Brands

The Mobile Photography Explosion [INFOGRAPHIC]

Thanks to the growing visual nature of the Internet and increased technological sophistication, people are taking a dizzying number of photos on their mobile devices.

According to infographic by Overgram, 300 million photos are uploaded to Facebook every day, and the website has “10,000 times more photos than the Library of Congress.” A whopping 70 percent of all the activity on the site is based on visuals, and when pictures are uploaded, engagement increases by 120 percent.

In the past year, Instagram has exploded; In early 2011, only one million people were on the site, and by March of 2012, 27 million people were using it. Every second, 26 new photos are uploaded. On Tumblr, photos make up 42 percent of all posts.

In terms of mobile devices, 91 percent of smartphone owners are taking at least one photo per month, 741 million mobile phones globally are able to capture photos. A majority of people (73 percent) take photos on their phones, and 54 percent are sending photos and videos to people.

Marketers, if they haven’t already, need to wake up to the statistics and integrate, at the very least, visuals into their content often. If a brand is heavily visual-based, then producing content on channels like Pinterest, Instagram, and Tumblr is necessary.

Blogger Tiffany Monhollon recommends posting infographics (like the one seen here), or “snackable images”: “these images are similar to infographics, but take a small, square format optimized for re-sharing. Some may be a combination of text and photos with instructions or information related to the image, while others are simply individual quotes or stats. They tend to generate a lot of engagement, likes and shares, particularly when they tie into the interest-graph of a brand’s target demographic. For example, Oreo shares what it calls ‘Daily Twist’ images that feature their cookies and a unique pop culture tie-in.”

ClickZ’s Heidi Cohen suggests telling the business’ story through photos, using photos to show how to use products, posting photos of a business’ employees, and reporting the news. She puts it: “Incorporate photographs into your social media content. Consider how to extend your content and brand by telling stories with these images, both yours and your customers’ photos.”

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