During my webinars and live presentations, I am often asked to talk about what types of images get the most attention on social media sites and what types of videos get the most hits on YouTube and Vimeo. Although I respect these types of questions and often think about how I can create effective imaging and messaging for my own clients, what I have learned is that successful imaging is not only about utilizing eye-catching photographic/cinematographic techniques, but it is also about timing with trends and knowing your audience.
To prepare for my live ASPCA webinar on Digital Storytelling that airs this Thursday from 3pm to 4:30pm (link to registration below) I created the forum for a mini social media experiment. On Monday of this week, I asked my husband to snap a photo of me with our family dog. I wanted the photo to exude soft, cuddly puppy love and I wore my favorite snuggly bathrobe because of its supple texture. I thought we might be able to create a nice, apropos image to show to the ASPCA audience. We took the photo in my daughter’s room because her pink sheer curtains filtered the light in an interesting way. After uploading this smart phone photo to my laptop, I decided to delete the color information and change it to a crisp black and white image. The whole process took 8 minutes from start to finish. Next, I uploaded this image to my Facebook page and added it as my cover photo in preparation of my next Facebook posting which would advertise the webinar with a registration link.
What happened next, I could have never predicted, within one hour I received over 30 likes and 10 comments, many comments were about how they loved my pooch photo. By the day’s end, I had racked up 76 likes and 14 comments, this was more activity than I had seen on my personal Facebook page in months. Suddenly I was reconnecting with estranged high school buddies and pet lovers were high- fiving me in cyber space. I got a call from a potential client who tracked me down from my Facebook post and then went to my website to find my phone number.
So what I learned from my own social media buddies is that they are just waiting for the right opportunity to give you some positive reinforcement and it never hurts to have a cute dog as the focal point, and always be open to some good old fashioned luck!
To register for the presentation follow these links:
ASPCA Webinar page which includes link to registration: https://www.aspcapro.org/webinar/2014-01-23/digital-story-telling
direct link to registration form: https://info.aspcapro.org/acton/form/3485/00ec:d-0002/0/index.htm?ts=1383317247426&svc=EventCenter&skey=754077244
