{"id":3935,"date":"2015-06-18T13:10:49","date_gmt":"2015-06-18T20:10:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/thinkapps.com\/blog\/?p=3935"},"modified":"2015-06-18T13:21:55","modified_gmt":"2015-06-18T20:21:55","slug":"picture-list-guidelines","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thinkapps.com\/blog\/launch\/picture-list-guidelines\/","title":{"rendered":"No More Click Bait: How to Make Picture List Posts That Matter"},"content":{"rendered":"

Whether they’re informative or simply click bait, you have to admit that there’s something about picture lists that’s hard to resist. It’s no wonder they go viral.<\/p>\n

The thing about an image-heavy post (even if it’s\u00a0“17 Grumpy\u00a0Puppies<\/a>“)\u00a0is that our brains actually process images faster and more expansively than words. It makes sense seeing as 90% of the information<\/strong> our brains ingest is visual instead of written. And it turns out we\u00a0process visual information 60,000 times faster<\/strong> than we process text.<\/p>\n

After presenting these facts in a \u201cPower of Images\u201d<\/a>\u00a0<\/span>webinar, Buzzsumo<\/a>\u00a0director and co-owner Steve Rayson<\/a> laid out some cold, hard, data-driven facts on what\u2019s working and what\u2019s not when it comes to how we use images to get clicks and shares<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s Talk Stats<\/h2>\n

Buzzsumo is a resource for finding total share numbers across different platforms for any search term. With some deep diving into posts that do well vs. posts that don\u2019t, there are some clear findings\u00a0in favor of making yours as visual as possible.<\/p>\n

\"facebook\"<\/p>\n

Facebook<\/h3>\n

According to Buzzsumo\u2019s research, sharing an article on Facebook with an image drastically outperforms sharing ones without: 197 shares vs. 61 shares.<\/p>\n

But how do you make sure that when someone shares your post, it gets a large \u201cOG\u201d (Open Graph) image rather than a small thumbnail?<\/p>\n

When someone shares your article to Facebook, the site will look for Open Graph tags in the code on your page (og: image) to pull the featured image. You can do it manually or using a number of plugins \u2014 Buffer suggests<\/a> Yoast<\/a>\u2019s WordPress plugin. By tagging your images, you\u2019re ensuring that Facebook is pulling the best of your article so you can get more shares.<\/p>\n

\"twitter\"<\/a><\/h2>\n

Twitter<\/h3>\n

On Twitter, pretty pictures with only a headline accompaniment won\u2019t cut it. A large image with a summary far exceeds the shares you\u00a0<\/span>get with images or text alone.<\/p>\n

You\u2019ve probably seen the large summary + image card. It feels like a news clipping, which works well with Twitter being such an of-the-moment news destination. Twitter has a how-to<\/a> to show you how to set up the card sharing with your own articles.<\/p>\n

Looking at Buzzsumo\u2019s findings, it\u2019s obvious that it\u2019s worth the time to go in and set this up on\u00a0your blog<\/a> or website. According to Buffer<\/a>, tweets with images get 150% more retweets, 18% more clicks, and 89% more favorites. <\/span><\/p>\n

The Perfect Post<\/h2>\n

But, just having images in your post won\u2019t keep readers coming back, and it may not even get them to click. It\u2019s the kind of images you use and the context of them as well.<\/p>\n

To start, Buzzsumo found a text-to-image sweet spot: posts with the most shares have one image to every 75-100 words.<\/strong><\/p>\n

There are many ways to curate and structure a picture list post that you can use to suit your own brand story<\/a> \u2014 but keep in mind through all of them that curation is important. The big perk of image posts is that we can scan them faster, but that makes it even more important that your reader can find value in every picture that they\u2019re seeing. Make it worth their time, no matter how fleeting.<\/p>\n

In Buzzsumo\u2019s research, they uncovered five prominent types of picture list posts:<\/p>\n

\"bussfeed-space\"<\/a><\/p>\n

1. Explain a Concept<\/h3>\n

One of the most viral examples of this was a post made by none other than Buzzfeed<\/em>: “26 Pictures Will Make You Re-Evaluate Your Entire Existence<\/a>” (shown above).<\/p>\n

They gave the viewer a real perspective of just how small we are on this planet and how small the planet is in the galaxy, continually zooming out until you realize that within\u00a0the universe we are infinitesimal specks.<\/p>\n

Other than the fact that this is something that everyone can relate to, the list was beneficial to the reader because it explained a very vast concept, step by step. If you\u2019re trying\u00a0to break down a concept in your industry that people would be interested in learning more about, pictures are one of the best ways to do it.<\/p>\n

\"reef1\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Screen<\/h3>\n

2. Show Comparisons<\/h3>\n

With global warming in full swing, there are no shortage of \u201cthen and now\u201d environmental posts<\/a> flooding the Internet (such as the one pictured above from Business Insider<\/em>).<\/p>\n

Whether your comparing major events, fashion fads, or environments across decades, comparison posts have a big appeal because there\u2019s already a narrative and a conversation written into the photos. It\u2019s easy for viewers to choose \u201cthis or that?\u201d \u201cThen or now?\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Screen<\/a><\/h3>\n

3. Tell a Story<\/h3>\n

After every major news event \u2014 good or bad \u2014 a series of pictures can serve as an expansive recap.<\/p>\n

For example, to tell the story of the Oscars, Extra<\/em>\u00a0rounded up a picture recap<\/a> and broke down the major plot points that went down so you could catch up in a matter of minutes even if you didn\u2019t watch the awards show.<\/p>\n

For more serious events like the riots in Ferguson<\/a>, picture posts (like the one shown above from BBC News)<\/em> showed the first-person story in an attempt to give outsiders a glance into the scene unfolding.<\/p>\n

\"pndantlamp\"<\/a><\/p>\n

4. Curate an Original List<\/h3>\n

Buzzsumo says that curating nice images on a certain topic can act as a sort of \u201cvirtual brainstorming board\u201d for a topic that\u2019s particularly visual. For example, “The 14 Craziest Airbnb Accommodations From Around the World.”<\/a><\/p>\n

These are especially beneficial on platforms like Pinterest (shown above) where people are already searching for visual inspiration.<\/p>\n

\"howto\"<\/a><\/p>\n

5. How-To<\/h3>\n

Step-by-step how-tos are kind of like the original list post. Whether in cookbooks or DIY posts<\/a>\u00a0(like the hair styling guide above), seeing each step of a process in pictures gives more explanation than words alone can provide.<\/p>\n

Take-Away Message<\/h2>\n

By now we all know that picture posts outperform text-only posts. But remember that giving your audience quality and insight with images takes things a step beyond those “39 Overly Adorable Kittens To Brighten Your\u00a0Day”<\/a>\u00a0roundups that are adorable, but altogether not too innovative.<\/p>\n

If you think about what your brand story can offer visually, you can begin to narrow in on options for picture posts that actually have something useful to offer your audience.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Want to increase social shares of your blog posts? Picture lists are one of the most shareable types of content. Here’s how to do them right.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":29,"featured_media":3963,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[280,282,79,284,44,279,283,281],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nHow to Make Picture List Posts the Right Way<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Want to increase social shares of your blog posts? Picture lists are one of the most shareable types of content. 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