Five Ways to Engage Your Audience with Visuals

You’ve heard the saying, “A picture is worth a thousand words.” I’m going to go out on a limb here and update this old adage for our modern times:

A visual is worth more clicks, shares and tweets.

I manage a few different Facebook groups. We recently asked our Facebook peeps over at Soulful Aligned Entrepreneur, “What is your favorite communication vehicle to use that you feel gives you more connection + engagement with your audience?”

Overwhelmingly, the answer was visuals: images, video, and the new kid on the block – Periscope.

People engage better with visual content. Period. It’s easier to understand. It tells a story. It evokes emotions. Our busy lives, our modern brains – for better or worse – like to skim over words and go right for the juicy stuff – the images.

So here are a few ways you can use visuals to engage your audience, increase engagement and ramp up social sharing.

#1: Use Videos

How many times have you stopped to watch that cat video just because it is already rolling as your scroll through your feed? Facebook peeps love video. Eight of the top 10 most shared posts in 2015 were videos. And Facebook (the company) loves videos, too. Their algorithms seem to favor them over text and link only posts. So if you haven’t considered using video to engage your audience, I encourage you to rethink your choice. There are several options out there to help you out. And they don’t have to be professional quality (remember those cat videos?). They just need to be engaging and informative.

Use video to engage your audience

#2: Create Quote or Testimonial Graphics

I love sharing inspiring quotes. And by turning them into an image they have the potential to reach a larger audience. And people are more likely to share your quote or testimonials if it is an image instead of just text or a link. Also, try to add your logo or website address to the graphic. If it blows up and is shared worldwide, you want to make sure people know where it came from originally.

visuals-quote

 

#3: Use Personal Photos

Engage your audience with a personal photo of you, your employees, your office…. Whether you are attending an event or showing off your new, cute office space, let your followers know there is a real person behind everything that you do. Remember, people do business with people. Make sure you take the time to show the face, space, activities behind the magical work you do for the world.

visuals-cat

 

#4: Create a Seasonal Post

Every day is a day to celebrate. Celebrate with your followers by posting a season post. Add a caption to share why you’re celebrating, too. But you don’t wait for the usual holidays. Don’t know what to celebrating today? Check here for a list of national holidays.

visuals-holidays

#5: Say Thank You to Your Followers

Never forget that your audience is taking time out of their busy day to engage with you, to provide feedback, to share what it is you’re sharing. My mama always said, “You catch more flies with honey.” A simple expression of gratitude when you hit milestones in your journey makes you and your brand more accessible. It will also encourage people to leave comments about their personal experiences.

These types of posts tend to attract high engagement, so be sure to add your logo and use your fonts to brand the image. Let make sure everyone knows who is saying Thank You.

elvis-thankyou

How do you use visuals to engage your audience? Share in the comments below and let us know!

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