You discovered the perfect photo on social media, reached out to the photographer and licensed it. Sure — you may have a new photo in your visual arsenal — but this is where your journey with influencer marketing truly begins. Exciting stuff, right?

Past this point, it can be pretty tough to choose how you’ll use the photo. If you’re a clothing brand, it’d make sense to implement user-generated content on your social media feeds. If you’re a growing startup headed into the world of real estate investment, for example, it’d make more sense to incorporate UGC in your ad campaigns. And if you happen to be a nonprofit, placing user-generated images in your email newsletters would be a stellar option if you’re trying to get better engagement and click rates — and who isn’t?

But before all of this, each and every company has to master one thing: editing photos. We reached out to our friend Manu Edakara to learn more about why this is so critical to success.

Manu is passionate about comic books and fitness, but he’s also the co-founder of AdCat, a platform that allows users to seamlessly resize and edit images for use on different social media platforms. Let’s dive in:

Scopio: Our readers would probably like to know a little bit more about your platform before we get started. How does AdCat make image sizing easier for companies that opt for authentic user-generated photos?

Manu: All social media platforms have different size requirements for their ads, which are constantly changing year to year. AdCat automates the image resizing process for social media ads. You simply input your photo and it will automatically have ad creatives ready for Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest.

S: For sure. Editing photos can be pretty painful, whether you’re resizing everything individually or doing a bunch of guesswork for every social media platform you post on. We know that you’re also able to edit photos on AdCat. Do you encourage clients to personalize their photos with things such as logos and text? If so, how can this make a photo more engaging?

M: AdCat currently has feature sets that allow you to personalize ad images with logos and text. Social media ads, when done right, deliver an engaging message to the right person. While each social media platform has different text guidelines, there is plenty of research that suggests a clear, short, engaging call to action can help guide an ad viewer.

S: For sure. Without that call to action or personalization, a lot of meaning is lost in the mix. At Scopio, we believe that visuals definitely are one of the best ways to keep attention on your brand and start relationships with your audience. So as the founder of AdCat, what role do authentic visuals play for you in ad campaigns?

M: Visual content performs better; colored visuals increase people’s willingness to read a piece of content by 80%.

In addition, if you hear information, you’re likely to remember 10% of that information 3 days later. But if you pair that with a relevant image, you’re likely to retain 65% of that information.

In social media, visuals greatly enhance effectiveness. Tweets with images receive 150% more retweets than tweets without images, and Facebook posts with images receive 2.3x more engagement than posts without.

Visual content is more likely to be shared, viewed, and remembered, and is the focal point of social media ads.

S: Wow, we knew we were on to something here! All jokes aside, what would you say is the most underrated social media platform in terms of advertising — or maybe just in general?

M: Pinterest doesn’t get nearly enough attention. A whopping 75% of Pinterest users have purchased something on the platform (or because of the platform). And out of all online shoppers, 55% cite Pinterest as their preferred platform to shop for products. 67% of Pinners use Pinterest to decide what to buy offline, and 87% have purchased something because of Pinterest. In addition, the majority of Pinterest users make over $50,000. On a visual platform boasting over 150 million users monthly, these are fantastic statistics for any advertiser.

S: Looks like we’ll be starting up a Pinterest account soon! Any more advice for companies editing photos and trying to ramp up their visual marketing?

M: If you aren’t already, start testing and try to talk to your users as much as possible. Try to figure out how to visually tell the stories your users want to see. While testing, read up about color psychology and design, and pay attention to ads that catch your own attention. While testing and chatting with your users, you might be surprised by the results and outcomes you see.

S: That’s some solid advice. Thanks so much, Manu!

There we have it. If visuals aren’t at the forefront of your marketing campaign, they definitely should be.

Photos and videos aren’t just a way to keep all eyes on your brand. They’re also backed scientifically. Effective visuals help us remember key information, spark us to buy things (at least in the case of Pinterest) and literally light up the pathways in our brain. That’s why companies that value clever visual marketing find themselves soaring above the competition.

If you’d like to take your visual marketing a step further, make sure to sign up for a Scopio demo with the button below. We’ll help you unearth authentic photos that you can request to license with just a few clicks. Everything is done within Scopio’s dashboard, so the process is completely painless. And with the right visuals, you’ll be able to master editing photos and make your brand’s message more engaging.

Scopio is the industry’s premier search and licensing platform for images and videos on social media. We help companies find and use the photos and videos that matter to their audience, from capturing content to evaluating the performance of their new campaigns. Wondering about what we can do for your digital marketing strategies? Request a demo with the button below or email [email protected] Featured photo by Adonijah Domalanta/Scopio submission.

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