by Andrew Fingerman, CEO, PhotoShelter via compro.biz
Despite the prominence of social media over the past decade, companies still grapple with how to effectively manage the appropriate tone, frequency of posts, and the inclusion of visuals. In particular, photos and video present a challenging discipline, but one well worth it. Photos and video have been shown to significantly
increase engagement over text-only, and the trends suggest that more than
84% of communication will be visual by 2018.
This presents a simultaneously wonderful and scary opportunity for companies looking to connect with their customers through visual communication. In order to succeed, companies need to define their visual point-of-view.
Create a visual strategy
At the highest level, a visual strategy defines how images, video and infographics will support your communications objectives. This drives the tactical level of defining color palettes, logo placement, frequency of posts, and even whether you’re going to use a smart phone or professional camera. Like any marketing campaign, consistency over time will lead to brand recognition and a stronger voice.
Develop an approved visual asset library
Well-run social media teams create editorial calendars and develop assets. For medium to large organizations, the number of assets can be enormous and the same assets can be repurposed multiple times over the life of a campaign. Developing a centralized visual asset library using cloud-based software like Libris removes the ambiguity over what has been approved for public consumption. And the assets don’t need to be confined to social media either, but will also inform press usage.
Use humor cautiously
Earlier this month, Paula Deen found herself caught in yet another cringe-worthy social media gaffe. Deen posted an image to Twitter dressed as Lucille Ball with her son as Desi Arnaz in brown face. Humor, it seems, is in the eye of the beholder.
(Source: Twitter)
Although text-based tweets can go negatively viral, images have a multiplying effect. Not only do images/video have higher engagement rates in social media, but they are also more quickly digested by the viewer and can have permanence by being converted into a meme which can perpetuate itself for years.
Planning and practice make perfect
During Super Bowl XLVII, Oreo’s biggest advertising win didn’t come from their $4m commercial, but instead from an improvisational tweet during a 34-minute power outage:
(Source:Twitter)
The witty message was retweeted over 15,000 times and generated hundreds of media stories. Although the image was created on the fly, the ability to respond so quickly was the result of a well-oiled social media team. The famous tweet was the culmination of two years of daily tweets to establish a social media rhythm combined with a clear approval path to sanity check the taste level.
Trying to be topical isn’t always good
As a part of an alleged team building exercise, a group from the HSBC legal team decided to post a mock ISIS execution on Instagram. Sure, ISIS is a contemporary issue that is playing out in the daily news cycle, but it’s not the type of topic one ought to appropriate on social media. Unsurprisingly, the six employees were quickly fired.
Like the Deen image, this might have gone unnoticed if it was just confined to text. But given that ISIS has used these images for its own social media propaganda makes it all the more taboo.
Understand the nuances of each platform
Facebook isn’t Instagram. Instagram isn’t Snapchat. Snapchat isn’t Meerkat. Despite the fact that all the aforementioned social media platforms support images and video, they have distinctly different personalities and rules of engagement. It’s not necessary to play in all the sandboxes, just the ones where your intended audience is hanging out. Understanding the subtleties of each and how it fits your engagement strategy will make your brand more authentic, and less like the guy in a flannel shirt and bolo tie showing up at a black-tie affair.