreover, try using one or two contrasting colors to let your image stand out when someone is surfing on social media.
8. Use Natural Frames
Using a frame within a frame composition technique will enhance your images.
Framing images is a basic photography skill. Sometimes natural frames create phenomenal images as subjects are perfectly positioned within them.
Above is a simple photo of a city view that has a natural frame. The image is perfect for many reasons. If you get too close, the image appears unclear and too basic.
By including the window as a frame, the photographer has enhanced the image quality.
You can use different natural frames like trees, fences, archways, bridges, or anything, which creates a framing effect.
9. Avoid Placing Your Subject Right in the Center
If you are a photography enthusiast, you’ve probably heard of the “Rule of Thirds”
Most smartphone cameras nowadays have a grid. The Rule of Thirds dictates that your point of focus should meet one of the intersection points on the grid.
If your image subject is off-center, it tends to be more eye pleasing. But, be careful not to push your subject too far to either side of the image. Keep it a little off-center so that your image has breathing space and doesn’t overwhelm the eye.
This principle is widely known and commonly practiced in the art world.
10. Focus on Contrasting Colors
Using contrasting colors in an image can elevate image visibility. It basically refers to the ease with which two colors can be distinguished from one another. Undoubtedly, images with contrasting colors are attention-grabbing.
Some of the common contrasting colors include black and white, yellow and red, yellow and blue, purple and blue, and many more.
The aim of the majority images is to focus on subjects and you can use colors to do it.
You can isolate your subject from the background and make it more vibrant and sharper using contrasting colors.
There is no denying the importance of optimizing images for the web. Start by implementing any one of these tips for your social media photos, and you will surely get better responses.
And don’t forget to share these tips.
Good Luck!
