Social media engagement is a key element of modern content marketing that organizations employ to both build and maintain a client base. An effective approach to social media engagement will depend on unique elements of your business, such as your company size, your resources, and your target demographics. With that in mind, although photo and video are both great options for boosting a business’s social media engagement, the following considerations can help you determine which should be your focus.
Using photos on social media
While it’s typical to use photos on social media, their benefits may be limited by various factors.
Pros
The comparative benefits of using photos on social media include:
- Ease of creation: Photos often feature fewer elements in general.
- A pool of relevant professionals: Photography and photo editing are very popular professional fields, and therefore it isn’t difficult to secure the help of a third-party.
- Can be consumed rapidly. People can typically scroll through photos quickly and understand their purpose, as opposed to video which requires more of a time commitment.
In general, photos are easier for the social media poster to create and for the audience to absorb.
Cons
The comparative drawbacks of using photos on social media include:
- Limitations on creativity: Photos feature fewer elements than video, and are primarily static. As such, there are fewer opportunities to include effects and story elements.
- Limitations on messaging: On an image, there tends to be fewer areas to include information and fewer options for how that information is included, e.g. it’s usually text on top of the image or as a caption.
- Oversaturation of photo media: Because photos are typically easier to produce than video, there are a lot online. This means there is a lot of competition for attention.
The simplicity of using photos for social media is both an advantage and a disadvantage. Many people use them, and therefore it’s easy to get lost in the crowd.
Using videos on social media
Video content is a great way to provide your audience with a more comprehensive and creative message. However, in some cases, these benefits may be outweighed by challenges associated with this media form of engagement.
Pros
The comparative benefits of using videos on social media include:
- Opportunities for more thorough messaging: By using a video, you have the time to convey complex messages in a more personal or interesting way, as opposed to using just a caption on a photo, for example.
- Significant creative options and opportunities: Video offers more of an opportunity to build a story and more time to deliver details.
- Potential for extended engagement: A user will tend to spend more time engaging with a video than a photo, due to the nature of the respective forms of media (video has a run time).
- May stand out more amongst other forms of media: Because video offers more opportunity for complex and creative messaging, it may be more unique as a result.
Videos are ideal when you need to share a large amount of information or want to create a more deeply engaging story for your audience.
Cons
The comparative drawbacks of using videos on social media include:
- Challenges of production: Video production, while often offering a rewarding product, typically requires more skills and resources to navigate.
- Time constraints: Video media tends to take longer to produce than photos.
- May pose a time barrier to engagement: A user will have to weigh whether they want to spend the time to engage with the video.
Videos typically take more skill and resources to shoot and edit, compared to photos.