How to Create Visual Social Media Content

If you’re looking for ways to really boost your engagement levels on social media, you’ve come to the right place. The trick is learning how to create the visual social media content, because it’s proven to be the most shareable and engaging type of content. The good news is that it’s not terribly hard to get started.

Let’s take a look at some statistics around the three types of most shareable visual content: videos, infographics, and images.

Video is shared 1,200 percent times more than links and text combined (Simply Measured) and 92 percent percent of mobile video viewers share video (Invodo).

Infographics are liked and shared 3 times more than any other content, and users are 30 times more likely to read them (Social Media Today).

Having at least one image in your blog post results in 64.9 percent more Facebook shares and 20.36 percent more Twitter shares. And let’s not forget that Instagram has 400 million active users. Not 400 million accounts, 400 million active users (Social Media Today).

Impressive, huh?

Now, I know you’re busy running a small business – I am, too. So here’s a cheat sheet of how to create these three types of visual content that won’t break the bank or eat up your time.

Use your built-in cameras

Got a camera in your smartphone? Desktop? Laptop? You’re all set. You don’t need to shoot professional videos, you just need to shoot something that is engaging and authentic.

Try live video broadcasting

You can also use live video broadcasting tools like Facebook Live, Blab, or Periscope. Facebook Live and Blab both let you save and share videos; Periscope doesn’t. But the real-time interaction cannot be beat.

Create your own graphics

My team and I just tried out Visme to create an infographic, and we really liked the entire experience, from the features to the platform’s ease-of-use. Canva is another tool we love. You can’t create an entire infographic on it, but you can create some beautiful graphics.

Work with a pro

Yes, yes, I know you’re busy! You can absolutely work with a graphic designer to create striking graphics for social media. If you want to have an infographic designed, though, I strongly suggest going with an agency that has a lot of experience to ensure you get your money’s worth. I always send people to my friends at NowSourcing – their work is truly amazing.

Subscribe to a stock photo service

No matter what your brand’s aesthetic is, drop-dead gorgeous stock photos exist for it. I use Death To The Stock Photo for my own small business, but I also like iStockPhoto and 123rf, both of which I use for clients. All three of these sites offer photos that don’t look like obvious stock photos.

Tap into the talents of your team

Visual content has gotten super popular thanks to millennials. If you have millennials on your team, I’m betting at least one is an amateur photographer, so tap into their talents. Ask them to take photos of customers, products, your storefront, the team working together on a project – anything that lets people connect with and better understand your business.

Use these above tips, and you should start seeing increases in comments, shares, likes, and overall engagement on social media.

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