There are many aspects to social media marketing. Social media managers are responsible for creating and scheduling content, as well as community engagement among other things. With so much on their plate, finding a graphic for every post (and sometimes multiple per post) can be a daunting task. To mitigate this, we have compiled the 4 best tips for choosing your graphics!
1. Never Use Copyrighted Images
This one should be self-explanatory, but for any new social media managers out there, take heed! There are a myriad of free stock photo websites on the internet, feel free to browse through them and find the one that works best for you! I frequently use Pexels.
2. Format Your Graphic to The Correct Website
Each Social Media platform uses a different aspect ratio for the graphics you post. Improper formatting of a picture can result in your graphic being cropped to a smaller size than you intended or even some of the graphic being chopped off. Keep an eye on if the graphic you choose is portrait or landscape and how many megabytes (MBs) your graphic contains.
3. Choose a High-Quality Graphic
Sometimes finding the perfect graphic for your blog or post can be difficult. You can find the picture you like but in the wrong aspect ratio. Do not sacrifice image quality for image content. Never use pixelated or low-resolution images. Think about what this conveys to your audience as well, “if the author is too lazy to find a good image, why should I even read this blog/post?”
4. Choose a Relevant Graphic
You can find the highest quality stock photo on the internet, but it won’t matter if it isn’t relevant to your post. Take the time to search for a few images that could fit your topic and then choose from those. Graphics are almost more important than titles in that they most often catch the viewer's eye before a headline. If the image for that headline does not resonate, there is a good chance the viewer will not even read the headline. Most importantly, good graphics lead to increased audience engagement. Don’t be afraid to use humor as well!
Let us know if these tips helped you or if you have any more helpful hints we can add to our list at www.meeman901strategies.com!