Sharing visual content on your blog/site or social media platforms is an excellent way of raising engagement. As opposed to standard text content, videos or images can increase your site’s traffic, views, comments, and likes. A compelling video or a great photo will garner people’s attention. As they’re scrolling through your blog or social media feed, putting out stuff that splits up the usual text post can draw more attention to your content.
However, in this day’s social era, images and videos are becoming more and more standard. Therefore, you need to use them strategically if you want to impact your audience.
Both photos and videos have different perks. Let’s take a look at each of their advantages, when you should use them, and how they can boost your brand and social media presence.
The Advantages of Videos
Videos are among the most popular forms of content. They’re a fantastic way of delivering lengthy messages where your audience might not want or don’t have enough time to stop and read.
Lots of social media users prefer video as their content medium. Short clips can convey quick chunks of information, while lengthier videos can deliver prolonged messages. When videos are expertly done, they can also raise brand awareness by increasing your visibility. Video content also permits you to relay a seamless narrative to your audience. Such content is easy for viewers to grasp and usually more entertaining than written posts. One of the video’s most significant advantages is letting its viewers feel as though they’re involved in the experience. New filming gadgets, such as drones and action cams, make this much manageable.
However, you usually have to invest some money and time to create a video worth sharing. Low-quality videos are everywhere on the internet, meaning you would want to produce one that’s worth watching if you’re going to cause an impact. But this doesn’t mean every video has to be professionally made. Live clips or even just shots of you talking to a camera can work a long way.
The Advantages of Images
Similar to videos, images are also all over the web. An interesting, powerful, or strong image can attract your audience’s eye and get them captivated by what you’re sharing since photographs grab attention and load relatively fast. They’re also an essential supplement to written content and enhance the experience of users. Images might not be as dynamic as videos; still, they are easier to create or find, not to mention far more practical. Ultimately, there aren’t nearly as many free videos online as there exist public domain photos. In addition, generic videos get boring much quicker than generic photos.
A photo also enables you to emphasize written information, which is vital for informative posts or press releases. DIY posts are an excellent example of posts that profit from images over videos. Complex projects demand so much time, and users will like having instructions close at hand. However, unlike videos, pictures typically can’t convey information on their own. For most small businesses or entrepreneurs, the images must complement other content you’re sharing, like blog posts.
In addition, images have the advantage of being easier to create. There are many sites out there committed to offering users high-quality stock photos. Also, you can get a professional photographer to take unique photographs for a reasonable price.
Images vs. Videos: Which Should You Use?
Knowing when to use videos and images is essential as they each have their moment to shine.
When deciding which form to use, you should first consider the platform you’ll share it on and how their user engagement works. While both photos and video are popular on almost every platform, some domains contribute more to one or the other. For instance, Instagram and Facebook accommodate videos well, but you might not want to add s video to your Pinterest.
If you have something you want to convey on social media platforms, elect for a video. A to-the-point, quick informative video can assist you in getting more traffic since visitors won’t have to click to another page to access your content. Text and images usually are less engaging in these conditions.
Also, you can utilize video in ads to promote different content. However, images can give just as much impact. A solid visual that makes your audience want to discover more about what you can give may lure them to click through to your website or a landing page. Optimize your photographs by attaching text to grab attention and stand out.
When picking between images or videos, you also have to distinguish which one your audience favors. While videos might work better in some circumstances, if your target audience isn’t taken with watching videos, you’re better off using photos or vice versa.
Both images and videos can improve your social media strategy, but utilizing each form effectively depends on the context. You can add both in your design, but think about each of their impacts on your audience. When you center on creating content that engages your audience, you can’t go amiss.