Conducting regular social media audits is a very good practice to get into. Neil Patel is a great resource for this. But, when it comes to visual storytelling you want to make sure that your content is an accurate and authentic representation of your purpose.
You can start by asking yourself three fundamental questions:
· Who is my audience?
· What message do you want to portray?
· What is your call to action?
Once you have these questions clearly defined, you are able to set your social media approach. When it comes to NGOs or social impact groups, it’s important to streamline your strategy.
Here are some ideas that can help you today to start telling the right visual story for your organization.
Show Your Human Side
This might sound like an obvious point, but it’s one that I see many companies forgetting to do. It’s important to give your audience a look into your day to day operations.
How can you do that?
· By showing what you’re learning
· A look behind the scenes
· Highlighting individuals and their stories in your organization
Reinforce What Your Organization Stands For
I don’t mean that you need to beat your audience over the head with your messaging, but it’s important to remember the shelf life of posts. More often than not, your followers aren’t scrolling through your feeds on a regular basis.
There are ways to keep your visuals fresh while staying the course of your purpose.
I recommend making a content calendar with nine to twelve categories that are representative of your company. The visuals should not look similar, and you have them on rotation. This is especially effective for platforms like Instagram.
Use Visuals That Make An Impression
Again, what seems like another obvious point, I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen visuals that aren’t eye-grabbing, however, once you get to the caption the story is compelling.
Most people working in NGOs and social impact companies are exceptional writers. But that’s just one part of the equation. It’s important to remember that you only have mere seconds to make an impression, and that will be through your visuals, not captions. The captions ARE important, but only once you have the viewer’s attention.
How can you assess this?
· Take a quick scan at your feed and stop on the photo or video that best captures your attention. How far down your feed was that?
· Look at other similar accounts to yours and see what visuals stop you in your tracks. Try to remember that feeling when posting to your own account.
Utilize Compelling Storytelling Techniques
Give life to your characters, their story, and surroundings. Build that framework around them and make them relatable.
For example, if your organization is assisting refugees, that’s a great opportunity to tell multifaceted personal stories. My free workshop, old and new ways of telling visual stories, on my Master Visual Storytelling community, I go into more detail and give you fresh ideas if you find yourself stuck in a rut.
Hop On A Discovery Call
If you or your organization is unsure about the direction of your social media, I offer a free 30-minute call. I’ll give you some easy to implement pointers to start improving your online presence today.
