Using great images on social media is more important than EVER to get your content noticed. There are hundreds of thousands of brand profiles across all social platforms and in order for yours to be noticed – it must stand out from the crowd.

One image can say a thousand words – but only if that image is a good one!

There are a number of social platforms that focus mainly on photography including Instagram, Pinterest and Tumblr however it is still important to use great images on the other platforms such as Facebook, Linkedin and Twitter as well to boost your social media engagement.

It’s also important to be aware that you cannot simply see an image you like on Google and use it in your social feeds. There are copyright licences to be aware of and you will need to ensure you’re using an image that is allowed to be reproduced and shared online.

An article from Mashable details the different terms:

• Royalty-Free: This allows you to use intellectual property without having to pay royalties or license fees.
• Creative Commons: You can use these images for free since the artist has waived their rights to their work. However, always review the terms before publishing these images.
• Public Domain: If any image was created in the United States prior to 1923 then they’re part of the public domain. This means that you’re allowed to copy, modify, or distribute these images without permission.
• Attribution: You can use these images as long as you give credit to the author.
• Commercial Use: You’re permitted to use royalty-free images for any type of business venture.
• Membership: You must sign-up to the site in order to use the royalty-free images. Some sites will charge you for membership.

Try to use original content rather than stock images where you can as this gives you authenticity and shows uniqueness for your brand. Stock images are great if you don’t have the means to obtain original ones but try to use images that are different and that other businesses are not already using, or your posts will not see the social media engagement you’re hoping to get.

Here’s 5 more tips to boost your social media engagement using good images:

1) Get the correct image size

If you’re creating content for all your social feeds, you’ll be aware that each platform has its own image dimension requirements. Although some platforms accept other sizes, it will make your feed look much more professional if sizes are consistent. Also, the use of a template that you can manipulate depending on what content you are posting about is a much easier way to work rather than creating new content for each post.

We love Canva and use it regularly. It’s free to use (which is even better!) and there are many options available to make your content creation swifter and easier to manage. There is an option to upgrade if you’d like to utilise its further features but for most, the free version would suffice.

2) Check your website settings

Many websites and blogs will pull up the image from the page you are referring to when you post a link into Facebook, for example. However depending on what SEO settings you have within the website, sometimes the image is not pulled meaning that when you post content, you are missing an image, making the post look dull or unprofessional.

If you’re using an SEO platform like Yoast SEO, it’s a good idea to add an extra image into the setting for each blog post or page that is specially for Facebook or Twitter. This means that when your link is used on social media, the image will appear with it.

3) Images should be relevant

When creating an image to post on social media, it should be relevant to what you are talking about. If you’re an estate agent and you’re trying to engage with people to use your services, an image with an agent talking to a couple standing outside a house for sale would be more relevant than a sunset landscape. It may sound obvious but there are many people who post an image because they like it rather than finding one that really sells what they are doing. Engagement is key on social media and therefore you need to appeal to the audience that you targeting with relevant content.

4) Create different images for the same content

If you’re using social media to promote your website or blog posts and you regularly tweet or post similar content – your audience will get bored of seeing the same image appear time after time. When you create different images to go with your content it provides a fresh approach and there’s more chance of users clicking and reading through.

5) Stay clear of text on images for advertising

When it comes to Facebook advertising, you will need to have images that have little or no text within them in order to pass the Facebook Ad guidelines. This means that if you know you are going to use a certain image for promoting or boosting, then try to create them without text included. There are exceptions when it comes to book or album covers or products etc and you can read about this in Facebook’s guidelines.

Here at South Coast Social, we offer selected packages to suit your business requirements when it comes to getting social. Many businesses simply don’t have the time or expertise to manage their social media and to keep regular updates going at a professional level – we carefully curate content that is specific to your tone of voice adhering to your brand’s objectives.

If you’d like to find out more about raising the bar with your social media engagement, get in touch – we’d love to chat!