Images please

People don’t read. Alas and alack. The hard truth for social media-ites is that if your copy isn’t illustrated, it won’t be noticed. And if you haven’t kept your inner Tolstoy (long copy) in check, you can forget about likes and shares.

After all, the power of social media is the ability of your audience or community to echo your message to extend its reach.

For marketers, the skillset they need to master is the ability to ensure they utilize messages that are remarkable. Recognize that images significantly increase the chances of your message being shared.

To that end, some stats about how image use boosts reposting.

Google images can be a good quick source, but dicey. We also like Deposit Photos.

Key to remember:

• Always use high-quality images…watch out for pixilated ones
• Images help shorten the copy
• Images help brand you
• Humor helps
• Make sure the images you use are relevant

Picture that.

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Direct Choice Inc. is a full-service direct marketing agency that has worked with national and regional brands in a wide variety of vertical markets. In addition to this blog, you can also find us on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn

Didn’t see you there, Google+

Happy Waaaayyyyy Belated First Birthday, Google+. We just about forgot.

The “also-ran” came in silently, and by early 2013 the facts are in:

The third largest social network in the English speaking world behind Twitter and Facebook

• 250 million users, from zero a year ago
  • 150 million monthly users
  • 75 million daily users
  • Active users spend over 60 minutes a day across Google products
  • Users spend on average 12 minutes per day in Google+ (that is 360 minutes per month, which compares very favorably to Facebook’s 441 minutes per month)

These stats put the kibosh on previous rumblings that G+’s user engagement was poor.

So we can’t pretend you don’t exist any more.

Us westerners sometimes think we have a monopoly on successful social networks. Wrong.  Sina Weibo in China boasts over 300 million users, and more than 100 million messages posted every day.

The smart money is on Google+ knocking on Facebook’s door within a few years. The Google folks consider Plus to be a unique platform vs. other social networks because of the wide range of products, including YouTube, Gmail and Google.  The “Google+ experience,” as it were. Combining social interaction with search is, in their mind, the most relevant user experience.

Direct Choice Inc. is a full-service direct marketing agency that has worked with national and regional brands in a wide variety of vertical markets. In addition to this blog, you can also find us on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn