Dave Duarte (www.dailymaverick.co.za)
According to Duarte, the importance of a brand to connect emotionally to its users is essentially linked to its success. Social media provides a great platform for this engagement.
“Make people feel something”, he advised. “Don’t just take a picture, tell a story.”
Quality, eye-capturing photography, response-provoking accompanying questions and catchy captions are three tips for improving visual image reaction on social networks, he said.
Statistics show people are twice as likely to “like” pictures and 12 times more likely to share videos than text updates on Facebook.
Articles with photos are 94 per cent more likely to be viewed, while imagery inclusion raises a press release’s view probability by 45 per cent.
Illustrations also work wonders for search engine optimisation as text search hits are very competitive.
“We are all in a constant journey of moving into incompetence,” Duarte said with regards to available text content on the web.
Action inspiration also proved 10 per cent more likely to be successful with added visual material.
Posting infographics is another useful way of incorporating text and visual mediums to make statistics and other essential information more interesting.
According to Duarte, founder of consulting and investment company Treeshake, there is a “glaring opportunity” for social media training.
Duarte realised the essential role of social networks while he was working on a tourism project where social media strategy was crucial to its success.
“Since that consultation, my own work, my work in social media, how I behave and my business as a whole have changed,” Duarte said.
HumanIPO reported yesterday (Thursday) on event host PR-Net’s view on the significant role of social media in public relations (PR).
