It crushes me.
Each time I see an image on social media that does NOTHING — zip, zilch, nada — for a brand’s image, sales, or traffic, the conversion-loving copywriter in me is crushed.
If you’re an online business owner who uses images in any shape or form, recognize that those images have a “job” to do — a purpose to fulfill.
That job is to establish your presence, increase brand recognition and yes, propel your audience to take action.
If your images aren’t doing all of these jobs, chances are your marketing wouldn’t have the impact it should have and you’ll be shedding some very expensive tears at the end of the year, too.
If your social media images haven’t been delivering and aren’t giving you the return that they totally can, do not despair.
Help’s at hand in the form of this post, peppered with real-world examples of social media images that are crushing it with their calls-to-action and on-point branding.
4 jobs your social media images MUST do to turbocharge your traffic and sales
Ready?
Roll up those tear-stained sleeves and let’s get going.
Job #1: Reinforce brand recognition
Each time you share a social media image anywhere online; you’re creating a brand association.
Now imagine the strength of that association if every image that you share differs in fonts, colors and even, the presence of your logo.
Yeah, very weak, indeed.
Instead, if every image that you shared was aligned with not only your brand’s values but also reflected consistency in terms of the fonts, layout and logo presence, you can be 100% sure that whenever your fans would see your image, they would know that it’s you.
I love how Kimra Luna’s photos are ALL on brand, whether she’s sharing a tip or asking a question.
Another great example of bang-on branding is Abby Lawson of Just a Girl and Her Blog. Just a glance at her Pinterest board for her blog tells you exactly what her site’s all about and establishes a consistent brand look and feel for her blog as well.
Job #2: Create authority and expertise
Your social media images build your authority and you can make them do that by leveraging an image to share an expertise-boosting tip, quote or even a testimonial.
Do your images share what others say about you?
Do they highlight your disruptive views about trends in your niche?
Do they establish you as the go-to girl or guy for whatever is your subject matter?
If not, you need to rethink your calls-to-action right now.
Bushra Azhar of The Persuasion Revolution has a fantastic brand presence and establishes her expertise as the no B.S. persuasion strategist with her quirky sense of humor and her industry-challenging views highlighted on her social media images.
Job #3: Convert fans and followers into buyers
Social media is for connecting with your community but you most definitely can convert that community into an army of buyers.
How?
That’s right — with social media images.
Share product snippets, testimonials or even key takeaways, and you have a “salesperson” that works wonderfully.
Michael Hyatt does this with elegant effortlessness when he shares images on Facebook with his signature Best Year Ever program branding.
Not only that, he leverages the power of cover images by sharing his free opt-in so that the cover image focuses on converting fans into subscribers.
Job #4: Convert buyers into brand ambassadors
Let’s say you’ve been doing all of this and that your community is packed to the rafters with buyers.
Well then, it’s time to start turning those buyers into raving fans and brand ambassadors and again, your social media images can come to the rescue.
Here’s what Kelly Lester of Easy Lunchboxes does. She shares lovely images of customers putting her Easy Lunchboxes to use and keeps her community abuzz by acknowledging those who support her business and by inspiring those who may be considering her product.
People love being noticed, appreciated and acknowledged by brands and if you can do that with your images, why not?!
3 easy-as-ABC ways to ensure your images are pulling their weight
Ready to turbocharge your social media images so they can start doing the job they’re meant to do?
Here are three startlingly simple ways to do just that.
- Stick to a brand color palette and font family. Start by ensuring that your images have a consistent color palette and font selection. This will ensure easy recognition and recall.
- Include your logo. Include your logo or website URL on as many images as you can.
- Share content that your community needs and loves. Finally, and most importantly, use your images to share content that your audience will resonate with and relate to. Whether it’s a tip, a quote, an invitation for a freebie, your images must strengthen your brand’s relationship with your online community.
There you go!
Want me to review if your social media images are doing their job? Pop your Facebook, Twitter or Pinterest link in the comments and I’ll be happy to oblige!
20 thoughts on “How to Fix Social Media Images That Aren’t Doing Their Job”
I would love for you to take a look at my photos!
Jay
Hey Jay! Thanks for commenting… I took a quick look at your product photos on Facebook and while you do have a good mix of product shots and lifestyle shots, I’d love to see more lifestyle shots in the mix AND also photos that talk about your brand values and what Iconic Haus is all about, either through photo quotes {see Michael’s example in the post above}, customer stories {like Kelly’s example in the post above} or behind-the-scenes shots encouraging people to be … Right now, it’s a bit too sell-sell-sell 😉 We want more share-share-share-sell 😉
Hope this helps!!
https://decorcontent.com/
Please let me know what you think of this front page image and what I could do better.
I’m stuck,
Hey Linda, in terms of the image, I’d go with one of YOU. Yep… it works beautifully to build trust and establish a connection with your audience, especially since you offer services where they will be dealing with you personally. 🙂
Also a stronger call-to-action… maybe lead with a question “In the decor industry? Stuck for content that’s as stunning as those Victorian wingback chairs ? You’re in the right place!”
Hope this helps!!
Hi Prerna,
Thanks for your insightful article.
I will be putting your suggestions to use in my future blog posts.
In the meantime, I would greatly appreciate it if you would take a look at my blog post photos on my Facebook page – The Software Trainer – https://www.facebook.com/The-Software-Trainer-431320473628636/
Thanks in advance!
Marie
Hey Marie!
Your blog post photos on Facebook look great… The only thing I’d probably add will be your logo or branding. Also, not to do with images per se, but when sharing your blog post on Facebook always have body copy that compels readers to click through and check it out as well… For example, for the post on Excel’s secret camera tool.. instead of just sharing the link, add copy such as “Did you know that you can take cool snapshots of your data with Excel’s secret camera tool? Find out how right here >> Add link”
People are more likely to click through when they’re intrigued 🙂
Hope this helps. 🙂
Hey Prerna,
It’s good to see at Pamela’s.
Social media networks are the basic fundamental places to forge your brand. I totally agree with your points of branding with images.
The examples you have given are worth following. Azhar is doing a great job. Though I am not a regular user of Pinterest but I have visited the board mentioned above.
It’s all about how you craft your visual content to make it appealing. Branding needs to be done with the quality.
Thanks for spreading your words.
Have a great day.
~Ravi
Hey Ravi!! Good to see you here too 🙂 Glad you liked the tips and examples 🙂 You’re so right… Branding like content needs quality first, quantity later 😉
Thanks for stopping by!
Great article! I’d love it if you could look at the branding on my twitter feed – twitter.com/wpbuildingblock
Thanks much.
Great article, I’ve learned a lot! I’d love for you to check out my photos on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/dejaandco/
Thank you so much!
Thanks so much Bria!! You have some stunning photos that do justice to your beautiful jewelry… The only things that I would add would be… your branding because you want people to know where they can get these pieces from..
The other thing you may consider doing is adding social proof by using customer photos… Ask your customers to send in shots of them wearing your pieces for maybe, a 10% discount or something… and then share them on social… Works beautifully 🙂
Hope this helps, Bria!
Hi,
Thanks for your generous offer! Looking forward to your feedback!!
https://www.instagram.com/jenniferkhanrma/
Hey Jennifer! Glad you liked the tips… So, a quick look at your Instagram profile shows me that you’re using your website URL in most images BUT the branding needs to be SO much more consistent… Sorry! 🙁
Right now there are a lot of fonts, colors, styles of images and none of them scream YOU… I’d recommend digging through Pamela’s excellent articles in the archives on choosing fonts and colors and using that knowledge to create an image style that represents the work you do and creates brand recall as well 🙂
Hope this helps!!
Fantastic advice! I enjoy making the images and become too creative – I need to stick to one thing and not ‘play’ too much.
Oh my word!! What a generous offer!!! I’d love some feedback. I just got on IG in August and just opened my etsy shop in December. I’d love for you to take a look at my IG. You can find me @susoutter. I’ve got a lot to learn. I am off to study the boards you mentioned in your article, but also the boards in the comments that you gave feedback on. What a gift. Thanks so much!!!
Su!! Gosh you have SUCH a cute shop! I love everything in it… I’d LOVE for your photos on IG though to pop more and have both your branding on it and maybe, your etsy shop URL… Also, the lifestyle photos for your products rock, so keep those coming… And maybe, for quotes and other inspiration style-photos, you could choose your fonts and stick with those so the look’s consistent and easy-to-recognize 🙂
Hope this helps!
This is so inspiring, and right now I need all the help I can get with graduation just next year! I’d love to hear what you think of my fb page 🙂
Hey Gabrielle! Thanks so much and glad you enjoyed the tips… Your facebook page has some great photos from your shoots and the first thing that I noticed was that it needed to be watermarked! Yesss… the last thing you want is for someone to grab those photos and use them without credit to you 🙂 Plus, watermarking it will give it that branded feel we’re talking about 😉
Hope this helps!
Great thoughts, appreciate your feedback on my FB Page: https://www.facebook.com/BurlyQFit/
Hey Eva!
Thanks for stopping by and glad you liked the post 🙂 I really like how your content on your Facebook page is on-brand, even the curated posts… Good going! For the photos, it’s nice that you’re using your brand name/logo but I’d stick with keeping text minimal and easy-to-read… For instance, the photo for the 14-day challenge has waaayy too much text for it to be effective 😉
Hope this helps!
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