On the rare occasions that I get to hang out with John Michael Cooper, he always has interesting stories to share. One time, he parted an analogy of a naked man.
Imagine that you’re looking through a book of beautiful women … flipping page after page. However, right in the middle will have a photo of a naked man. What’s going to happen?
You’ll stop because it doesn’t belong there. And then you’ll continue … In the grand scheme of things, you’ll spend more time per page on that man than on any of the beautiful women.
I get it. Things that stand out will get more attention. As photographers, we understand the importance of negative space to emphasize the subject.
Let’s see how we apply this strategy to our businesses.
The Rise of Visual Eye Candy
If you’ve been observant of the shifts in social media, there’s been a high emphasis on visual real estate. With the help of smart phones with amazing cameras, Facebook, for example, has 250 million photos uploaded each day. Wow.
One of the reasons why I love Instagram — and maybe the reason why it’s so popular — is because of it’s emphasis on photography.
The app is designed in such a way that it only allows users to only view one whole photo at a time on a mobile device, which means minimal distractions.
Additionally, it has just enough space for you to read an excerpt of the photo caption.
In the past, posts would be hidden over time and / or piled on top of by the onslaught of newer posts.
With the integration of Timeline, nothing is hidden. In fact, everything is shown … from the moment you signed up.
I guess, in a way, it’s Facebook‘s attempt to beautify the web.
Similar to Instagram, Pinterest has a mosaic of visuals with tiny excerpts.
For those who study their Google Analytics, I’m seeing increased traffic from Pinterest. It hasn’t surpassed Facebook or Google, but we’ll see with time.
But then again, this blog is more about marketing than eye candy. Maybe I should change that because you know how the saying goes …
Looks Attract
“Looks attract and personality keeps,” I preached in high school. Over a decade has passed since immaturity, so I’ve evolved my language as well.
Like with dating, looks attract and flirting engages. But it’s the live, real-world behavior that makes ‘em fall in love … or vanish.
–Lawrence Chan
Social Media Marketing for Digital Photographers
So, before prospects get to explore one’s potential, it’s pertinent that users hook viewers to read his or her blog posts, articles, updates, etc.
To do so, it’s a matter of eye candy for everything.
In a sea of text updates, ads and buttons, an easy way to stand out is to simply add a photo(s) to important posts. Gucci is a good example.
That’s not something I’m going to skip just as how I won’t gloss over the naked man in the book as mentioned earlier.
Blogging
One aspect in the art of effective blogging is a prudent balance of text, negative space and photos.
So, forget what you learned about syntax in this situation. It doesn’t apply here. Look at some of my single sentence paragraphs! I would have been reprimanded for those by my English teacher.
Isn’t it easier to read when no paragraph is longer than three lines? And the inclusion of photos help put a breaker to the behemoth amount of text, right?
It’s like, “Whew. I’m going to stop for a respite because of these naked mannequins on the street.”
… before I continue walking down the street or reading this blog.
Lastly, no more gigantic photos – they don’t fit in everybody’s screens (remember Instagram) and they’re not bandwidth friendly for mobile devices. The concept of less is more applies here too.
More Candy
So, add breakers. Post strategically. Hook readers. Use eye candy. Sure, this may be common knowledge, but not common practice.
Speaking of candy, I am loaning my book on Kindle to one person every week. Read here for details.
What’s your favorite candy? Comment below.
Lawrence Chan
P.S. All this sweet talk reminds me of Taiwanese shaved ice desserts! Ever have one of these?
love this post…I need the reminders of this stuff. I love blogs with enough photos to break up the text but not bore me with 50 images or paragraphs.
Eye candy!
I love it : )
In fact, I think it is my favorite kind of candy ; )
Taiwanese shaved ice is one of the world’s most refreshing delights!
i love twix candy bars.
Hey, great post. It’s so true about pinterest and instagram etc… We are in the era of eye candy. I wonder if it will change over time? I am mystified by the shaved ice dessert.
It is always bound to change / evolve. There’s so much more that’s happening, which I’ll have to save for next time.
We live in a fascinating time!
Seriously, I LOVE the way you explain things. Easy to understand and SO relevant. Thank you thank you.
Thanks, Kelsey! It’s a bit of research, but definitely worthwhile :)
Great post again. Simplicity is key.
Thanks, Paul! I appreciate it :) And agreed – simplicity is all that one needs.
Cool blog post Lawrence. Simplicity rules, though the temptation is to fill up the negative space with stuff. This happens in design, music, photography, business, and life.
Thank you for the great information! I’m going ot read it again, but first want to ask a question. About FaceBook and posting eye candy images. Considering a lot of photographer’s have a FB page to try and promote thier biz, and a persoanl FB page, where is it best to post daily eye candy, on the personal or business? I have only 60 “likes” on my business, where I have somewhere around 360 friends on my personal, so it will get more “looks” from my personal page, but does nothing to draw to my business page. Am I making any sense?
:)
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