Images generate more engagement across social networks than any other kind of content, which means if you’re not already posting pics that resonate with your guests on a regular basis, you’re missing out on a ton of shares, likes and website traffic.
So how do you make sure the images you’re sharing with your audience generate the best possible results? Here are 4 tips for creating shareable images that get your message spread on social media.
1. Give Your Guests What They Want
If you want to drive engagement and shares, you have to pick images that appeal directly to your target guest groups. Using text overlays where appropriate, try to create images that either address one of your guests’ common problems or inspire them to take action. Photos that include concise tips and advice are highly shareable across all the major social networks. Funny photos are another winner, but since it’s not always easy to inject humour into a relevant image, what about fun facts? Try following the lead of Tourism Australia by pairing beautiful, eye catching images with quirky or little-known facts about your city to drive shares and get guests flocking to your website to find out more.
2. Be Timely and Consistent
Want to know one of the best ways to skyrocket shares for your photos? Be consistent and timely! By establishing a routine of posting an image at the same time everyday, you can tease your audience back to your social media pages day after day. Another great way to leverage the power of timeliness is to tie in upcoming popular events with your image sharing campaign. Release images at the start of a public celebration or large sporting event to take advantage of high excitement levels and generate lots of easy shares and likes.
3. Optimize
As always, optimisation is key if you want to get your image noticed and shared – no matter which social media platform you’re posting it to.
When it comes to determining the ideal size for your picture, you’ll want to experiment with different dimensions across different platforms to find out what works best for you and your audience. Generally speaking, 1200 x 627 pixel images work best on Facebook and Twitter, while square-ratio images are most popular on Instagram. On Pinterest, photos in a portrait orientation garner the most shares, and this layout will look attractive in Google+ and your guests’ Facebook newsfeeds too.
You can also optimise your images by subtly branding them with your property’s logo or URL as a simple watermark. Not only will this help protect your original content, it will remind your audience of your brand and where they can go to find out more, without coming across as overly self-promotional.
4. Include a Compelling Call to Action
Whichever social media platform you’re focusing on, you’re going to be competing for your guests’ attention against a host of friends, family, other small businesses and large, international brands who have thousands to spare on their social campaigns.
You may succeed in catching their eye with your carefully thought-out images, but then what? If you want your guests to engage further with your property, you’ve got to tell them how, and to do this you need to include a clear, compelling and unabashed call to action to drive likes, comments, shares and traffic. While images have proved time and time again to be the most engaging type of content on social media, most of the time they need text to give them meaning and put them into context.
You can choose to place a call to action on the image itself or within the description. Use this valuable space to tell your fans and followers what you want them to do next - whether that’s to click through to read your new blog post, sign up to your mailing list to stay up to date with your latest offers, share or book.
Although Pinterest and Instagram are the most visual platforms, creating compelling and shareable images is key to driving engagement levels across every social network. Make a point of sharing high quality, compelling pictures on a regular basis, and you’ll be seeing more shares, comments and website traffic quicker than you think.
Does your property share images regularly on social media? Let us know in the comments below!
