How many times have you stopped scrolling when you come across a GIF or a striking image? Almost every time, yes? That’s because we’re naturally attuned to pay attention to motion or bright things. That’s why visual elements do so well on social media. But how can a brand make the most of visual elements? We invited entrepreneur and visual marketing advocate, Dustin Stout to talk to us about how brands can grow their reach and build a strong social media presence by using visually attractive elements.
Here’s a summary of our chat.
Guest: Dustin Stout
Topic: Using visual marketing effectively
Format: Eight questions directed towards the guest. Everyone’s welcome to share.
It’s all about using visually appealing elements to attract and engage your audience. These include images, GIFs, videos, infographics, and even emojis and extra spaces in your tweet. All of these are eye-catching ways to get your brand and your message out to your people.
A1 Visual Marketing is the art of using eye-catching content to tell your story, talk about your business, and grow your brand. This can be anything from using static images, GIFS, video, or any other visual format. #TwitterSmarter pic.twitter.com/0Fbwgt7Ugn
— Dustin W. Stout (@DustinWStout) September 2, 2021
Humans naturally gravitate towards shiny objects and visual elements. That’s why, as Chris reminded us, a single picture can often say so much more than words. Use that to your advantage.
A1: Visual marketing upholds the theory that "a picture says a thousand words"! #TwitterSmarter ?
— Chris Dack (@chrisgrahamdack) September 2, 2021
As we said before, visuals capture our attention and stay in our minds longer. As our guest pointed out, our brain processes visuals faster than text and associates them with emotions so effectively that they become more memorable and easy to recollect. Above all, using visuals means that you can convey so much more than 280 words ever can.
A2 So many reasons to be a visual brand. Some of my favs:
? our brain processes visuals 1000s of times faster than text
? visuals can connect to emotions more effectively
? visuals are more memorable
? visuals allow you to communicate more with less#TwitterSmarter pic.twitter.com/3N74lkLk98— Dustin W. Stout (@DustinWStout) September 2, 2021
Chris added to Dustin’s points saying that videos can make an even more powerful impact on people than static images. That said, even a static image is so much more effective than no image at all.
A2:
Photos are 3-4x more likely to capture attention, and videos are 5-10x more likely to capture attention than non-visual advertisements.
The right photo/ video can mean the difference between success and failure for any given brand.#TwitterSmarter https://t.co/17l2Wm9c95
— ?️Chris – The Social Village (10/100)#tweet100 (@socialaudioguy) September 2, 2021
This is subjective. How often you should use visual elements in your social messaging depends on what your brand is, your industry, and what your audience expects from you. If visual elements can help your audience understand your message better, then, by all means, use all kinds of visual elements.
A3 As often as is appropriate for your brand. It's not always necessary, depending on the message you're trying to communicate. I recommend asking:
Would adding a visual element serve the audience better?
If the answer is "yes" then do it. #TwitterSmarter pic.twitter.com/wZnrRrdQ9P
— Dustin W. Stout (@DustinWStout) September 2, 2021
Christine spoke about changing up your visual game. For example, she often uses GIFs in her replies or images in her posts. However, on the off chance that she doesn’t use either of these, she adds a heart emoji to her tweets so that there’s still a visual element that grabs people’s attention. Don’t be afraid to experiment to find out what works for your brand.
A3.
I use visuals frequently since they’re a huge part of my branding.
Even my text-only posts usually involve a “❤️”.
It depends on your brand and the types of content you’re creating.#TwitterSmarter pic.twitter.com/OESjmb9PaJ— Christine Gritmon ❤️ #ChatAboutBrand (@cgritmon) September 2, 2021
Both are effective if you use them in the right context. Before you choose, ask yourself which one would serve your audience better. Sure, you might want to use your favorite GIF again, but if an image with useful text can be even more helpful to your audience, choose that.
A4 Is a hammer or a screwdriver more effective? The answer is: the right tool for the right job.
Both static images and GIFS are useful tools. It always comes back to the core message, and how to best serve the intended audience. #TwitterSmarter pic.twitter.com/EH7mFkuDX0
— Dustin W. Stout (@DustinWStout) September 2, 2021
As Dustin explained, if you’re trying to communicate a sensitive or serious piece of information, then a GIF might be unnecessarily distracting. Customize your visual game to suit your situation.
A4b To further illustrate why GIFs aren’t always the best answer…
Motion can distract unnecessarily. If you’re working to communicate something important, that requires reading, motion can make it more difficult to focus. #TwitterSmarter
— Dustin W. Stout (@DustinWStout) September 2, 2021
Lance expanded on this idea, suggesting it’s best to consider it on a case-by-case basis. Would an image convey less, more, or the same amount of information, emotion, and urgency as a GIF? The answers will vary for each tweet, and you should make sure you know the answers so you can make a calculated decision.
#TwitterSmarter A4: Which type of image you use depends on the purpose of the tweet. Does a static image convey more or less information than a short GIF? Will a GIF drive more, repeated views? pic.twitter.com/Q7hPP5GeZM
— Lance A Schart (@LanceASchart) September 2, 2021
Videos are great for when you want to share instructions or how-to guides, onboard new customers and help them understand your offering, and to showcase your product in a demo or product introduction.
A5 Videos are a great way to communicate a lot of information in an easy-to-consume format. Some best use cases for video:
? instructionals / how-tos
? greeting / onboarding new customers
? showcase your productLots more ways to use video as well. #TwitterSmarter pic.twitter.com/F22aIviJvo
— Dustin W. Stout (@DustinWStout) September 2, 2021
Madalyn spoke about how you can upload videos to YouTube, and then cut out shorter pieces of it to share on your social channels. For example, if you do a one-hour interview with an industry leader, you can use snippets of it on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and even share as Reels on Instagram. There are so many creative ways to incorporate video in your broader marketing strategy, so before you start, make sure you plan out how you want to go about it. That’ll help you along the way.
A5b: With so many places to upload videos, you should really set goals for how this format will fit into your overall content strategy. Make sure you’re serving your audience by providing value. #TwitterSmarter
— Madalyn Sklar Digital Marketing Since 1996 (@MadalynSklar) September 2, 2021
Dustin’s top tips included using high-quality visuals and sticking to your brand. If you’re not too confident creating visual material, hire someone who can do the job for you. Identify a single clear message you want to convey in your visual and do so without overcrowding your design. Choose your colors and patterns wisely to attract attention, and most importantly, always use alternative text when you upload visual elements so that people who consume social media through screen readers can access them as well.
A6a Best practices for visual content:
? high quality, on-brand. if it's not your forte, delegate
? clearly communicate a singular message
? less is more… clutter is bad
? use rich colors to capture attention
? use ALT text to help the visually impaired#TwitterSmarter pic.twitter.com/pTkAn1YLYW— Dustin W. Stout (@DustinWStout) September 2, 2021
Dustin also shared the image specifications for each social channel.
Facebook and Instagram posts: Square (1080×1080) or Portrait (1080×1350). Stories: 1080×1920
Twitter: You can use both square and portrait style images, with the same specs as Facebook and Instagram. But you can also use landscape style (1920×1080).
Pinterest: 1000×1500
A6b Image sizes by platform:
? Facebook & Instagram: Square (1080×1080) or Portrait (1080×1350) for feed posts. Stories = 1080×1920
? Twitter: Square + Portrait work well (same as above) but Landscape (1920×1080) is also good.
? Pinterest: 1000×1500#TwitterSmarter pic.twitter.com/BeQt5eiD7x
— Dustin W. Stout (@DustinWStout) September 2, 2021
Masooma spoke about the value of adding a human element to your visuals. If your brand guidelines allow it, feel free to share elements of the team behind your brand. This helps people resonate with your brand easily.
A6. Visual content creation best practices:
– Align them to your brand (i.e use brand colors)
– Show human faces where you can for connecting with your audience
– Make sure the visual design elements aren't cluttered
– Use plenty of white space #TwitterSmarter— Masooma | Content Writer (@inkandcopy) September 2, 2021
Some of the common mistakes to avoid when creating visual content are using small text that’s hard to read on handheld devices, not having enough margins on your images, and not using a clear and descriptive alternative text.
A7 Things to avoid in visual marketing:
? text that is too small to read on small devices
? clutter is bad… less is more
? keep important elements clear of edges
? NEVER use ALT text for anything other than helping the visually impaired#TwitterSmarter pic.twitter.com/HeelG9MZFI— Dustin W. Stout (@DustinWStout) September 2, 2021
Our friends from Aventi Group had a few more good points to share including using low-quality images or audio clips, shooting videos in a poorly lit background, and using other people’s images without proper credits.
A7: Things to avoid …
• illegible text on images
• distorted / low quality images
• poor audio on videos
• backlighting
• using images without proper credit #TwitterSmarter https://t.co/B6uwp0mSXo— Aventi Group (@AventiGroup) September 2, 2021
Dustin gave a shout-out to SoVisual, a tool that he’s building. He also uses Photoshop to do some of his more complex designs.
A8 Photoshop is still my go-to for complex work.
But my new favorite tool is the one I'm building…
? @SoVisualco (used to make all my answer images today)
We still have lots of work to do, but it's going to be a game-changer.#TwitterSmarter https://t.co/UaHNy2GBFL
— Dustin W. Stout (@DustinWStout) September 2, 2021
Jim shared a handful of his favorite tools such as Canvas, Camtasia, Easil, Lately, and Adobe Spark.
A8. So many good ones @AdobeSpark @canva @teameasil @Camtasia @LatelyAI #TwitterSmarter https://t.co/006vuQtdYS
— ? Jim Fuhs #SMWL21 #DigitalMarketing (@FuhsionMktg) September 2, 2021
Our community members shared a few other popular tools, including Audacity, Wave Video, Vegas Pro, Blender, Ecamm Live, Giphy, Powtoon, Raw Shorts, PicsArt, and VSCO.
Well, folks, that’s all from me this week. Thanks so much for reading through, and for more great insights from our chat with Dustin, have a look at this Twitter Moment that Joana put together. And if you have some spare time next Thursday, join us live for our next #TwitterSmarter chat. We’ll be on from 1pm ET. Catch you then!
About me, Narmadhaa:
I write all the things—technical and marketing copy to fill the pocket; haiku and short stories to fill the soul. A social media enthusiast, I’m a member of the #TwitterSmarter chat crew, and always happy to take on writing gigs.
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