How to create engaging social media visuals

Interest in infographics has risen 3,000 percent during the last five years, according to Google Trends. That’s because infographics—and images in general—can cut through all the content that overwhelms the public today.

Here are three ways to catch the wave and grab short attention spans with distinctive visuals:

1. Curate customer photos. Photos of real people move audiences.

“It’s instinctive to look at faces, and a smiling face seems less corporate than a logo,” says designer and infographics expert Bob Zeni. “More than anything, that explains the popularity of emoticons.”

That’s why Harley Davidson often posts images of customers riding, relaxing on and tinkering with their bikes. These photos are usually submitted by customers.

“Ask for submissions from customers using your product if you can’t create these kinds of images,” Zeni suggests. “Or use hashtags to collect and curate photos. You can create your own unique hashtag or piggyback onto an existing one.”

#POTD and #PhotoOfTheDay are two popular hashtags to consider. Both were used in the Harley tweet captured here.