You already know social media works.
The question is, how to make it work best for your business?
The key is finding best practices that complement your marketing strategy.
A recent social media trends guide by Vocus reveals top ways to use visual marketing across your social media channels.
Want to drive engagement on Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and Pinterest? Ready to use the power of graphics to grab the attention of your audience?
Below you will find top ways to incorporate visual media into nine of today’s hottest social networks, including real business examples and a handy Infographic!
Social Media Best Practices
1. Facebook Users Love Visuals
On a daily basis, 350 million photos are uploaded to this popular social network.
As one of my favorite brands to follow, Starbucks is an example of how well visuals can work on Facebook. They include customers in the conversation by running regular contests and also frequently cross-promote other Starbucks pages.
No matter what you’re craving, you’re sure to find it (and a host of fellow Starbucks lovers) on their active Facebook page.
2. Twitter Cards Are a Stand-Out
Twitter has gone visual with the release of Twitter cards.
Brands eager to capture the attention of their audience and move beyond 140 characters or less are using Twitter Cards to stand out.
Media moguls like The Huffington Post customize their tweets using snippets from articles, “hashtags” to reach relevant audiences, and high quality images related to the articles.
Not familiar with Twitter Cards? Start creating yours now!
3. Google Plus and YouTube Integration
Google Plus integration with YouTube can give your business the opportunity to reach a broader audience.
Through the use of Hangouts, you can construct your own video channel. With this easy-to-use tool, creating your own unique TV show has never been easier.
What advice, tips or inspiration can you offer your audience? Record it, stream it live, and voila; it’s instantly uploaded to YouTube!
BakeSpace uses Hangouts for their #KitchenParty to chat about everybody’s favorite topic — food!
4. Flickr is Quality Visuals
Flickr is a photo sharing website used by photographers, artists and businesses alike.
While this site is primarily for sharing high quality photos, you can use this to your advantage. Share brand photos to engage your audience and spotlight your work.
A photographer I love to follow is Cynthia Lou. I could easily spend hours browsing through her gorgeous stream of photographs.
5. Pinterest is Shared Images
Pinterest is a unique social network that allows users to “pin” images, stories, and much more to virtual boards. You can use Pinterest to share images, videos, your latest blog post and more.
By creating an official Pinterest business page and pinning your unique content, followers can immediately associate it with your brand.
Jeff Sieh, a talented marketer and visual storyteller, uses Pinterest to cross-promote his Google+ Hangout, the Manly Pinterest Show.
What better way to reach your audience then create content specifically designed for them?
6. Instagram is a Shared Experience
Instagram allows users to share personal photos from daily experiences and fun activities.
As a business, you can share what matters most to your customers.
Whether that’s a social media hack or an easy way to train your pet, engage your audience by sharing your knowledge and experience.
Many companies like GoPro use Instagram to effectively pull followers into the conversation. They share user photos, encouraging a more personal experience for customers while also promoting the brand.
7. Vine is Videos
Vine is a video sharing website. Not familiar with Vine? It’s simple! Record your six-second video and share it on the social site.
As a business, you can share your latest product or a simple tip.
American Air draws followers in by making the dream of travel a reality. Want to get away this weekend? Just look to AA’s Vine page for ideas!
8. LinkedIn for Business
LinkedIn is a more than just a professional social network. It’s a powerful way for job seekers, employers, entrepreneurs and other business oriented individuals to connect.
This site is ideal for sharing your portfolio, unique qualities, skills and specific talents.
Businesses and individuals can break down barriers that previously hindered interaction. No longer do you need to bypass a gatekeeper or struggle to find the right recruit.
LinkedIn gives you direct access to the people and businesses important to your growth.
9. The YouTube Experience
YouTube is an excellent way to reach customers in a dynamic, visual way.
Share stories, display products or show off your latest tool. Whatever the case, you can turn YouTube into a powerful visual aid for your business.
Coca-Cola is one of the best examples of YouTube best practices. They share content that connects with their audience, no matter the country or language. They’re videos are entertaining, engaging, and actively involve their followers.
In their latest campaign, “Share a Coke,” Coca-Cola uses YouTube to encourage fans to get out and find a bottle with their name. The campaign in both its reach and ability to drive massive fan interaction is brilliant.
Can’t find your name? No problem! Create your own.
Final Thoughts
No matter the social network, now is the time to integrate visuals into your social media marketing.
Whether it’s a video on Vine or a graphic on Instagram, find your audience and quit worrying about the how.
Focus on the what and the who, and I guarantee the how will take care of itself.
Where will you begin?
Grab the Infographic
Hello Rebekah,
I followed your link from Donna Merril’s blog, actually this is my first time visiting your blog and I must confess that your post made me happy.
I will advice every social media user to treat their virtual pals as they would treat those they have face-to-face contact with. Don’t be sarcastic or a smart aleck in your tweets and posts because it does come through to the reader.
Hi Embedu! Thank you for stopping by to say hi from Donna’s blog! Great advice too. It’s similar to email. You have to be very careful how people will “read” what you have to say. It’s sometimes difficult to decipher tone.
Hi Rebekah,
This was really informative. I knew, but at the same time, I didn’t know everything was going so visual but this post proved just that. The use of images or anything really visual in your post is really key.
And the Starbucks example you used proves just that.
I never heard of Twitter Cards but I’ll have to look into it. I’ll have to really think about approaching my social media differently now. Thanks again for this great post.
– Andrew
This is my first time here and I couldn’t have found you at a better time. I have used Facebook and twitter for a while and just investigating organizing videos for my website and YouTube.
Personally I prefer to watch a short video than reading, especially when searching for specific information.
Thanks for your tips – I will be back
Hi Brenda! I’m so glad you stopped by! Everyone consumes content differently and you prove that point. It makes sense to mix it up and ensure you’re speaking to both visual and auditory learners within your community.
Hi Rebekah,
It is my first time here, but I am sure glad I made it!
I was reading comments on a blog, but your post jumped right out at me. I will be the first to admit that I am lacking when it comes to Social Media. The hardest part is that I know that it is the thing of the future, and there are so many good ways to use it in relation to business!
However…
I never really knew what should be shared, or where, or how to use each of the Social Media platforms. But thank you to you… I now have a visual guide that I can easily refer to to help better my social media practices.
I didn’t even think about of the few that you mentioned (like Vine and Flickr) Because it seems like everyone is only talking about Facebook, Twitter, and G+.
Thank you for putting this all together as a great reference to look back to! It will definitely be helpful in implementing a more productive Social Media campaign!
All the best,
Jeff Sollee
Hi Jeff! I’m so glad you found your way here!
The key isn’t to necessarily be everywhere, but to identify where your customers are spending their time and then hang out there on a consistent basis. Visual content is a great way to grab the attention of your fans and followers while branding your business.
Hey Rebekah. Another great post from you. I am really loving Twitter cards. I have long been an advocate of visual content to engage the audience and I think that social media is a particularly great vehicle for it.
Twitter cards really are a great opportunity Kostas that not many people are taking advantage of. Glad to hear you are!
Hi Rebekah,
I’ve seen your pretty face around, but I do believe this is my first time to your site – wow, I’m so very impressed and love what I see! 🙂
I read your About page, and my heart was touched as I read about your entrepreneurial beginnings as a child…I too used to earn money as a wee child.
We had the typical lemonade stands, but my sisters and I would also put on plays in our neighborhood and sell tickets to our neighbors. We created flip-book movies and charged a fee to view them. lol Makes me giggle when I think about it.
My husband was born and raised in Italy and his father had his own fish business so we have always had an entrepreneurial spirit and were encouraged in this area. We’ve owned restaurants throughout the years and also had several franchises in the commercial cleaning and carpet cleaning industry.
I’ve had my online business for more than three years now and absolutely love what I do – wouldn’t trade it for the world! 🙂
Loved the title of this post, and simply needed to get my hands on this guide of best practices because I know I have a lot of growing to do in this area.
I do need to implement visuals more on Facebook. I love to make picture quotes, and need to make sure to do at least a few per week.
Had never heard of Twitter Cards – such a beautiful idea, and I will definitely check this out.
I’ve never hosted a hang out before on Google Plus, as I’m a GoToWebinar kinda gal, but I do have a YouTube channel. Will have to consider this.
I don’t share on Flickr as I have my own image site, but maybe I should consider this. If it’s fine to share watermarked images, I’m game! 🙂
I’ve used Pinterest, and get a trickle of traffic from this source, but I think it depends on the market you’re in. I use Instagram personally and also for connecting with like-minded folks for business. Need to grow my reach on there for sure.
Just recently checked out Vine, and have followers already, so exciting! LinkedIn is my least favorite place, I suppose. I log in to find tons of private messages all saying the same thing “hey, love your stuff, wanted to connect, here’s a link to this thing I’m trying to push.” – basically that’s what they all say. No time for that.
I suppose I should consider the possibilities more with LinkedIn.
Video posts are absolutely my favorite way to create content and share a message about what’s working in my business.
Thanks for the thought-inspiring article, Rebekah, you’ve given me a lot to think about.
Have a blessed day. 🙂
– Carol
It’s so nice to see you here Carol! Thank you for stopping by.
So, it would seem we have a lot in common. Early entrepreneurship and we’re both married to Italians. Fun! My husband is a first generation full-blooded Italian American that has never been to Italy. It’s one of our goals in the next couple of years. My only fear is that we’ll never want to come back! 🙂
You would be a perfect match for Google Hangouts. Instead of just doing a podcast or recording, record via a Hangout and then burn the audio. It’s a win/win to repurpose your content. You have such a terrific presence on audio, I can’t imagine you’d be any different on video.
Let me know if you give it a try. I’d love to see it!
Hi Rebekah,
You would love Italy! 🙂 We plan on moving back (had lived there in 2006 for a while) sometime in the next few years, but will be coming back to the States to visit our children several months out of the year.
Thanks so much for the kind words of encouragement! Oh, I do start with video so that I can leverage my work – also get the audio, transcript, PDF, blog post, images, etc. all from the same original video.
To be completely honest, I really prefer the GoToWebinar platform as I’ve been using it for years and is rock solid for me.
Thanks so much for thinking of me. Hope you have an awesome weekend. 🙂 – Carol
Hi Rebekah,
I read your post on Donna’s last blog post and thought I might relate to you.
And… I love your blog subject so will come back and check you again.
AND….
Meanhwhile, I use my photographs on my blog and in Facebook, but will go through your blog properly I especially like the sound of Twitter Cards.
Good to meet you Rebekah and look to reading more
Di
Hi Di! It’s wonderful to meet you! I appreciate you popping over from Donna’s blog. I’m a huge fan of hers!
Twitter cards are a great opportunity for anyone that owns a business or runs a blog for their business. I would give them a try and see which one’s work best for you. See you soon!
Hi Rebekah,
People seem to really dig eye candy. If you want to impress on social media sites know which eye candy works on each network.
The Starbucks example rings true. Either including accompanying steps for some practical process, or using the time honored inspirational quote posted on an inspiring photo – if this vibes with your brand – can attract many folks and Likes on Facebook.
The secret lies in being persistent. Some folks post a tailored image on any of the above networks and then, after 1 or 2 more posts, throw in the towel if engagement is still dead.
Form the habit of conditioning people to see inspiring or moving images from your social media accounts. In time, you’ll gain the reputation of being a kick butt social media image guy or gal, and folks will flock to your brand.
Persistence wins in any endeavor.
Awesome post Rebekah. I loved the InfoGraphic too.
Thanks for sharing….tweeting in a bit.
Ryan
It really is about identifying what works for your business and what’s in line with your brand message. Then stay consistent in offering that information over and over again. It’s when you stop sharing consistently that your audience drops off. As you said, it’s all about habits!
Hi Rebekah!
Thanks for the great tips! So much to do!
I was not familiar with Twitter cards. I will definitely head over there and see what it’s all about. I appreciate that you spent time testing them and made the recommendation.
I like to repurpose images across various social networks. Saves time 🙂
Thanks again and have a great day.
Hi Lisa! I’ve spent quite a bit of time testing Twitter cards and have become a huge fan. Try each one out, change up the verbiage and the image and see what works best for you. Have fun with them!
Hi Rebekah!
Thanks for putting together this visual guide for social media. When I think of you I always think of the wonderful visuals you produce. Whenever I see you anywhere on the social media platforms, it’s always a clear visual.
People respond more to visuals than words. This round up you have given us is fantastic. I also love the infographic! Whenever I put up something unique as a visual, I get so surprised how many comments and shares I get.
Thanks again for sharing this information!
-Donna
Hi Donna! Thank you for that huge compliment. It’s definitely been a work in progress, but so worth it to really define your brand visually.
And I agree, we’re all visual people. They do capture attention and interest very quickly!
Wow, I’m overwhelmed from just reading all of these great tips. I spent about 10 minutes looking up the twitter cards, it’s was so interesting. I didn’t know about the twitter analytics, duh, I know…but I learned a few things.
Thank you for sharing your knowledge.
Now to get back to the cards and work on creating them.
Twitter cards are a great opportunity for business owners Mona and really under utilized. Have fun creating (and playing around with) yours!
What a great roundup of all the social media platforms! I agree are going to be increasing in relevance on the social web. The way companies present themselves visual online will make or break how potential customers view them.
Thanks so much for the shout-out!
For sure Jeff. We are really seeing the movement towards graphics across every social network. If businesses aren’t on that train, it’s quickly passing them by.
I love that you included Pinterest, Instagram, Vine and even Flickr! If you’re already creating great images and video, there’s no reason not to take advantage of those platforms.
My feeling exactly Mike! There’s no reason not to share that great content with a whole new audience. So many great places to spread the love and earn additional views, traffic and subscribers.
You’re right Rebekah, Visuals are Key to being effective on the Social Web. The Twitter Cards is an area I need to get much better with. This post will come in handy to help us with that.
I love Twitter cards Neil and have spent quite a bit of time testing them. They’re well worth the time it takes to create, track and measure!