If you’re not already using images for all of your content, here’s some statistics to convince you why it’s important.
Statistic #1: Content with images get 94% more views. Why? Because images on social media platforms and on blogs are usually the first thing that catches people’s attention.
Statistic #2: When people hear information, they’re likely to remember only 10% of that information three days later. However, if a relevant image is paired with that same information, people retained 65% of the information three days later. – Hubspot
Statistic #3: Social media content with images is more sharable, and it’s a smart practice to use the image you used when creating your content. According to studies, Facebook posts with images get 87% more engagement, and tweets with images get 18% more clicks, 89% more favorites and 150% more retweets) – Hubspot
So do I have you convinced about the power of images and why you should use them when creating content that you want to be profitable for your business?
I’ve pulled together a list of 6 strategic images and how to use them in your content.
These images will increase your readership and engagement with your content.
Include Images that give your content personality.
Images are the perfect opportunity to strengthen your brand “voice”. So consider your brand carefully when selecting an image for your content.
Does it align with the over all look and feel for your business? Do you have a theme or general type of image that you know will resonate with your audience or that they will quickly identify with your brand?
Narrowing in on the type of image and having guide lines for what types of images you select will help you strengthen your brand image.
Use images to help break up longer content.
When creating a resource page, a power page or any type of content that is over 2000+ words it is smart to include images throughout your content.
Used strategically to break up your content into smaller easier chunks serves to help break up the text, making your content easier to scan.
Select high contrast colorful images for your content.
This will help you stand out in and increase your engagement. A great idea is to try to incorporate your brand colors in your images where possible, both helping you to stand out and strengthen brand awareness.
Incorporate both fun and informative images.
If you use statistics, understand that your readers love to graphs, charts, infographic.
Use images strategically to make your data visually interesting whenever you can in your content.
Use unexpected images to convey meaning.
Instead of using typical stock images for your content, stand out by picking images that convey the meaning instead of using standard stock images.
Good example is if you are a business coach creating content about communication where no one is listening.
You might expect to see an image set in an office with people chatting.
A not so obvious choice might be to pick a photo of someone on a mountain top shouting out into the distance with no one listening.
Incorporate Screenshots into your content to illustrate your stories.
Use screenshot images strategically when sharing success stories, testimonials and case studies to strengthen your content.
Think of them as a visual aid/proof for whatever you are sharing. Screenshots can help position you as an expert in your niche.
You can also use screenshots to illustrate steps of a process when creating how to content.
The images you use in your content across all platforms help tell a story as much as your words do.
It’s important not only to include images but also to include the right images to help you get your story across visually.
Images should be an integral part of every piece of content you create whether it is a written post, a video or any form of content.
Instead of thinking about your images as an afterthought, something that you rush to choose after creating your content … think of your images the same way you think of your content’s introduction, close or title: You need to put careful thought into each one.
Images support your words and hold your argument together.
If you follow these suggestions for selecting images for your content, you’ll find that your content creates a stunning reading experience for your visitors and is more visually appealing and engaging.
When you are teaching something in your blog post then screenshots illustrating the step are the way to go. They make it easier to get your point across and easily illustrate what you are trying to teach. One of my favorite tools to create great looking screen shots where I can add in arrows and text is Jing by Techsmith at: 
Recently I was working with a prospective client and I wanted to show him how doing the right content marketing could drastically improve his web traffic. I illustrated my point by sending him the above graph from a client’s website that illustrated how his web traffic had gone from 1055 hits in May to 2000 in July and then doubled to 4000 in October by redoing his website and following my content marketing system.
Here’s a simple infographic created with Canva. According to the Quick Sprout Study, infographics get average of 538 shares. When was the last time you added an infographic to a page or post on your website? I know they have been all the rage and for awhile everyone was doing them and now I am not seeing them as much. That being said, it looks like infographics are not dead! I suggest that you add some next time you do a blog post. Here is a great resource for infographics: https://www.canva.com: Super simple to use and they have templates built to help you get started creating infographics.
LOL! Who thought that a funny animated image like the silly frog above, graphics, or animated infographics, could generate the highest number of social shares of all the image types in this post? The main issue with using animated graphics is that they are much more difficult to generate than any other image type. Not very many blogs use animated graphics, but those that do find that such posts perform extremely well. On average, animated graphics generated 551 tweets and 680 Facebook likes. Here are some resources for animated graphics like the example above
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