Earlier this month we talked about the importance of writing effective headlines when promoting an offer. Launching highly targeted Facebook ads, creating a custom squeeze page, and other forms of promotional support all require you to do just that. Another important component of those promotion methods is properly utilizing images to increase engagement.

Look at This Photograph

The internet is an environment where users are looking to consume information as quickly as possible, something that social media has accelerated ten fold. The faster you can accurately communicate to them what it is you’re promoting, the better chance you have of maintaining their interest.

It’s not just an old idiom that a picture says a 1000 words, it’s a term manifested from truth. Pictures have been proven to increase engagement, and the right pictures can act as a green light for a user at the start of the sales path.

Increasing Valuable Engagement

You want to ensure the pictures you use are relative to what it is you’re promoting. This is where we’ve seen some affiliates make a misstep. An attractive picture is nice, but if there’s a disconnect between it and the actual content, the user is going to be ending their engagement almost immediately. They’re going to notice the irrelevance and it will distract them from the actual product/service you’re trying to promote.

If you’re promoting a skincare offer, don’t use a picture of a dog. They have fur.

“Pictures are only effective in influencing brand choice if there is a clear connection with the brand and message” – Giep Franzen, Advertising Effectiveness

There are multiple resources online that can supply you with high quality free-to-use images, without looking like the typical sterile stock photo. Pexels and Unsplash, just to name a couple. Use these and other sites to your benefit in order to give your landing page or other creatives a high quality look.

If possible, showcase the product or service in your images, or present a scenario of the user post-purchase. For example, if you’re promoting a travel offer like Booking.com, show the outcome of the user using the service.

The two images below could both be used for this example, but the right photo is a less than genuine stock photo that doesn’t communicate much other than faux enthusiasm. The left photo which I obtained from Pexels.com, actually relates to the benefit of the offer – how the user could be positively effected by using Booking.com’s services. It’s more tangible and adds a level of realism not found in the photo to the right. It also adds legitimacy to the campaign, as stock photos can have a reputation for being used for low quality or scammy products.

Sweet Emotion

The image on the left above attempts to generate a specific emotion from the user that the stock image fails at accomplishing. In this case, the excitement of traveling to a new destination. In any type of advertising, striving to create an emotional response from the audience is important, and that philosophy should be no different for your promotional methods. The type of emotion you’re trying to invite from the user should relate to what you’re promoting, but can include a wide range of feelings like happy, sad, angry, disgusted, excited, excited, and countless more. You won’t find as much success relying purely on logic, so tap in to the emotions of the user to ultimately increase your conversions

As with anything in affiliate marketing, always test to see what works best. It’s the best way to hone your promotion techniques and to learn what does and doesn’t work with certain demographics.