LinkedIn is without a doubt the best place to create credibility for yourself or your business. The platform is full of people looking for potential hires, business connections, jobs, customers, and of course, work motivation. As of this writing, the platform has more than 800 million registered users and 57 million companies listed.
With those staggering numbers, standing out and getting your content noticed has become even more competitive. Just like in other social media platforms, you must give your posts a chance to catch the attention of the ever-scrolling population. One way to do that is by consider adding the power of illustrations to your upcoming LinkedIn content creation plans.
Get More Engagement on LinkedIn With By Adding Illustrations
Overall, the business world loves visuals, and LinkedIn is no exception. Our articles tend to get the most response when we include a relevant illustration or infographic somewhere along the way. According to a study, Linkedin posts that have images get 2x the engagement rate.
But even though our posts tend to do well with infographics and diagrams, how can you be sure that your illustrations will help you get more engagement? After all, illustrations are only half of the equation in getting your content noticed. The other half is writing the perfect headline that will accurately capture each reader's attention. Think about what you often share on Linkedin and how it makes you come across with the audience. Do your posts tend to be informative? Do they inspire or motivate people? Do you always ask questions with an opinionated answer in mind? If so, try adding more visual elements with your post titles to see if this boosts your stats.
In this article, we talk about the important steps you can take to up your LinkedIn game. Towards the end, we recommend a few tools you can use to make those images and illustrations look professionally done.
How to Improve Your Posts on LinkedIn
1. Have the correct image size
With numerous social media platforms out there, it's easy to get your image sizing mixed up. Having the wrong size can greatly affect the effectiveness of your images in catching attention. For example, on Facebook, the ideal image size is 828 x 315 pixels while on Instagram it's 1080x1080 pixels. To be able to make your graphics look good, always remember to use the correct image size. On top of that, you should use keywords in your caption or description to help people find your picture. This will help you get more engagement on LinkedIn.
You should also ensure the clear positioning of the illustration so that people understand what you're trying to convey. Use attention-grabbing headlines and subheads for maximum engagement benefits, too! Make sure they have a concise yet engaging message so that they sound inviting enough to get the reader to click on the image.
Here's a quick guide to the LinkedIn image sizes:
LinkedIn Image Size Guide:
- Profile Photos 400 x 400px;
- Profile Cover Photos 1584 x 396px;
- Blog Post Link Images 1200 x 627px;
- Sharing Link in an Update 1200 x 627px;
- Company Logo Ads - 100 x 100 px;
- Spotlight Ads Logo - 100 x 100 px;
- Custom Background Image for Spotlight Ads: 300 x 250 px;
- Sponsored Content Images: 1200 x 627 px or (1.91:1 aspect ratio);
- Sponsored Content Carousel Images - 1080 x 1080 px (1:1 aspect ratio);
- Company Pages - Company Logo - 300 x 300 px;
- Page Cover 1128 x 191 px;
- Life Tab Main image 1128 x 376;
- Life Tab Custom Modules 502 x 282 px;
- Life Tab Company Photos 900 x 600 px;
- Square Logo 60 x 60 px.
2. Use images of people combined with illustrations.
Studies have shown that humans process visual data better. And one key learning from this study says that people are capable of processing images 60,000 times faster than an all-text presentation. No wonder highly text-based posts are ignored because people are thinking more to process your information.
It is important to note that once you can grab your audience’s attention with your perfectly colored background line-art, or daring, vibrant colors of your illustration, you're halfway there. Make use of the power of images by giving them an effective combination for more engagement on LinkedIn.
One best practice is using the images of real people will help generate a more personal and relatable connection, especially if you're trying to make a sale or gain new followers. As long as you have the right to use those images, it's going to give your content that extra touch that draws in thousands of new visitors. You will find that people's response rate increases significantly when they see a face next to an idea or concept.
Combining beautiful images of real people with illustrations dramatically changes the story, impact, and purpose of just a photo. To serve as your guide, visual media types that best convey your story could be:
- Infographics - are static visual media that can combine facts and data. They're a good way to display a lot of information in a small amount of space.
- Posters - are great for combining real human images and illustrations creatively. Great for campaigns, events, or showcasing products.
- Cartoons - are great for storytelling, especially when you need to capture someone's attention within seconds. Ideal for humor and/or educational purposes.
- Photo Collage - is often created with real human images combined with illustrations. This makes it more personal and relatable to the viewer. The text should be very minimal or nonexistent because it can detract from the visuals if done wrongly.
- Charts - are visual media that tell data stories over some time. They're best for illustrating statistics and comparisons. They save a lot of space but still provide a ton of information. Types include bar graphs, line graphs, columns, and pie charts
3. Always use images with proper resolution.
Think of having the wrong resolution like a wardrobe malfunction. Except that this one blurs the important parts because of the pixelation. When editing base illustrations or images, the key is always to start at a high-resolution count. The smaller the images, the more these images pixelate, and that doesn't do good to your content. If you're using a lower resolution image online, including LinkedIn, then your social media team might look unprofessional to the audience. It can also decrease engagement rates due to poor quality or lack of visual appeal in an otherwise great post.
A high-resolution picture has a higher number of pixels. The crispness and clarity of photographs are improved by having a greater resolution. There are more pixels per inch at a higher resolution, resulting in more pixel data. This results in an excellent, sharp image. Images with fewer pixels have fewer pixels overall. If the few pixels that make up the image are too big (typically when it's enlarged or stretched), they may become visible.
So always start by creating high resolutions and work down to the final size.
4. Add emojis to your post.
You could attribute much of the emoji usage to the Millenials and Gen-Zs, basically, as a form of leaving communication up to the imagination. At present, emojis have made their way from the confines of private text messages to the public domain through billboards and advertisements. Studies have shown that people are more likely to react when there's an emoji on your post. If you want maximum reactions, add an emoji in the headline of the post where it makes sense. A good practice is to use a relevant icon for your industry. For instance, tools/software companies might use emoticons of hand tools or smartphones. Emojis in themselves express visually the kind of emotion that we want our readers to feel.
That's why marketers use emojis to their advantage. There are nearly 3,500+ emojis available online and you can make custom ones if needed.
Common types of Emoji Illustrations:
👌 - The OK Sign Emoji
Usually used to agree to certain statements, opinions, or facts.
😂 - The Laughing Tears Emoji
Used when something is so funny that it brings tears of laughter to your eyes or that you are crying with laughter.
😭 - The Crying Face Emoji
Used when something is so sad that it brings tears of sadness to your eyes or that you are crying with sorrow.
👀 - The eyes Emoji
Used when something is so interesting that all you can do is stare at it with your mouth wide open in awe, or when something arouses suspicion.
🤔 - The Thinking Face Emoji
Used when feeling confused or wondering about something, or expressing doubt over the certainty of an issue.
👍 - The thumbs up Emoji
Used When approving something or an idea, or showing support to a statement.
👎 - The thumbs down Emoji.
Used to express disapproval of a certain statement, opinion, or fact, expressing dislike for something.
🤐 - The "Zipper-Mouth" face emoji.
Used when putting your index finger to your lips as if zipping it shut to keep the information secret.
😬 - The Tight-Lip Face emoji.
Used as a means of showing disapproval with an awkward situation where you might not want to show much emotion at all, but also looking embarrassed and uncomfortable in what's going on around you.
🔥 - The Fire Emoji -
Used when something is so exciting that it's catching on fire. You would commonly see this on sale posts, signifying the items are selling like crazy.
❤️ - The Heart Emoji -
Used when someone likes something, such as sharing feelings of love and affection for a certain thing.
💯 - The Hundred Points Emoji -
Used to express that someone or something is outstanding and deserves recognition.
👏 – Raised hands with clapping emojis –
Used when applauding someone, showing appreciation and encouragement.
There are plenty more emojis out there you can choose to use for your post's illustration purposes! Just make sure they match well with the tone of your LinkedIn post. Make sure their expressions don't clash with the things you're trying to express in your post.
5. Use Online tools to edit your images and Illustrations
This illustration website and online library has fully customizable illustrations that you can use for projects, websites, apps, ads, and social media communication. Whether you are trying to tell a story, sell a product or work on a presentation, the quirkiness of the characters, scenarios, and the style of art makes for a fun and light presentation of information that's sure to catch the attention of your readers. Designstripe has both free and paid options available.
It is a web-based design tool that lets you easily create designs for all your visual content needs. You can use it to create any type of content, such as infographics, presentations, social media posts, flyers, and posters. Canva has made it easy for anyone to run their show by providing templates for almost all kinds of visual needs, from social media posts to Powerpoint presentations.
This web-based, free design application allows you to utilize thousands of professional-quality graphics that are free to download and use in your personal or commercial projects. The majority of the library offers a simple drag and drop functionality with an image upload option if you want something different than their stock images. Images are optimized (resized) for web usage, but the higher resolutions will be included in your final download. It is a less costly alternative if you are in a budget pinch.
With over a million free photos, videos, images, Pixabay is one of the largest sources for free-to-use images on the internet. Made by talented and creative individuals, you can be assured of the quality you get to see on the site.
It is a web-based design and photo editor. It may be used for all sorts of activities, from simple ones like image resizing to complex ones like website creation and illustration production. This is a great tool to address concerns on image sizing and image resolution for your different needs. The best thing about it is it's ad-free and also it's free to use!
Conclusion
Getting more engagement on LinkedIn is challenging but not impossible. You just have to allot time for it, and once you learn how to do it right, it will do wonders for you or your business.
Using engaging illustrations combined with images that have high-resolution counts will ensure that your content is best received by your audience. Doing this will help generate a more personal and relatable connection with your audience using visual stimulation. Moreover, always remember to add an emoji in the headline where it makes sense for optimum reactions.
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