In this podcast you will learn the importance of images and how they are used to impact an audience in your website and social media. Melody will share tips and tools on how to find professional images to incorporate into your blog and social media. Plus, find out how which online applications work best to use for free to edit images and add text overlays to create those beautiful posters everyone loves to share. Don’t forget to get a free copy of the Essential Marketing Tools and get all the tips & tools you need to get your blog on!
Listen and learn how to find images and incorporate into your blog and social media
to play podcast click on arrow
First let’s discuss how images affect the brain
Research shows that visuals affect your mood and behavior. Images are used to keep people honest, in an experiment written by British Psychological Society, BPS Research Digest. A displayed poster featuring a pair of staring eyes increases people’s use of an honesty box which is used in parking lots to get people to insert money into the box to pay for parking. A pair of eyes would give a subliminal message that someone is watching.
122 university students were asked to look at photographs of two people walking down a corridor. Unbeknownst to the students, half of them viewed photos in which the two people were holding hands, and the other half viewed photos in which the people were not holding hands. The results showed that the students in the hand-holding condition had significantly stronger intentions to seek help than the students in the no hand-holding condition. Hence, subtle cues of social affiliation (i.e., people holding hands) can increase people’s intentions to seek help.*
Images placed in your blog and in social media can impact and stir emotions causing a reaction!
How to activate your creative mind to develop effective images
- Meditate to stop the thinking part of the brain
- Learn to draw
- Buy a book search for easy drawing techniques
- Watch drawing tutorials on YouTube
- Even doodling helps tap your creative mind
- Listen to music to activate the creative mind
- Opera and Classical, Jazz blues Indie Rock and Soul music are best to develop the creative mind
- Crafting
- woodworking
- creative writing
- Traveling expand experiences out of the norm which allows creative ideas
- Working in dim light heightens your emotions to make you more creative
- Working out picture puzzles stimulates the creative mind
- Photography
- Go to an Art Museum to get inspired
When ready to get creative, create a conducive environment with dim lighting and turn up the music!
Don’t forget to get a free copy of the Essential Blogging Tools with over 50 tips and tools, as we discuss many of the resources and tips in this essential document.
“You cannot teach a man anything;
you can only help him to find it within himself”
~ Galileo
Make an effort to get creative and it will pay off
- Your own photos and artwork can be effective if they are good quality
- Sign up for a free account with Flickr.com to get access to images and videos of professional grade
- Flickr -select the creative commons drop down and type in a subject or object into the search
- creative commons allows you to use images for free, follow the instructions which may require to give credit to the photographer
- commons.wikimedia.org
- www.morguefile.com
- www.imageafter.com
- Government and national archived public domain images (Google it!)
- There are several free Image editors online to choose from (Sign up for the Essential Blogging Tools for suggestions)
- Upload your own images or purchase the site’s images
- You have access tools to crop, resize, add text layovers
- Tools include dimensions for social media images used in profiles and backgrounds/header images
- Tutorials and design techniques to create professional looking images “Design School”
- Sign up for their newsletter to keep up to date with features and changes
When you have quality professional looking images it engages people and you become trustworthy. Many will find it easier and less time consuming to find a professional service to create images for them. 99designs is one of the best and I highly recommend them. You will have freelance designers bid on your projects and get the best results. Try it!
- Optimize the images without being too large
- Avg. sizes would be 500px to 800px wide for slower computers
- An email image should not be larger than 800px wide
- Social media varies and the online image editors help optimize for exact size
- Develop a strategy around image resizing to incorporate into numerous platforms for background profiles
- Record any processes that you will repeat either in Evernotes or Google Docs
- Start with a good quality image
- Follow the KISS rule “Keep it Stupid Simple”
- Don’t use too many elements
- Using humor and famous quotes are popular
- Use simple fonts that are readable
- Get someone’s opinion of the image quality and how it reads
- Make sure you use a call to action either in the poster or in the commentary of your post
Once you develop a strategy and define a procedure around how frequently you post, the process will get easier. How to find images Some may be frustrated in the beginning, but be patient and easy on yourself, remember you are learning a new skill and it will take time to develop.
Contributing Author
Melody Tune is the founder and strategic leader at DesignWrx Digital Marketing
A digital marketing strategist with 20 years of digital marketing experience working in corporate and has owned over 100 websites. An author and a former Certified Ziglar Legacy Coach who shares inspiration and helps you take the short cut in figuring it out. She has helped individuals, sales teams, and organizations to succeed with their digital marketing efforts and websites. She has worked with Fortune 100 and 500 clients and currently helps entrepreneurs get started or move to the next level with online branding, social media campaigns, digital marketing, blogging and websites. As a former graphic designer she has a keen eye for visual communications with strategies that work!
“Be intentional when setting goals focusing on significance”
~Melody Tune
Online Business Coach
Download your free copy of the Essential Marketing Tools with over 50 tips and tools to get your business on! And join Melody Tune – Online Business Coach on Facebook to stay motivated with inspiring and motivational techniques.
Follow Melody on Twitter @melodytune and join her on Facebook: Melody Tune – Success Coach
