The real reasons to use an image on your posts
We've iterated many times that it's important to include pictures in your posts. While we can't stress how key this is to having a successful post, we thought we'd share some of the studies we have performed to you.
Screen Time Is Everything
The most important thing when advertising your brand on any platform, whether it be social media, radio, television, or print, is to make sure you are seen. Whether it's a 1 minute commercial or a full page advertisement, all brands are striving for longer and larger displays in front of their potential clients. This same rule applies to social media. Here are some examples:The Twitter Example
With Twitter limiting users to 140 characters, all basic posts take about the same amount of screen space. So even after you have created your content, it's hard to differentiate yourself until you attach a picture.
Exhibit A: Posts without images
Exhibit A is a twitter feed with 5 posts and no images. When users are scrolling through a feed like this, there is nothing that will make them stop scrolling and want to read your tweet. A lot of the time your tweet will be viewed based on where a user pauses when scrolling or if you're lucky enough to end up being one of the top few posts on someones feed. This is not where you want to be.
Exhibit B: Posts with imagesExhibit B is a twitter feed with 2.5 posts and images. As you can see in screenshot above, not only is there a big differentiating factor in the 1st tweet on the page because it includes an image, it also takes the space of 3 basic tweets put together. By adding an image, you increase the amount of real estate you take on a feed by 3X!. The image also allows a user to identify something that they might be interested in a lot easier when scrolling through a feed.
The Facebook Example
Facebook is a lot more flexible when it comes to posting options, but the same principles apply when trying to get your brand in front of followers.
Exhibit A: Posts without images
Exhibit A is a Facebook feed with 8 posts and no images. Similar to the Twitter feed we talked about above, Facebook can quickly become a big wall of text. Unlike Twitter though, there is no limit on how many characters you can use, so you can begin to differentiate yourself by including a link or splitting your post into multiple paragraphs if needed. Facebook uses a smaller font which also compacts posts and makes it a little more difficult to discern when scrolling.
Exhibit B: Posts with imagesExhibit B is a Facebook feed with 2 posts with images. While Facebook may have more posts in one screen when there are no images, the platform also displays images front and center when they are available. In our example 1 post with an image took the real estate of 4 posts without images. Also unlike Twitter, Facebook does not require desktop users to click anywhere to load more details about a link.
What Size Image Should I Use?
These are the recommended size images to use for different social networks.
Twitter: 1024x512
Facebook: 1024x628
LinkedIn: 800x800