Everyone knows the old saying “a picture is worth a thousand words.” According to new research from ShopIgniter, pictures may also be worth a thousand clicks, at least in Facebook posts. Search Engine Watch reported that the research showed Facebook posts with pictures received the highest click-throughs in organic and the most engagement on the paid side compared to other update formats such as offers and questions.
As their graph shows, posts with photos saw higher CTR compared to other types, however questions saw the highest CTR and viral potential when in a sponsored post. ShopIgniter examined over 2,000 Facebook news feed posts for the study, and the data also showed that posts with photos had the highest engagement with an average of 5.8 percent. That is more than 1 percent higher than offers, which were the next most engaging form of organic Facebook post.
As for what you should avoid, the study also examined posts which received the most negative feedback, for example when a user hides a post or reports spam. They found the negative actions were most associated with the notes feature within organic posts, and links saw the most negative actions for paid posts.
Along with the study, ShopIgniter offered some best practice guidelines for Facebook posts, both organic and paid.
Organic Posts
- Use picture or links posts to drive up native engagement and clicks to maximize reach and considerations/
- Keep imagery and copy consistent through posts, ads, and landing pages.
- When running social rich media, include direct calls to action such as telling users to “expand” or “tap to open” within the post copy.
Paid Media
- Start with reaching out to all fans and go from there. Fans are the most likely to start sharing your content and all of the impressions can be boosted with paid media.
- Consider how applying paid media impacts key metrics in interesting ways occasionally, such as boosting viral reach but reducing click-through rate.
- Implement the “art of segmentation” as Facebook allows for incredible targeting. Unpublished posts can be used to segment, but you shouldn’t allow them to impact your reach.
