Having your post go viral on social media – getting hundreds of Likes, Shares or Retweets as a response to your efforts – is the one thing that excites every social media administrator. But in order to get one step closer to achieving that, you have to understand what triggers people to share in the first place.
The New York Times Customer Insight Group published a fascinating study called the Psychology of Sharing, and defined 5 top reasons that motivate people to share content with others online:
- To Inform and Influence - 49% say sharing allows them to inform others of products they care about and potentially change opinions or encourage action
- To Show Your Identity - 68% share to give people a better sense of who they are and what they care about and to reinforce the image they would like to present
- To Connect with Others - 78% share information online because it lets them stay connected to people they may not otherwise stay in touch with, and 73% share information because it helps them connect with others who share their interests
- To Feel Valuable - 69% share information because it allows them to feel more involved in the world
- To Show Support - 84% share because it is a way to support causes or issues they care about
Although social media is about communicating and sharing your thoughts, stories, experiences and ideas; it’s important to understand that sharing them in the form of a simple, written post is often not as effective as when you include beautiful and eye-catching visuals.
We live in a time where more than 2.5 billion camera phones are used every day and where images have become the “universal language”.
Photo posts generate 53% more likes and 104% more comments than the average text post, because the message communicated via images is much easier to notice, understand and share across different social media networks.
Today, even if you have no design experience, you can rely on simple and free applications, such as Content Creator that enable small business owners, agencies and social media executives to create professional looking social media posts from their iPhone and iPad in a couple of minutes.
Here are few photo post ideas that will help you cut through the noise and make your brand standout on social media:
1. Give
It’s not a secret that people who like brand pages expect to receive some sort of discount or exclusive offer to a product or service they are considering to purchase. So, make sure to use photo posts and communicate your promo offers, discounts, deals or contests that are being organized for your fans.
If you are investing your time and money in prize game make the most out of it by creating posts that promote prize game rules or available prizes, share prize game uploads and encourage further participation of your fans.
At the end of the prize game don’t just announce winners with simple written posts, but invest some time to create beautiful photo posts and in that way congratulate and thank all your fans for their contribution and participation.
2. Advise
If you want to establish yourself as a leader in your business category you should first of all be a great advisor, and provide tips and tricks that will help your fans resolve problems or be more knowledgeable about your industry.
Use photo posts to draw more attention to your blog posts, share quick and easy ideas, tips or answers to the most frequent questions about your product or service. Be knowledgeable, useful, positive and people will appreciate and respond.
3. Warn
In the sea of information available on social media, negative forms of verbs and nouns (such as “No”, “Without” and “Stop”) have greater impact and attract more clicks, so try to use them in posts and warn about dangers that can affect anybody.
4. Amuse
Humor can appeal to a large audience, so occasionally include in your posts funny pictures and quotes that are relevant to your business industry or refer to some local situation or event.
5. Inspire
Motivational quotes always work, whether you choose famous quotes from poems, movies, songs, or simply decide to go with testimonials of your customers or business partners. It is the subtlest way to communicate values of your brand, have people recognize themselves in them and because of that be inclined to share with their friends.
6. Amaze
Knowing information, facts and interesting stats before others is a great motivating factor for your fans, so make sure to share with them something that will make them look knowledgeable and in touch with things that are happening in the world now.
7. Unite
Social media platforms are a perfect place to communicate your support to causes and issues you care about and extend invitations for membership to others. It will enable fans to see a human side behind the brand, get to know you better and perhaps even actively participate.
8. Educate
The best way to engage customers in a conversation about your product is to show interesting ways they can use it. Not only will such a simple format make any task look achievable and manageable but you will inspire fans and encourage them to share information to friends.
9. Celebrate
Throughout the year there are hundreds of different holidays, celebrations and special days that run from overexposed Valentines Day, to silly Doughnut Day. So go beyond traditional holidays and choose a few of those that are interesting, fun and resonate with your brand. You will be surprised by the response and definitely learn a thing or two about your fans.
10. Start a conversation
There is nothing more contagious then a good conversation, so break down the wall between you and your audience by encouraging them to share their opinion. Simply, ask a question or leave a blank space in your image for your fans to fill it with their thoughts, stories and ideas. For optimal engagement, write a question that opens a larger discussion not just with your fans, but also between your fans.
11. Show gratitude
If you are reaching an important milestone, such as a certain number of fans, a birthday or the end of a successful business year share, the joy with your fans and show them how much they have contributed to your success. It will encourage the sense of community and show fans that you appreciate them.
Before you decide on your next photo post think about your business objectives, and ways in which particular visual content will fit your overall marketing strategy. Think also about your audience: are they on your page to learn something or to have fun? What type of content provokes their reaction?
In the meantime let us know what types of visual posts have worked for you? Are there some others you think should be included on the list? We would like to hear from you!
Guest Author: Aida Gadzo is a Social Media Strategist at contentcreatorapp.com. She helps small and medium businesses master the “what”, “why” and “how” of producing and delivering engaging digital and social media content that will activate audiences and drive sales.
Disclaimer: This is a sponsored post for Content Creator.
The post 11 Photo Post Ideas That Your Business Should Use Today appeared first on Jeffbullas's Blog.
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