How to Use Visuals to Engage Your Audience

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How to Use Visuals to Engage
Your Audience
By Anna Guerrero
Published January 14, 2015
Do you want to create posts that generate higher user
engagement?
Are your visuals driving social media traffic?
People engage better with visual content because it’s
easier to understand, can tell a story and evoke
emotions more easily than written posts.
In this article I’ll show you 11 ways to increase social sharing and fan
engagement with images.
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Discover how to use visuals to engage your audience.
#1: Combine Visuals With Hashtag Campaigns
Hashtag campaigns have huge potential to boost the number of people talking about
your brand. They encourage fans to create and share content around a particular
hashtag or topic.
Visual posts designed for your brand’s hashtag help establish your campaign on
social media channels. Visual posts are also more likely to be shared than text posts,
making them a great way to kickstart your campaign.
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Benefit Cosmetics created visual posts around a hashtag campaign.
Benefit Cosmetics used visual posts to drive their #12daysofbenefit campaign,
encouraging fans to share an image to enter a competition. The above ad was
retweeted numerous times, helping boost awareness for the campaign and
encouraging people to participate.
Fans respond w ith positive comments using Benefit’s hashtag.
#2: Thank Your Followers
Thanking your followers when you reach milestones includes them in your company’s

journey. This expression of gratitude makes your brand more accessible and
encourages fans to leave comments about their personal experiences.
Language learning brand Duolingo regularly updates fans about their growth. Below,
Duolingo uses a visual post to thank fans for reaching half a million likes for their
Facebook page. Notice the high number of fan comments leaving positive feedback on
the post.
Duolingo’s fans thank the brand for their language service.
Since these visual posts are likely to attract high engagement from your fans, it’s
important to brand them by including your logo and fonts, as in the Facebook
post above.
#3: Show Off Your Brand Culture
With social media comes the expectation for brands to be transparent. You can use
compelling visuals to humanize your brand and give fans a reason to interact
with it authentically and regularly.

Kinfolk posts behind-the-scenes photographs to create a sense of community.
You can add a human element by showing what happens behind the scenes of
your brand. Lifestyle magazine Kinfolk does this by posting photographs of events
and functions their staff attends. This allows Kinfolk’s fans to experience the brand
beyond their primary product—a magazine.
#4: Embed Social Media Posts in Your Blog
Blogs are a great tool for brands to build an identity, share ideas and interact with fans
on a personal level. In addition to social media sharing widgets, which help spread
your visual content across multiple networks, also consider embedded pins and posts
and shareable links.
You can embed pins, tweets and posts easily from their source. For example,
on Twitter, select the Embed This Tweet option to see the HTML code for a tweet, as
shown below. Just copy the HTML code into your website or blog, and the social media
post will be interactive. Now, people can like your post and follow you straight from
your blog.

Copy the HTML code to embed a tw eet in your w ebsite or blog.
Another great way to share your visual content is to embed shareable links in your
blog. Post Planner uses this strategy effectively within their blog posts. They use
clear links to make it easy for readers to tweet individual images. Remember,
the easier your content is to share, the more users will engage with it.

Post Planner includes tw eetable links for easy sharing.
#5: Create a Series
Creating a visual series of graphics generates a sense of familiarity with your posts
and encourages fans to engage. When designing a visual series, use your brand
elements consistently, but change the content of your images. Not only will your
series be visually interesting, but you can also create multiple designs quickly.

Create a visual series to generate a sense of familiarity.
#6: Incorporate Questions
When posing questions on social media, choose a topic that will interest your

target audience. Think about the most popular aspects of your product or service
and what makes your brand unique among your competitors.
Write the question in both the text of your post and in your design. Because
images stand out in fans’ news feeds, make sure you use an eye-catching design
and state the topic clearly. You can try different types of questions, such as this vs.
that, multiple choice, fill in the blank and choose a caption.
McDonald’s uses a voting approach to engage user comments.
In this example McDonald’s Facebook page asks fans to rate their favorite products.
By pointing to items they know are popular, McDonald’s is tapping into their fans’
interests, contributing to positive engagement.
#7: Optimize Graphics for Social Sharing
To encourage sharing in your blog, always use high-quality images that will look good
when shared on social media.
Format all of your images to a particular size and use that sizing consistently
across all of your social media networks. For example, Canva formats graphics so
they look good as the banner for posts, but will also crop well when shared on
Facebook, Google and Twitter.

Use high-quality images that w ill look good w hen shared on social media.
Make a note of the minimum dimensions for each social network. You want your
images to be big enough to look good across all social platforms.

Optimize your blog graphics for different social media platforms.
#8: Convey Humor
Social media visuals are an excellent opportunity to use humor. While many people
tune into brand social media pages for updates or inspiration, sometimes they’re just
looking for entertainment.
Using humor in your visual posts infuses your brand with personality. Nutella and
M&M’s U.S.A. are two brands that do this extremely well, using sarcasm and puns to
appeal to their fans.
M&M’s U.S.A. and Nutella use humor to add personality to their visual posts and elicit positive
comments.
#9: Crowdsource Photo Captions
Crowdsourcing photo captions is about appealing to your target audience. Remember
that your fans are real people too, so think of topics that would speak to you and
your friends.
Pringles used this crowdsourcing technique on their Facebook page by posting a
photograph of a bowl of chips and asking, “How do you eat your Pringles?”

Pringles uses an enticing image on their Facebook page to encourage fans to comment.
This style of content meshes well with the humorous and lighthearted persona of
Pringles’ Facebook page. When crowdsourcing captions, be conscious of
maintaining your brand persona or voice.

#10: Share Quotes
Quotes reveal snippets of your brand’s personality. They help reveal what you like,
what inspires you and should speak to the beliefs of your fans and followers. If
people can relate to a quote, they will be quick to share and engage from their own
pages.
When designing quote graphics, feel free to experiment with your visual assets, but
make sure the design’s message is relevant and authentic. For example, the design
below would be a great social media post to start the week for an entrepreneurial blog.
Design an inspiring quote to appeal to your fans and follow ers.
#11: Capitalize on Current Events
Social media thrives on the idea of being up to date with the latest topics and trends,
which makes people more likely to share content that is fresh and relevant.
The holiday season is a significant time of year for businesses and especially for
brands that sell products. Tiffany & Co.‘s #ATiffanyHoliday campaign is a great use of
visual content.
The campaign featured images of the brand’s jewelry placed in cartoons created by
design firm Ogilvy and Mathers.

Tiffany & Co. featured a series of cartoons on social media to launch their seasonal Christmas
campaign.
By using visual content to give the campaign character, Tiffany & Co. demonstrated a
clever way to market their products, while infusing their social media channels with
Christmas holiday charm.
Put These Skills Into Action
Visual posts are a refreshing contrast to the clutter of written content posted online
every day. Not only can they help your brand stand out, but they can also engage the
interest of your fans in personal and authentic ways.
How important are visual posts in your current social media strategy? What
are some your favorite ways to engage your audience? Leave your thoughts in
the comment section below.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR, A nna Guerrero
A nna is the editor of the Canva Design School, w hich empow ers
people to learn about design. Y ou can f ind her w ork published in
magazines, online publications and marketing-savvy blogs. Othe r
pos ts by A nna Guerrero »
How to Create Social
Media Images That
Support Your Brand
How to Design Social
Media Images for Brand
Recognition
How to Take Your Visual
Content to the Next Level
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20 Comments Social Media Examiner
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Join the discussion…
• Reply •
Sandy Tan Seok Chuan • 4 days ago
Thanks for this very well written overview. Indeed, visual is everywhere. Personally, I am more attracted to visual first
and hence understand the need and importance of having at least one in each of my blogposts. What more crucial is
that as I do abstract drawing, it is heartening to know that my supporters look forward to each new artpiece on each
new post. And it is engaging. Thanks once again :)
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• Reply •
Anna Guerrero • 3 days ago> Sandy Tan Seok Chuan
Hi Sandy, everyone has their own visual style. Good to hear you're developing yours!
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• Reply •
Puranjay • 4 days ago
#3 is my favorite tactic. I like to see how businesses operate behind the scenes and candid 'culture' shots go a long
way towards making the business appear more human and humble.
I know it works great for lifestyle brands (my favorite is the Apolis feed on Instagram), but some B2B brands pull it off
pretty well too (personal favorite is Buffer).
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• Reply •
Anna Guerrero • 3 days ago> Puranjay
Hi Puranjay, I agree! People gravitate towards brands with a human aspect. Shows the importance of a
strong brand identity!
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• Reply •
Marlene Gray Marketing • 4 days ago
I am just starting out as a freelance marketer and find these tips invaluable! Thanks for sharing :)
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• Reply •
Anna Guerrero • 3 days ago> Marlene Gray Marketing
Glad you enjoyed the post, Marlene!
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• Reply •
Michael • 4 days ago
It's Ogilvy & Mather (no s)
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• Reply •
Anna Guerrero • 3 days ago> Michael
Thanks for pointing that out, Michael!
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• Reply •
Amandah Tayler Blackwell • 4 days ago
Thanks for this great overview!
Visual posts are important in my current social media strategy. I like to share quotes. Thanks for the reminder about
saying, "Thank You." :) I'll also capitalize on current events and ask questions.
I "test" posts to see which ones do the best. If it's not broke, don't fix it!
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• Reply •
Anna Guerrero • 3 days ago> Amandah Tayler Blackwell
That's a great approach, Amandah! Every brand is unique, so their visual needs are going to be different.
Good luck with your visual marketing.
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• Reply •
LaWuandia • 4 days ago
BRAVO!!!! Great advise, I will certainly make immediate use of #2 and #6, I'm still trying to understand the whole
hashtag thing - Thanks Anna G
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• •
Anna Guerrero • 3 days ago> LaWuandia
Glad there were some points you could take away :)
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• Reply •
Jennifer McNeil • 3 days ago
Hi Anna,
I've been following the Social Examiner for over a year now and I love all the great advice and articles, but for me it
doesn't seem to get much results, for one reason or another. I am now in the process of building a new Website for
our Firm, from 3 existing old outdated ones. I've got a lot of it done, if you'd like to have a peek,
http://urbaneresidentialgroup...., but I would sure like some hints and tips of how I can get it showing up organically in
the Search Engines, because right now it seems to be sort of lagging in that regard. We've got all our Social Media
accounts set up too, but they don't seem to get much engagement either. Our Team is beginning to regularly write
Posts for our Blog as well http://urbaneresidentialgroup.... but no much showing up there either. I suppose it will take
a while to get some momentum however. In any case, if you or any of the other experts can give me some advice or
simple pointers, I would be forever grateful. Thank you so much in advance.
Best regards,
Jen MeNeil
Executive Assistant
Urbane Residential Group
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• Reply •
Emmett Hughes • 3 days ago
Anna,
Always best practice to add visuals when engaging audience. We always try using images with tweets but don't
always find the time to create remarkable imagery due to time restraints. In your opinion do you find it's better to just
"throw something up" or continue without the use of an image?
Thanks!
Emmett
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• Reply •
Euan Stirling • 3 days ago
Really enjoyable read. #8 is one which I'm trying to implement at the moment in my company's social media. It's
quite a tricky technique to gauge what type of humour your target market will be receptive to. Developing a humorous
light hearted personal brand is much more fun for the people developing the brand and also for the market base thats
being targeted.
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treb072410 • 3 days ago
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• Reply •
Thanks for sharing Anna, very useful information being shared here..
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• Reply •
Luke Guy • 3 days ago
Great article. Apps like Wordswag for iPhone are great for point #7. It gives you the previews for what will be seen on
each social network. Great for a polished look to your tweets and posts.
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• Reply •
Flight Media • 3 days ago
Great post!
As someone who always learned visually I couldn't imagine good Social Media campaign without the support of
visuals. It just gives you so much to play around with! One of my favs is advice I got from Peg Fitzpatrick, where
visuals can help you re-purpose your content. Pulling your own ideas and quotes and transforming them into visual is
great way to squeeze just a bit more out of the content you shared. We started doing that ourselves and the
response from our audience was great!
Again, great post! :)
- Maja
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• Reply •
Lauren • 3 days ago
Loved this! Thanks for sharing all of these fantastical ways to boost our social media strategy.
Also, minor typo- What are some *of* your favorite ways to engage your audience?
it's in your question at the end of the article.
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• Reply •
Shonda • a day ago
I think these are good examples, but they don't take into account the Facebook image uploader that automatically
downgrades images with 25% or more area covered in text.
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