Do photos or videos perform better on Instagram?

Instagram is the social media platform for photos. However, if you’re using Instagram to promote your business, you need to incorporate both photos and graphics into your strategy. Do you find yourself leaning on one format more than the other? Here’s why you need both.

Why Graphics Are Important for Social Media

Graphics are an essential part of your content on social media because they help you to easily share ideas in a bite-size form. This in turn makes it easy for your audience to share your ideas for you. 

I have been liking, sharing, saving, and screenshotting Instagram graphics for years. I honestly believe they have played a huge role in my personal growth and relationships. I am always sharing posts in my IG stories on my personal Instagram because the messages and education in these graphics are so powerful and life-changing.

Some of my favorite accounts to follow are therapists and relationship coaches. The graphics shared by these accounts include powerful information in bite-sized pieces that are short enough that you actually stop and read the whole thing. Ideally, the graphic entices you to read the whole caption, but, even if you don’t, you can get a quick win from the message in the graphic. When you can quickly and easily absorb new information, you can 1) act on it right away, because the concept is simplified, 2) hold the idea in your head and mull it over throughout the day, and 3) quickly share it with a friend, because of how you felt impacted by the idea.

The text in your graphic might be the only part of your post that someone reads, so it needs to be clear, concise, and attention-grabbing. When your message is concise, it is EASY to share, and when your message is clear, your audience WANTS to share it. As a thought-leader in your industry, this is exactly what you want and need to happen with your social media posts.

Why Photos Are Important for Social Media

Photos also play a huge role in your digital marketing strategy. A photo, as you know, is worth a thousand words. This means that there is so much that can be conveyed through a photo that words could never quite say.

If you are the face of your small business, you need to be sharing photos of yourself on social media. We know that people buy from people, and seeing your face is one way for your audience to begin to connect with and relate to you. There is so much information that is subconsciously processed when your audience sees you in photos and videos. They begin to know what it would be like to hang out with you and talk to you. They start to trust that you are relatable and real. And the repetition of getting to know you through your photos and videos helps your audience to gain your trust before they even meet you.

We don’t all have the ability or desire to share brand photos, so, what other types of photos could you be sharing? If you are a small business on social media, you need to be really intentional about your imagery and caption working together. They both need to be curated with your ideal audience in mind, and they need to be something your audience cares about.

So, if you’re not posting a brand photo, your photo still needs to be on-brand and intentional. Photos help your audience to visualize future experiences and see themselves in your world. Choose a photo that is either inspirational about the life you want your audience to have, or choose a photo that sparks curiosity about your message. Instagram is an imagery-driven platform, and slapping on a free stock photo is not going to cut it.

Whichever format you choose, think about your message as a whole and distill it down into one idea to get your audience hooked.

Some of the benefits of graphics and photos overlap. They can show your personality in various ways, they can share an idea, and they can inspire. But here’s the thing: a photo (with no words) can not succinctly communicate your message, and a graphic, although it can show your personality, keeps you pretty anonymous.

The whole goal of posting on social media as a small business is of course to market your business. Love it or hate it, your audience is probably on social media, and attention spans are at an all-time low— this article says our attention spans are shorter than that of a goldfish! You only have a couple of seconds to convince someone to actually read your post, so we can’t afford to post haphazardly. Your graphics need to be crystal clear and to the point, and your photos need to be extremely tailored to your message, the intention of your post.

In conclusion…

There’s a lot going on on social media. A lot of unoriginal content and a lot of fluff. Your ideas and your personality are what will set you apart on social media. You share your ideas through graphics, and you share your personality through photos of yourself.

Need help figuring out how to make this work for your business? Schedule an audit with me, and we’ll come up with a plan for your social media content so that you are posting both graphics and photos that are strategic and effective.

Want to read more? This article has some great ideas on types of visual content to share on social media.