It’s estimated that 1.8 billion photos get uploaded online every day. In case you’re not great at math, that’s over 600 billion pictures per year.
Since tons of photos hit the web every day, being able to gain attention for your social media pictures can be a challenge. Fortunately, whether you’re a business or an individual, there are tips you can lean on that can get you that coveted engagement.
Below, we share a handful of tips that can help you choose better pics to post.
1. Know Your Platform
A photo that makes for a perfect share on Instagram isn’t the same photo that will make for a perfect share on LinkedIn. The same is true when looking at Twitter vs Pinterest and so on.
You must understand each platform you’re posting on, who the audience is on those platforms, and what kind of photos they expect. Only then will you be able to filter through your photos with the appropriate lens to find the perfect social media pictures to share.
2. Lean on Photograph Basics
No matter how appropriate the content of your photo is for your platform, a poorly framed or blurry shot won’t resonate online. You can solve the issue of low-quality photography by educating yourself on a handful of elements that make a great photo.
For example, the rule of thirds helps you understand where best to position subjects in a shot.
3. Tell a Story
As you look through photos to share on social media, the pictures you go with should tell a story. Some people indeed do fine just by sharing visually appealing photos. That’s a saturated market though that’s hard to build a brand on.
By instead opting to share photos that capture people’s attention as they try to figure out what happened in the shot they’re analyzing, you’ll find that length of engagement is longer and that brand loyalty with your posts will be greater.
4. Funny is Always Great
Almost everybody loves to laugh. Why? Because most people are looking for moments during their day to feel happy.
Do you have pictures in your camera roll that can bring laughter to your audience? If you do, those pictures can move to the front of your posting line.
If your social audience can count on smiling every time they hop on your feed, you can bet that they’ll be there often.
5. Be Wary of Memes
Funny is great but as you look through your photos, you’re going to want to be careful of laying it on too thick. One of the ways we see some accounts do this is through memes.
Memes had their moment in the sun a few years back and while still effective in certain contexts, they can become cringe-worthy when they’re shared often and aren’t particularly comical.
We don’t recommend that most people build a social media presence on their foundation.
6. Action Shots Sell
A few points back, we talked about the importance of storytelling. Action shots are among the best communicators of story when compared to all of the photo-types you might share.
An example of an action shot might be a skateboarder that’s jumping over a trashcan. When looking at a photo like that, audiences immediately see what’s happening, understand the conflict, and wonder what the outcome of the event will be.
All of that engagement should be exactly what you’re looking for when sharing social media pictures.
7. People Like Seeing Other People
If you can have a human subject in your photo, do it. Naturally, people engage with others, even through visual art.
Photos that have human subjects smiling, looking towards the camera, or doing something special can all carry additional resonance with onlookers.
8. Colors That Pop Get Attention
Color is another key photo element you’ll want to consider when sorting through photos to share. You might share a picture that has a lot of white but hot pink at its center or an image that’s completely one color which could jar an onlooker’s eye and spur interest.
Different colors have different meanings as well. Consider diving into the psychology of color to add to your photo’s message.
9. Shots That Teach Are Valuable
Do you love data? Do you have a knack for taking seemingly complicated data and sharing it in visual ways that help people understand it?
If you answered yes to those questions, you have a lot of opportunities to share enticing photos on social.
Any time you have a photo that can quickly teach somebody something, you can be sure your audience will be willing to take in the information.
10. Would You Share Your Photo With Friends?
As you sort through your thousands of photos, using insight like what’s found on https://setapp.com/how-to/find-duplicate-photos-simplest-way-to-clean-up-photo-library to get rid of duplicates and our tips to find the perfect shots, you might get overwhelmed.
If that happens, put everything down and ask yourself this revealing question:
If you saw the photo you’re sharing on social media, would you re-share that photo with your followers? In cases where you feel the answer would be no, your photo probably isn’t worth sharing. If you answer yes, hit that “post” button and see how your audience reacts.
Sharing Social Media Pictures Takes Practice
As is the case with most things in life, when you share social media pictures, you’ll want to gauge your results and make adjustments to get more consistent engagement. Only through trial and error will you get a good beat on what your audience likes and will start to better serve them.
Curious to know more about social media photos and their success? If you are, check out the newest content on our blog.
