Our focus has shifted from Social Media to VISUAL Social Media. We are drawn to “visual content” online in more ways than ever before. The opportunity this provides for business is massive. But there are some key concepts and strategies that you need to know in order to leverage the power of this shift towards using visual content in social media.
Source: Visual.ly, Socially Sorted
There is no denying that a massive shift has happened in the way we communicate online, especially with Social Media. We are now, in reality, using Visual Social Media to share our message.
What began with websites, became dynamic websites or “blogs”. The humble Blog attracted interaction, comments and community-building around posts or articles of 500-1000+ words in length. Then posts became shorter and we embraced Facebook, and then shorter again as 140 word “tweets” sprouted on Twitter and introduced a new way of communicating. We had moved from Blogs and Blogging to Micro-blogs.
We also made the shift from Tell to Show. Facebook, Twitter and Blogs became more visual. Images were showcased everywhere. Microblogs evolved into Multi-media Microblogs with sites like YouTube and Tumblr offering the rapid, visual transfer of information in entertaining formats. These platforms allowed us to devour visual material quickly.
And so it was inevitable that we would reach a point where Image-based social networks such as Pinterest and Instagram have grown at exponential rates. These Platforms are breaking all records. Platforms where no words are necessary. Where a picture really does say a 1,000 words.
What Does This Shift Mean For Your Business or Brand?
In short, it means that businesses or brands online need to take note of the stats. In 2012 alone we have seen You Tube pass 4 Billion Daily Video Views and Pinterest become the 4th largest driver of traffic worldwide.
With Pinterest becoming one of the fastest growing networks, Instagram has matched this with massive growth and high rates of engagement. Instagram was recently reported by Dane Atkinson (CEO of SumAll.com as having as much as 10 times greater engagement than other platforms like Facebook and Twitter. Not bad for a little photo sharing site. Is it any wonder that Facebook snapped it up for $1 Billion?
A Picture Really Does Paint 1000 Words. Photo Courtesy istockphoto.com
We have reached a point where we are, literally, saying 1,000 words with just one Picture, Image, Photo or Video. The team responsible for popular Online Photo Editor PicMonkey.com reported to us that they are averaging 4.3 million images edited daily – an impressive result after just 8 months online. But not surprising, given the visual shift that is happening around us.
For business, this means a massive opportunity for businesses who can leverage the power of visual marketing. If we can learn how to use images, photos, video, and other visual media in our online marketing, then we have a greater chance of reaching more people with our message. This then provides the opportunity for more exposure as visuals drive traffic to our websites products and services.
How Can Your Business Leverage the Power of Visual Social Media?
In this Infographic, we have highlighted 6 Easy Actionable Tips that you can take now in your social media marketing to leverage the power of visuals online. Scroll down to the end of the post for more detail about these must-do “visual” actions that will help you to stay top of mind with your ideal clients on social media:
