Improve your pics before you post
Photos are a critical part of social media. They lead to more content sharing and more interaction with your brand. For instance, tweets with photos can increase the retweet rate by up to 150 percent. Facebook posts with photos get more Likes than posts without photos and attract more comments than the average post too.
But don’t just settle on any photo. You want your photos to look their best, since they’ll be directly tied to your brand. So, whether you’re displaying an image on your social media channel or your website, use this checklist to make sure you get the most of out of your pics.
- Quality counts—Start with always taking your photos at the highest quality with the camera you have at hand.
- Originals rule—Keep a version of your original photo at the highest quality so it can be used for other marketing purposes.
- Sharpen your photo—Get rid of those blurry images. If you have access to Photoshop, you have many sharpening options. No Photoshop? Use a free app such as Pixlr.
- The “eyes” have it—Remove red eyes with a photo editor.
- Shine on the light—Lighten up those dark photos and adjust the exposure.
- Crop your photo—This gives your photo composition more interest and eliminates extra elements that distract from the story you are trying to tell.
- Consider copyright—Make sure you have rights to use the photo. Pulling photos off of a Google image search, a website, or other online channel may cost your company a few lawyer fees.
- Keep them happy—Is there personal or sensitive business information showing that might offend the individuals in your photo if you post it?
- Choose emotion—Pick an image eliciting a strong reaction.
- Make it small—Resize your photo to the final size needed. This helps with download speeds and data usage on mobile devices.
- Save it—Establish a clear way to name files. Don’t overwrite that original, untouched image by giving it the same name.
Bonus: Want to make a collage? Add copy as a layer? Don’t have access to Photoshop? Try PicMonkey.
Bonus Two: Not sure of the photo sizes for use with Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and other social media channels? Try Social Media Image Maker.
Make this checklist part of your social media marketing process to showcase your brand in the best possible light.
