Get The Best First Impression On Social Media And Increase Engagement

You’re about to learn the best way to get noticed and grow your following on social media and it really comes down to making a great first impression. How do we do that? Share photos. 

Yeah, pictures!

And we have stats to back up our claim!

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

Our brain only needs 1/10 of a second to understand an image. Reading 200-250 words, about the length of a tweet, takes an average of 60 seconds.

People remember visual information 6x better than the information they have read or heard.

Plus photos are great for telling stories and that’s what social is about.

The Next Time You Post, Give This Formula A Try:

Original photo of you + exciting caption + alt text

“Wait. What’s ALT text?”

We’ll get to that in a second.

If you use the right image of you or a teammate, plus a clever/unique/enticing/tantalizing/exciting caption, plus a help from an oft-ignored SEO trick, this formula is guaranteed to get attention! 

And remember a user’s first impression of your business is made before she starts reading one word! The image on your post will be the key factor in determining her perception and participation with your brand.

10 Types of Photos You Need for Top Engagement

When a user is given something that looks great and the message is in line with what she appreciates in life (i.e., values and beliefs) she’ll engage with that content.

So what pictures should you post? Here is a great list Miranda Kelton Photography put together:

1. Basic headshots
2. Lifestyle portraits
3. Team photos
4. Location photos
5. Product or service photos
6. Action and interaction photos
7. Detail photos aka close ups
8. Personal, get-to-know-me photos
9. Behind the scenes
10. Promotional and advertising photos

And here’s our bonus phototype that you need to be sharing: UGC.

For major impact, showcase your customer’s photos (aka UGC) and watch the numbers take off. 

User-generated content (UGC) is the bread and butter of marketing on social media. UGC is an effective form of content because now engagement is a two-way street—you get connected with your fans organically showing off your product or service and those fans in return get noticed and featured.

If you’re just getting started on social or don’t have an active and engaged audience to pull UGC from, don’t stress. You can easily get people involved with your brand by running a contest. 

Try an ‘Enter to Win’ giveaway where your audience submits photos for a chance to win. We recommend using a hashtag and software to track your entries and to keep things organized and compliant. Run one every 6-weeks if you can.

Good Copy is a Powerful Tool

But a great photo is only one part of the equation. Let’s talk copy.

Uninspired copy overstuffed with keywords will never pass. Today’s readers are super savvy and will turn their nose up to poorly written content. So, how do we ensure we’re writing in a tone that will resonate? 

Julia McCoy, CEO of Express Writers, shares these tips:

1. Be engaging, transparent, and empathetic to favor an emotional response from your readers.
2. “Write tight”

This means that you should keep it short and simple; organize your content piece into small well-organized paragraphs to improve readability. Otherwise, your readers will get bored to death, no matter how amazing your copy really is.

Good copy matters. You can use copy to sell, create a long-lasting bond with your audience and separate yourself from the competition. 

Writing can be challenging, yes, but with practice and patience, it gets easier.

Why You Should Add Alt Text to Your Posts (+ How-To)

Told you we’d cover ALT Text…

Ok, you took your photo, you wrote a clever caption and you hit ‘Post’ – but wait! There’s one more tiny step to take. 

Not gonna lie, this one isn’t as sexy as creating the content but it’s critical for SEO on social media. By creating your own ALT Text you’re giving yourself the best chance at having your posts display in relevant search results. Thus expanding your reach!

​​The term “image alt text” (alt text or alternative text), is the description that’s displayed when an image fails to load on a web page.

Alt text is helpful when an image doesn’t load due to poor internet connectivity or the user can’t see the image and needs a screen reader to access the content but these aren’t the only reasons you should add alt text to your posts:

1. Adding keyword-rich alt text to the images on your blog posts can also help drive traffic to your website
2. Alt text helps search engines and platforms understand the content of your image and include it in relevant image search results
3. Alt text ensures your content is shown to the right people and will help you reach your target audience when they’re looking for posts related to your brand

What should your alt text look like? Here are two examples:

Good text: puppy

Better text: puppy in basket

Best text: small puppy sitting inside a wicker basket looking at the camera

Good text: barista

Better text: barista with customer

Best text: male barista showing whole coffee beans to a female customer

If you’re posting using social media publishing software, most allow you to edit the alt-text when posting. In any case, here is how you can edit alt-text on the four major image-sharing platforms:

Facebook
Twitter
Instagram
LinkedIn

The takeaway…

The content you post on social media is one of the most important parts of your marketing strategy. It’s what will convince people to follow you, engage with you, and visit your site or store. We provided some great tips for how to make a first impression.

Now pick up that phone and start taking photos!

If you need support with social media marketing, please schedule a 30-minute discovery call to see if and how we can work with you.