It’s said that a picture paints a thousand words. In the over saturated content streams of your social media feeds it is the easiest tactic that you can use to cut through the noise and actually get yourself and your business noticed.
Producing professional-looking images that look great online used to be difficult, but not anymore. There are a number of tools you can use (that cost nothing) that will make your social presence look more visual and professional.
Here are three of them:
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Use a good editing tool
One of my favourite tools to use when it comes to creating images for the Constant Contact UK email newsletters and social feeds is PicMonkey. Not only is it free to use (there is a paid version, but believe me, I’ve never needed it) but it is also incredibly intuitive and easy for people who aren’t overly technical.
If you want to create a cover photo for your Facebook page or a collage you can Tweet, it’s never been easier. PicMonkey even has the dimensions already set up for you so you don’t have to worry about that. You can add in and edit any pictures you want, crop them, change the size of images and play around with colours.
Content tip: Try creating a collage of different behind the scenes photos from your business. You can create these easily with the PicMonkey tool and you would be surprised how much your customers will love seeing what goes on behind the scenes!
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Use a good text tool
If you love taking pictures of your business and the products that you sell, but you also want to say something about them, Overgram is for you. It allows you to take pictures using your mobile or tablet and then overlay text on the image before posting to your Instagram, Facebook or any other social feed you like.
Much like PicMonkey this is also a tool that you can download completely for free. Overgram currently only works on iOS for iPhone, but there are plenty of other similar tools out there if you use an Android device (I use InsText which pretty much does exactly the same thing). This is a particularly useful tool for small businesses that are always on the go – or a great time saving tool if you are a one man band!
Content tip: Next time something fun happens at your place of work (someone’s birthday or other celebration) take a snap of it with your phone, write a quick comment on the picture and share it – you’ll be surprised at the results.
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Use a good sizing tool
This isn’t a tool as such, but it’s still something that you’re going to find useful to have around. All of the social networks have different specifications when it comes to picture size. I use these sites every day and I don’t know the specifications off the top of my head.
It’s a really good idea to have a cheat sheet to hand that will tell you the up-to-date preferred image sizes for all your favourite social networks, just to make sure you are on top of your game. Luckily these are easy to find, just by Googling, or you can check out this one that we put together to help you out!
So there you have it. Three really easy things you can do right now to make your images even better on social media!
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Author Bio
Sam Bailey: I am the Marketing and Communities coordinator at Constant Contact UK. I blog about things social media related (and other cool stuff) and keep our social feeds up to date with loads of useful stuff for you and your business. I am also a part time mountain climber, cricket fan and font enthusiast.