SELECT THE

BEST VISUALS
FOR YOUR
MARKETING
CAMPAIGN
ALL OF YOUR
QUESTIONS ANSWERED
BY 5 PROFESSIONALS

You have one shot to catch your visitor before they click the
back button or scroll through to something else. And when
your first impression is your top priority, the power is in the
visual.

The perfect image will captivate visitors, lower your bounce

rate and multiply the number of conversions. Finding this
perfect image, however, can be an operation in itself.

In this guide, well walk and talk you through the fundamental
steps to selecting the perfect image. And how this can cut
your marketing budget significantly.

CONTENTS

1 Online advertising

2 Social media

3 Landing pages

4 Web design

5 Branding
ONLINE ADVERTISING

The Golden Rules

to Select the Best
Visuals in Online
Advertising
by Sane Lebrun

1
Sane is head of digital marketing at
EyeEm. He oversees global online
marketing initiatives across the company.

If youre putting a display advertising campaign together, your

visual is the most important creative asset. It could help you
get even more clicks for your budget - or send the cost of your
campaign soaring.

Testing numerous options is your first step - and an absolute

must. After all, more and more platforms allow marketers to
test banners alongside each other, Facebook and Twitter
included.

The visual should be the very first asset you test, but you can
still test six options without a clear winner. So how do you find
the perfect visual?
1 Choose the right colors

To get noticed, your banner needs to stand out from its

surrounding content. If you know where your ad is going to be
displayed, start by determining the dominant color of the site.
Then choose the corresponding complementary color for your
ad! Check the spectrum below to see what that should be.

Example: If youre advertising on Facebook, with its dominant

blue color, orange is the complementary color thatll help your
visual grab attention. Procter & Gamble wouldnt say otherwise.

Ad by EyeEm on Facebook
2 Show humans

A user is more likely to click on an ad if it shows a human -

the reason being that he or she can identify with the person
represented.

You could even go one step further and select a model who
fits your target markets age, culture and gender! If your
campaign is broader - or even global - try two or three
dierent visuals, each featuring a dierent demographic.

Make sure that the model has given the photographer

permission to license the image. To be safe, choose platforms
like EyeEm Market, where images come with model and
property releases attached.

Ads by PayPal on Facebook
3 Convey positive vibes

The third golden rule is to communicate positive emotions.

A recent study confirmed that ads evoking pleasant feelings
resonate more consistently with consumers.

Moreover, if you want to reassure users while positioning your

product or service as trustworthy, choose an image with a
human looking forward and into the camera. Eye contact
conveys trust and serenity.
4 Give context

Wouldnt it be great if potential customers looked through

your ad carefully, checking the branding and reading all the
text? Unfortunately, this is unlikely.

Thats why its crucial that your product can be understood

within a split second. And there is no better way to achieve
that than by picking images that show your product or
service in use!

For instance, your product is an app. Feature a visual of the

app displayed on a smartphone held in a persons hand!
People will immediately understand your service is not a
website, but a mobile app they can download today.

Ad by eBay on Facebook
5 Refresh your visuals
regularly

Youve found a winning visual - awesome! Use it time and

time again. But keep in mind that even the best performing
visual wont be able to maintain its performance forever.

In the long term, youll eventually need a refresh. The

reason is ad fatigue. When consumers are shown the
same advertisement frequently, they get bored.

There is no ideal rotation time - so just freshen up the

visual when the click-through rate starts to drop.

To summarize: be colorful, be human,

be positive, be contextual and keep it
fresh. Youll be pleasantly surprised by
the improvement in performance!
SOCIAL MEDIA

How to Increase
Social Engagement
With Images
by Brogues Cozens-
McNeelance

Brogues is responsible for all things social

media at EyeEm.

2
According to studies, Facebook posts with images will receive
2.3x as much engagement as posts without. With a few of
your own social experiments, youll quickly see the dierence
in a posts interaction and engagement, depending on the
image itself and your methods of sharing it.

On EyeEms Twitter, Instagram and Facebook accounts, we

share heaps of photos daily Ive learned a lot along the way
on how to make successful posts using images!

Read on for my six proven ways to use images to improve

your own social performance:
1 A coherent photo series

When showcasing photographers from the EyeEm community,

I post a series of images that act like mini portfolios. This
spotlights their unique style in a visually uniform way that
draws more attention to a post than a single image might.

Whether youre showcasing an artists work or something

completely dierent, a cohesive photo series engages your
audience with a small narrative.

Post by EyeEm on Facebook

2 Fun moving images

Short, fun and lighthearted GIFs or short videos pop out

amongst the melee of competing content on fast-moving
social media feeds. Moving images also give you the
opportunity to add personality and variety into your social
media content. Unlike high production lengthier videos, GIFs
dont require a major time investment but are still able to bring
high value in terms of social media engagement.

3 Universal language of
emotions
Content that touches on human emotions is universal,
appealing to people no matter the place or culture they might
pertain to. Striking visuals that uplift people and elicit positive
emotions correlate positively with engagement.

@elainehzh
4 Striking images with calls-
to-action

On social media, youll find attention spans are short and

visuals will always win over text alone. More often than not, I
find viewers pay more attention to a photo than to the caption
that sits below it. An eective means of making sure your
audience sees your message? Include the text on the photo
itself.
5 Patterns

While theres no absolute formula that will guarantee optimum

engagement, there are certain types of photo that deliver
repeatedly.

For example, breathtaking landscapes and bright colors will

commonly bring in a number of likes and shares, but a lesser-
known trend among our top performing images is distinctive
patterns and repetition.

@youngoldman
6 Facebook albums

An album gives you a couple of opportunities to engage your

audience: it allows them to interact with your photos in a
single place and albums from events provide a peek into the
culture of your company and/or community.

Albums can have a humanizing, inclusive eect, fostering

engagement and conversations between followers.

In the example above, we announced the winners of an

EyeEm Mission through a Facebook album. Our community
could interact directly with the winning images and, in turn, it
became a real celebration of the communitys work.
LANDING PAGE

Select Landing
Page Images That
Sell Your Product
by Ben Harmanus

Ben is the community and content

marketing manager at Unbounce, a tool
that makes creating landing pages easy.

3
The images you pick for your landing page have two
functions: they illustrate the message behind your product and
they fill space. A landing page must convey meaning with its
visual style. The image itself isnt just for the aesthetics, but
supports the overall message.
1 Choosing images with a focus

People on the web have short attention spans. Images must

speak to users within a fraction of a second - and communicate
the context of your landing page in that time too.

When selecting an image for your landing page, look for

something that helps the viewer focus on the main message.

For example: If you sell sunglasses, this image might be the

wrong choice:

@rolcsika1993

@olviin
Yes, the sunglasses are in the foreground, but the background
is so busy, the focus is lost. Your viewer wont immediately
understand what the main focus should be: the sunglasses or
the woman in the background?

Now, take a look at this next image a summer feeling is

conveyed with just a couple of elements:

@dariosantucci1

A pair of sunglasses on a rock and water in the background. It

shows what it needs to illustrate the message behind the
sunglasses, all while being an authentic photo.

@olviin
2 How to select images of people

It is a good idea to show people on your landing page. Images

featuring people catch your visitors attention and keep them
on your page too.

You can also target your audience by selecting images of

people that correspond with them this strengthens
identification with the values of your brand.

Lets use the example of the sunglasses again. We see a

woman wearing sunglasses against a neutral background.

@normagil

Not bad certainly, we will look into the womans eyes. This
behavior is independent of our gender or our sexual orientation.

The only problem is that we make eye contact, and may

neglect the product. Weve seen this time and again in eye
tracking tests. What now? Do we not use an image with a
human, then?

@olviin
Another phenomenon oers a solution: people follow the gaze
of others. You can use this eect to keep your visitors on the
landing page, while only drawing them gently to your oer.
Take the gaze of the woman in this image. Nice glasses but,
where do her eyes direct us?

@nevenova

Similar to creating a headline, place a few good arguments for

your oer and a call to action.

To illustrate what I mean, I made this example using a faux

company Sungla and one of our landing page templates. See
how well the sunglass-wearing woman fits into the landing
page? And thats just with a little bit of time spent tweaking.

Can you sense how the elements work together?

@olviin
3 First comes with the concept,
then the images

If Im working on a blog post, then the first thing I write is the

headline. Next, I write the article and add the accompanying
photos. Only at the end do I add the header or preview image
which, of course, is consistent with the headline.

Likewise, you can make your landing page by starting with the
main message and lastly, finding the image to go with it.

Start by creating a headline and related copy. After, choose a

landing page structure that best conveys your content.

When I insert arrows on the Sungla landing page, you can see
the path visitors follow in order to arrive at my landing pages
goal, the call to action. Thats why I chose this photo
in particular.

@olviin
Do you prefer your hero visual to remain product-focused?

No problem. Heres another landing page design that works:

The path has changed slightly. The title is followed by a sub-

heading, which in turn leads to the call to action.

Your photo engages with a focus on the product, while in the

context of the background. You are guiding your visitors
through your website just by using the right visuals.

@olviin
WEB DESIGN

The Importance of
Picking the Right
Images for Your
Web Design
by Alexander Haase

4
Alexander is a freelance product designer,
creating beautiful and functional web
experiences.

Web designers find themselves with a challenging

combination of moving parts, either handed to them or open
for selection.

This is the fun of web design, using a combination of honed

skill and personal style to piece together what your website
will look like as a whole.

If youre just starting out in web design or need a refresh, read

my seven tips for choosing images.
1 Bigger is better

You never know if someone is viewing your website on a 5

phone screen or a 27 monitor. Choose an image thats at
least 20001000, so that it can display in high resolution on all
types of display sizes.

@alexkess
2 Colors and contrast

Go with images that share or support the colors of your

design. You probably intend to add elements on top of the
photo and need to be flexible. Where will those elements be
positioned?

Try to find images with colors and contrast that have balance
across the entire photo.

If the image will play a more independent role in your design

and will set the tone for your message, select one with bold
colors and strong contrast.

@rytisseskaitis
3 Make use of white space

Depending on your page layout, look for image with

supportive whitespace.

If, for example, your design features a full-width image with a

left aligned headline, you want to make sure the headline has
good readability and the important parts of the image are not
covered by design elements.

@rytisseskaitis
@AfterJoseph
4 Tailor images to your needs

Keep in mind, you can always crop an image to adjust its

appearance based on your needs. Unwanted elements at the
corners of an image can be easily cropped out of view, so it
stays clean and uncluttered.

@horoyoi

This is where the three-part grid (vertical and horizontal) can

be a helpful tool. In the example above, we cropped the
original image from a landscape to a square format to place
important elements in the image along the lines of the three-
parts grid.

@rytisseskaitis
@AfterJoseph
This creates more tension between the bright and dark areas
and brings more focus to our model.
5 Making space

When working with images of individuals or a group of people,

make sure that the people portrayed have always a bit of room
left above their heads and dont get cut o on the edges.

But also keep in mind not to add too much space and dwarf
the people portrayed through the weight from above.

Another important aspect to consider is the so-called

leadroom, which is the amount of space in the direction a
person or group of people is looking.

When choosing an image, make sure that you have plenty of

leadroom at your disposal. Otherwise, you create the
unwanted situation of someone looking like theyre run up
against a wall (a.k.a. the edge of the image).

@jantong
@rytisseskaitis
@AfterJoseph
6 Create guidance

Using the movement in an image (or lack thereof) can be a

helpful tool to guide the viewer along your website, based on
your intentions.

For example, photos for a website of a sports brand should

support the brands message of speed, power and strength
whereas a website for a yoga studio will want to make its
audience feel calm, relaxed and balanced.

What you want in the end is to create a harmonic symbiosis

between images and information.

@horoyoi

@sohotrendz
7 Dont be a messenger, be
the message

Nothing is more boring to a viewer than being greeted by

another generic landscape or a grinning model. When choosing
imagery for your website you want to get your audience as
closely aligned with the core of your message as possible.

Dont choose an image just because it looks nice and fills a

gap on your design.

Rather, ask yourself if your copy couldnt have been better

illustrated by any other image than the one youve chosen.

Only then your imagery and content will create a bond which
will make your message as strong as possible.

@tasosritos
@rytisseskaitis
@AfterJoseph
BRANDING

Give Your Brand

the Presentation
it Deserves
by Michael Chauliac

Michael is EyeEms Chief Business Ocer

and lead marketer behind The Roll, which
received 500K downloads in its first month.

5
Youve spent months innovating, building and testing.
Youve picked the name, the logo, the slogan.

Now one question remains:

How can you give your new brand, app or product the
presentation it deserves?

When we launched The Roll, our photo editors worked with our
marketing department to create a visual style for The Roll and
communicate the powerful message behind it using images
from EyeEm Market.

Here are our tips for a successful brand launch.

1 Showcase your product

It might sound obvious, but your main brand visual should

prominently showcase your product.

For example, The Roll is an app that organizes the photos on

a users phone and helps them find the best ones. We needed
to market The Roll with images that demonstrated the product
in action, while fitting with the look and feel of the app.

To complement The Rolls white, minimalist look, we selected

images that were eye-catching and colorful, with clean
backgrounds and a sharp focus.
 @therealshaker

The images also needed to be memorable and strong while

looking like anyone could have taken them. Authenticity was
key so as not to intimidate potential downloaders.

Fake stock photos just wouldnt have worked! They rarely do.
2 Timing is key

Making your launch appropriate for the season and taking

events happening during that time into account is fundamental.

So adapt your visuals accordingly!

To coincide with our early summer launch, we used bright,

sunny images. For a winter launch, dramatic mountains or
cosy atmospheres may have worked better.

Ad by EyeEm on Instagram
3 Happiness sells

We know the images that work best with the audience we are
looking to target and images with people often return
better engagement.

Those with a positive vibe have always done especially well,

resonating more consistently with consumers.

Theyre relatable and theyre real! This smiley portrait was the
perfect lead image for The Roll campaign.

@alyonagamm
4 Be consistent

Use the same set of visuals across all of our communication

and social media channels. Thats what we did for The Roll, be
it screenshots, videos, ads or app store banners.

This ensures that you tell the same story and remain
consistent throughout the users journey. Thereby youll
maximize conversion and ensure you are not losing users at
various stages of the funnel.

Extract from The Roll launch video

WRAP-UP

Show humans in your ads.

Share striking images on social

media.

Make an eye-catching first

impression on your landing page.

Pick tailored to your need images

for your web design.

Know that happiness sells.

Cover image by @el_anthonyg

Back image by @rubervulpes
EyeEm is trusted by the Worlds Top Brands

"Through partnering with EyeEm, we were

able to source original and authentic images
that give a unique look to our website."
Massimo Portincaso, Global Marketing Director, BCG

Still not sure about which photos to choose?

Get in touch for a free curation.

Get in touch

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are waiting for you on Twitter.