We look at how Facebook pages can make great use images to build their engagement. Including examples from publishers including Fox News and the National Geographic, and brands like Airbnb.Â
At this stage, we know that Facebook videos attract huge levels of engagement in the news feed. We published some data around this trend earlier this year, showing that native videos have very high average share rates compared to other formats.
But Facebook’s other visual format – the image – also sees huge levels of engagement on the platform.
Images and videos attract higher average engagement rates, especially shares. We’re also seeing images and videos attract more Reactions, be they Loves, Angry faces or ‘Wows’. We took a look at how some publishers and brands are using image posts to drive engagement on their pages, and give some tips, based on what we’re seeing in Spike.
Publishers
Breaking News Flashes
Fox News are consistent in their use of images on their main Facebook page, which has over 12.6 million fans. In May, they posted 140 images to the page, or almost 14% of their total posts.
Fox News saw huge numbers of engagements on images that detailed breaking news stories. These ‘flash posts’ gave simple breaking news in a way that was visual and immediate. The reader did not have to click a link in order to get the news – it’s right there, ready to be engaged with and shared. Fox can then follow up later with links or videos providing more information – but the image template helps them get the news to their vast audience first.
[fb_pe url=”https://www.facebook.com/FoxNews/photos/a.184044921335.134777.15704546335/10154269673481336/?type=3&theater” bottom=”30″]
Photography Showcase
Instagram isn’t the only place where publishers can showcase their best visual work.
National Geographic have a theme called ‘Friday Fact’, where they accompany a great shot with a quick fact in the caption. As it’s Friday, these facts are usually pretty light-hearted.
[fb_pe url=”https://www.facebook.com/natgeo/photos/a.10150205173893951.320000.23497828950/10153655328673951/?type=3&theater” bottom=”30″]
In May, the ‘Friday Fact’ posts were the National Geographic’s most popular visual posts, attracting hundreds of thousands of engagements.
Teasing a Bigger StoryÂ
For some publishers, the image post is a useful way of sparking interest in other stories on their site. Vogue are one example of a publisher that use this method to great effect, previewing entrants in their galleries in the news feed. These image posts are perfect when promoting an image-heavy story.
[fb_pe url=”https://www.facebook.com/Vogue/photos/a.71982647278.106317.42933792278/10154022052057279/?type=3&theater” bottom=”30″]
You’ll note that the caption contains a shortened link, with a short call-to-action inviting readers to click through for more information and content. Publishers can test whether the click-throughs from these links are significant in Facebook Insights.
As a Storytelling Device
BBC News use the images on Facebook to give more information around stories. This gives the reader a sense of what’s happening, while catching the eye more than a link or text-based post.
They’re much easier to create than videos and are mobile friendly. The BBC News social media team have a template that they can use for other stories.
[fb_pe url=”https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews/photos/a.10150618575207217.382392.228735667216/10153620715677217/?type=3&theater” bottom=”30″]
In this way, it’s a lot like the way that many publishers use Instagram, except that there’s an option to provide a link back to a website in the caption.
Brands
It isn’t just publishers who are experimenting with image-based posts on Facebook. Brands of all types are also posting photos and other visual posts that align with their message.
Facebook’s advice for business pages posting images is straightforward:
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Use high-quality photos that showcase your business or products, or lifestyle images of people interacting with them
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Keep your sentences short and instructive. Quickly inform people why they should pay attention.
And of course, using language like ‘buy now’ or ‘click here’ in the caption is not recommended.
Airbnb’s Facebook page is a very visual stream. Their content strategy really seems to hone in on the lifestyle of their target audience. There are shots of destinations around the world, and the #LiveThere album series showcases Airbnb houses and hosts from Tblisi to Guadalope.
[fb_pe url=”https://www.facebook.com/airbnb/videos/10154269798382458/” bottom=”30″]
Looking at the types of Reactions that these posts attract, it’s also easy to see the type of posts that are provoking different emotions for the audience.
Over on the official Spotify page, their retrospective post celebrating the 54th anniversary of the Beatles’ Abbey Road was easily their most ‘loved’ post of the last 30 days. This helps indicate to Spotify’s social media team that there’s an appetite for more of these types of posts.
[fb_pe url=”https://www.facebook.com/spotifyusa/videos/1180006302012347/” bottom=”30″]
Four Tips For Using Images on Facebook
So, what does this mean for content strategy? Posting strong visuals on Facebook can help build an audience on the platform, and drive engagement and even referrals to your site. Here are our tips for using visuals on Facebook:
1. Use eye-catching, well-formatted images. Square images seem to work well too – they’re more mobile-friendly.
2. Keep your captions short and to-the-point.
3. Make the audience part of the exchange, whether by crowd-sourcing their best pictures, or replying in the comments.
4. Use the feedback from your posts to figure out what your audience is responding to most. Facebook Reactions can come in useful here – the numbers can be used to help inform your next decisions around content ideation and creation.
Do you have any tips or learnings around making visual posts for Facebook? Let us know in the comments below, or on Twitter.
