Columnist Lauren Bacho discusses using pictures with tweets to get more impressions and interactions.
Being a photographer, I tend to lean toward using social media based around pictures. However, I do enjoy using Twitter even though tweets are formed around that 140 character limit.
Personally, if I’m casually scrolling through Twitter, I don’t read every tweet. Most of the time I scroll right past the tweets that are just words. Tweets with pictures are what get me to stop and actually give a tweet more than a passing glance.
Recently, I started to wonder if people who aren’t photographers pay more attention to tweets with pictures than ones with just words. I started looking at my tweets and Twitter Analytics, and I noticed that all of my top tweets, impression and interaction wise, were tweets with photos. I did some research as well and found that, according to Social Media Examiner, you can get a 150 percent increase in your retweets if you include a photo. I also found a study done by the marketing platform SHIFT, reported by Social Times, which states that tweets with photos had five times more impressions than tweets without photos.
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I’m no mathematician, but 150 percent and five times more seem like a pretty huge increase to me. So I guess your best course of action if you want to up your Twitter game would be to start adding some photos to your “fire” tweets.
Content is key: You have to have the right combination of words to images to really get the best outcome for your tweet. Usually my sarcasm is understood better if I accompany it with a photo. You don’t necessarily have to take your own photos for Twitter because the idea of copyright is completely thrown out the window on most social media outlets. My personal preference is that you give credit for every photo you use that isn’t yours, but that is in an ideal world.
A high quality “dank meme” is always a good addition, or even a screenshot of something you saw online. Maybe you see someone walking around with some weird shoes, and a “what are those” tweet wouldn’t be complete without proof of the unfortunate choice of kicks.
Make sure you don’t overdo it. One good picture is nice and will help your tweet get more interactions, but tweeting four pretty similar selfies will not. The photo needs to add something to the tweet, not clutter it. Also, since Ohio University’s Wi-Fi isn’t that reliable, you can’t count on all four photos loading before your potential viewer gets bored and scrolls by.
I do not suggest trying to apply this tactic to Yik Yak because most people get on that app solely for the words or the hook-ups. Plus, you want proof of having a “fire” tweet, and people won’t necessarily believe that you had a “famous” Yak. If you want credit for your hilarity, stick to Twitter.
Lauren Bacho is a sophomore studying photojournalism and a photo editor for The Post. Do you think Twitter needs more pictures? Tweet her @Visual_Bacho or email her at lb986213@ohio.edu.
