Branded Images Archives - The Social Media Advisor

August 22, 2021
Social Media Marketing

Top 3 Reasons Professional Headshots Are Needed for Social Media Marketing

You know that businesses that only seem to share quotes and the occasional promotional post on social media? Do you get excited about following them or engaging with their content online?

Yeah, me either.

Social media was always meant to be a social experience. If you want to be successful on social, you need to get comfortable in front of the camera. The most engaging content on social media are photos and videos where a small business owner shows up for their people and shares information, ideas, and opportunities that actually interest, engage, and excite their audience.

You can’t do that hiding behind a graphic you stole off of Google.

Here are our top three reasons to invest in branded headshots for your social media channels:

Content

One of the struggles for any business on social media is the creative aspect of creating content that an audience will engage with. Getting 1-3 branded photo shoots done a year keeps your content fresh, interesting, and attractive. It helps you create content for your audience that will actually get attention and social engagement.

Engagement

Your followers will be less likely to scroll past your content if they see your smiling face! If your followers are into you and what you do, seeing your photos will inspire them to like, comment, and share your posts! This engagement will showcase your content in more feeds, inspiring others to engage and will organically create the sort of attention you want for your social media posts.

Professionalism

While the occasional selfie isn’t going to hurt you, it doesn’t make the same impact as professional, branded photography. It doesn’t matter how good your selfie game is, there are ways to demonstrate your company culture and brand personality that simply can’t be accomplished with a selfie. Branded photography tells the story of you and your company. It removes the veil that small business owners tend to hide behind and is the bridge between you and an engaged audience.

Images of YOU are going to bring higher engagement than any stock image out there. Plan to get a series of great photos done professionally that show your brand voice. What sort of brand images work well? Indoor, Outdoor, doing a fun activity you love, different times of year, they all work! Incorporate blank space in areas for adding quotes and tips to your images later. The key is to show your personality! These images are what people will resonate with and use to connect with you, follow you, and choose to do business with you.

Are you struggling with not knowing how to use social media for your business? Not sure when to post, how to post, or what #Hashtags even are? Over three months, we will develop a roadmap of exactly how to use social media for your business in our Quarterly Roadmap Sessions. We will work on ads, reporting, creating posts for higher engagement, and break through the fears and frustrations small businesses experience with social media marketing. Let’s chat.

Be sure to Follow us and Let’s Engage!

Hollie Clere of The Social Media Advisor is a “#BeAwesome” Developer, Social Media, Brand Builder, Content Manager, Trainer and Author in LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Blog, Google+, YouTube, Pinterest, Instagram, and the tools to manage them.

Click here for Social Media Training, Speaking and Strategy Consultations.

May 13, 2019
Social Media Strategy

#EverythingIsSearchable – Naming the Images You Use in Social Media

There’s no doubt about it: creating great content is hard work, so it’s pretty rewarding when your content gets found. It’s human nature to want our hard work to pay off whether that work involves creating text or images. It doesn’t do much good to spend a lot of time and resources on creating beautiful pictures if no one is going to see them.

So how can you increase the odds that the finely crafted images you post to social media will get seen through organic search? By making sure that you optimize your images for search engines.

One of the first and most important things you should consider when optimizing images for search is how you name your files. It’s always tempting to fall back on the default file name since it saves time and effort, but that’s the worst thing you can do. You should name your images carefully and thoughtfully.

Depending on where you get your images the file name will likely be some combination of characters and letters. Take, for example, what the photographs you take yourself are named. Generally, it will be something like IMG530319.jpg. That sure isn’t very descriptive.

If that image is of a product, say for example a greeting card, you might consider something that is brief but descriptive – maybe something like funny-birthday-card.jpg. You get the idea. The goal is to name your files in a way that it will help search engines find them.

There are other things you can do to give your SEO a boost. Paying attention to alt tags also helps. Google, in particular, has admitted that it considers alt information in its algorithm.

While it may not be specific to SEO, you should comply with the image requirements that are specific to each social media platform. Each platform has it’s own preferences when it comes to size and shape.

The amount of text you include on your image can also be significant. Brush up on what each platform recommends so that you increase the chance that you’ll be scored favorably by the algorithm.

No doubt, having to worry about how you handle your social media images to help your SEO is one of many things you need to add to your to-do list. Luckily, there are experts out there who can help. Take the Social Media Advisor, for example. You can purchase a cost-effective package of services that can help you build or revamp your social media efforts, which will increase your odds of getting found. Why not give it a try?

Be sure to Follow us and Let’s Engage!

Hollie Clere of The Social Media Advisor is a “#BeAwesome” Developer, Social Media, Brand Builder, Content Manager, Trainer and Author in LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Blog, Google+, YouTube, Pinterest, Instagram, and the tools to manage them.

Click here for Social Media Training, Speaking and Strategy Consultations.

August 1, 2017
Bio Optimization

#AwesomeBios – Picking Images For Your Bios

When inputting your bio information on the various social media platforms that you want to associate with your business, it can be tempting to rush through the process in order to get started. I implore you to avoid this urge, and set aside time to really flesh out the bio areas of each site to optimize your profiles. Why? Because it will make it easier for your target audience to find you.

Once they have found you, however, you need to grab their attention if you want to convert them to followers or leads. You will only have seconds to do it. What is the best practice for extending the amount of time that a passer-by lingers on your profile? Using the right images.

Visual Content

We are a visual people. In fact, over 65% of people are visual learners, mainly due to the fact that 90% of all data processed by the brain is visual in nature. Before live video came along, photos were the most engaging type of content on Facebook with an overwhelming 87% interaction rate with viewers. Facebook data is so convincing that the social media giant adapted its algorithm so that text only updates weren’t given as much priority – and then implemented a method to the color the background of text only posts in order improve their reach.

The Right Images

Understanding that you need to use images in your bios and profiles is just the first step. It’s even more important to recognize what makes a great visual! Just grabbing something off-hand is not ideal. The image needs to be clear, crisp and engaging. It should also match your branding.

This means understanding resolution. The detail that a photo or image holds is its resolution. The higher the resolution, the better detail which makes the image look better. It’s measured in various ways but the key is to understand that you always want to use an original, or high resolution, version of an image in your marketing. Find out more about resolution at this website.

Ask around. Gather your brand advocates, your fans, and your cheerleaders, to make sure that the images you’ve selected are not only visually appealing but they make sense for what you are trying to accomplish. A confused lead is a prospect that moves on and finds something that makes more sense for them.

Copyright

The other error we see way too many small businesses doing is using images they do not own. The temptation to grab a stunning graphic off the internet and use it for your purposes should be avoided at all costs! What you don’t know about copyrights, trademarks and licenses can hurt you.

The best practices to engage in are to:

1. Purchase stock photography from reputable sites like Shutterstock, iStock, Dreamstime or Deposit Photos.

2. Download FREE stock photography from sites that offer images with no copyright or license concerns. (Always read the details on each image to be sure!) Our favorite sites are Pixabay, Pexels and Unsplash.

3. Take your own photos! Or enlist the help of a photographer that you know that will take photos that belong 100% to you and your brand.

If you have already uploaded profile pictures, cover photos or other bio images that don’t meet these standards, don’t fret. Just go find better images and get them uploaded as soon as you can. Your images are the perfect complement to your expanded, detailed bios. The bios will ensure that your ideal clients find you and the images will make certain that they stick around to find out why you are the perfect fit.

Just another way The Social Media Advisor team is encouraging you to #BeAwesome with your online presence and social media!

Be sure to Follow us and Let’s Engage!

Hollie Clere of The Social Media Advisor is a “#BeAwesome” Developer, Social Media, Brand Builder, Content Manager, Trainer and Author in LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Blog, Google+,YouTube, Pinterest, Instagram and the tools to manage them.

Click here for her Social Media Workshops, Classes and Seminars

March 7, 2017
Brand Storytelling

#AwesomeContent – Branded Images are the Third Highest for Engagement on Social Media

Probably the most important goal of any social media strategy is to create content that viewers want to read and engage with. There is a ton of content being created and posted every day. Much of it is not getting seen, liked or shared. The idea is not to work harder – don’t just become a content creation factory. You should be working smarter by creating the types of content that viewers like the most. Yes, live video is all the rage this year and shouldn’t be overlooked when building your marketing plan. However, not everyone is capable, or even interested, in creating videos. What’s the next best thing in social media when it comes to getting a ROI on engagement? Anything visual will work well – this includes pictures, photoquotes, infographics and other images.

Facebook posts with images see 2.3X more engagement than those without images. Buzzsumo

Branded images are pieces of visual content created using your own words, material, content or logo. It can be as simple as a picture with a quote on it and your logo or as complicated as an infographic filled with valuable stats and facts about your industry. The spectrum of options is wide and diverse and limited only by your own creativity. Just make sure that any content you are creating doesn’t violate copyright laws and that it is clear that you own it. The best graphics get shared often and if you don’t put your mark on it, no one will know where it came from. Don’t waste time creating quality content and then forget to label it with your brand.

37% of marketers said visual marketing was the most important form of content for their business, second only to blogging. Social Media Examiner

Visual Storytelling

Gone are the days where a business could invest in commercials, direct mail, paper ads and other old school forms of marketing in order to boost presence and generate sales. No one wants to be sold to anymore.

Today’s marketing is all about organic reach, becoming an influencer and creating stand out content online and in social media to build a following.

There is a lot of stuff out there vying for consumer attention and more added gets every day. In order to rise to the top and really reach your target audience, marketers and business owners need to learn the value of visual storytelling.

Telling a story is all about gathering attention and then making an emotional impact. If your content isn’t telling a story that engages, surprises, motivates, or inspires others – then it’s time to start incorporating those elements into your marketing. Basically, it’s time to start hitting people in the feels with your words, images, and data.

Social Media Graphics

Where do you start when it’s time to come up with your social media images? The Content Strategist identifies 5 elements that you have to take into consideration when you are creating your branded images.

Does your content match the mood you are trying to achieve? You shouldn’t be creating anything that confuses your audience. Make certain it matches your company’s brand, your voice and your purpose.

Also, be sure you are designing images that appeal to people. There is a lot of thought that goes into a great visual including tone, concept, emotional response, and simplicity. Understanding some basic elements of graphic design and marketing will boost your returns.

There are a lot of great, free, online tools to help you create your own images. We prefer Canva.com if you need a place to start.

Not everyone will be good at creating his or her own images. If this is you, seek out help from someone who understands how to design images for social media. You don’t have to be an expert at how to do this in order to generate your own social images.

Increasing Engagement with Images

Don’t forget to take time to brainstorm how to get the most engagement out of your branded images. Use quotes, from you or others, that generate an emotional response. Ask questions. Use pictures of other people – there is something about seeing a person and being able to identify with them that helps boost engagement. Keep it as local as possible. People want to interact within their own communities. Achieving presence and reach is great but don’t lose sight of being able to exchange words and ideas with your followers.

51% of B2B marketers prioritized creating visual content assets in 2016. Content Marketing Institute

Be sure to Follow us and Let’s Engage!

Hollie Clere of The Social Media Advisor is a “#BeAwesome” Developer, Social Media, Brand Builder, Content Manager, Trainer and Author in LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Blog, Google+,YouTube, Pinterest, Instagram and the tools to manage them.

Click here for her Social Media Workshops, Classes and Seminars

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#AwesomeBios – Picking Images For Your Bios

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