Facebook posts with pictures receive 10 percent more engagement than posts without a photo, according to the marketing team at Webliquid. That’s a big difference in audience response. Are you sharing important visual cues with your audience?
Take the time to choose a photo
Whatever you do, don’t skip the photo. Ever go on to a dating site or craigslist to look for some furniture? Odds are you will only click on those posts that have a photo. You want to know what you’re in for. The same goes for blogging. Readers want to know what they are going to read, and your photo will do that for them, if chosen correctly.
Make it relevant
A picture of a cute dog might elicit interest, but if your article is about Internet security, then you lost your audience. Those interested in dogs will make a note to never read your blog, and internet security people will shake their head and wonder why they should read your blog at all.
If your goal is to get your blog read and shared, you need to have a professional and accurate representation of your subject. Consider photos not as decoration, but as visual aids to increase your audiences understanding. The University of Alabama at Birmingham reveals that visual aids, “help you to reach your objectives by providing emphasis to whatever is being said.”
Here are some tips and pointers to find and use the right photo that works for you and will get you more shares:
- Does it look professional? (not blurry or out of focus)
- Does it appear well composed? (there is balance in the photo)
- Does it directly relate to your article? (I.e. a picture of a beach with a blog about a beach vacation)
- Does the photo enhance your blog? If you are writing steps to complete a project, do you have photos of each step? Does it capture reader interest?
Finding a photo that works for your blog
- Search through Creative Commons. These photos generally require you to note the name of the photographer.
- Utilize high volume resources like iStockphoto.
- Consider reading photography articles and learning more about what’s out there, and how to use images.
- Use a photo of your own that can be used without too much editing.
Keep it simple
And, as a final note: Make sure to post your photos in a size appropriate for your blog. If you don’t compress your photo, it can take a long time for a large photo to load. This will cause readers to get impatient if they have to wait to read your blog and see your photos. Peer 1 Hosting reports that the “optimal load time for a web page was four seconds before users started moving on.
About the author:
Richard Johnson is a veteran with over 8 years of service and multiple combat tours. He has multiple degrees in business and marketing from Arizona State University. Currently he is taking some time away from work to raise his kids and enjoy the outdoors.
