Are you heavy on breathtaking images, but missing out on the personal connections? Are your captions well-written and thought-provoking, but paired with images your followers quickly scroll by?
Instagram, blogging, Facebook, memberships, Twitter, captions, templates, stock sites…
I was overwhelmed five years ago when I started my business, now I wouldn’t even know where to begin which would probably just end with me slamming my laptop shut trying to figure it out. Let’s start simple and end with some easy resources you can use to implement the balance this week if you’re in the same boat.
While images are the photos you’re choosing to describe who you are, what you do, and how you do it – Ashlyn Carter explains copywriting as “the wording that comes alongside your images with meaningful brand messaging to coach a conversion.”
The goal for either arena is to stop the scroll and catch the attention of your audience – but which is more important to focus on?
Sometimes, it depends. If you’re a product-based business, images of your work can be the most important so that potential customers can visualize themselves with it and want it all the more. If you offer a service, explaining how that service can help me may be better than a pretty image.
BUT regardless of which is a priority for you, BOTH are necessary.
Images are the attention-grabbers, words are the heart-capturers.
Here’s the deal – if you excel in your industry, but can’t show off what you do – clients will never be able to find you and the right clients will not want to stick around. Posting can feel like a never-ending task when it’s looked at as a to-do or a means to the 10k end, but it can be an incredible tool to add value and meaningful relationships on the increasingly comparison-driven platforms.
We were created for community and therefore crave connection.
As a photographer, images are the life of what I do, but words are what connects me to other humans. I absolutely love every direct message, comment, and email I get because they are normally connecting to the heart of the words rather than the aesthetics of what was paired with it.
The goal is well-captured images with well-curated words that connect your ideal audience to the heart of who you are and what you do rather than simply what you create. Creating a balance between the two will cause a catalyst effect and propel your business up and up. Ask questions (choose an image that has to do with it), share about your family (pair with a photo of your own, not a client), encourage a younger generation in your space (use an image that will capture them, not you).
If you’re stuck on how or what to post, here are a few resources –
www.Unsplash.com: free stock images you can search for based on what you’d like to post
www.SocialCurator.com: a paid monthly membership with social media education, plug-n-play captions, and lifestyle images to help you know what to post and what to write to connect to your audience
www.SocialSquares.com: a paid monthly membership with an entire catalog of images you can choose from based on your color palette and brand words.
Educators are all over sharing what they have learned over the years, if you want more concentrated education in the social media space, give them a follow! These are two I love.
Jasmine Star (creator of Social Curator) is on Stories, her blog, and her Facebook group daily to answer questions and help you connect on social media.
Ashlyn Carter is a giver, she has content you can get lost in for days on everything from marketing to copywriting to brand messaging.
If you haven’t yet, I would love for you to grab the e-book detailing 5 ways to feel at home in your living and online space – two of them are images and words and I walk through ways to spice up your home and web presence with the right ones to start getting that at-home feeling over and over again.
