Catch Your Audience's Attention With the Perfect Image

Did you know that: 

• The human eye is attracted to certain shapes and geometries. The concept of beauty is only partially subjective, because our brain prefers certain proportions over others. 
• Splitting a long block of text into shorter paragraphs separated by appropriate images improves the readability and help readers stay engaged for the entire article. 
• It has been proven that users assimilate information better if concepts are conveyed by images.
• Images are easier than text for us to visualise and process, they can also have exceptional subliminal effects that should not be underestimated. Reading "a red and juicy apple" is not comparable to seeing a photo of a beautiful freshly picked tasty apple. The photo engages our senses more.

This is all interesting, but... 

In practice how can you take advantage of these considerations for your posts?

We explained in a previous article (An Effective Title: How to Write the Most Important Part of an Article) that a well-built title has the power to capture the users' attention. The second element that will remain imprinted in the readers' brain will be the image that accompanies the text. Often authors make the mistake to choose an image quickly and without thinking much about it. But in light of what is listed above it is clear that if you dedicate time and effort to write a content you cannot neglect its visual presentation, otherwise you will end up ruining the whole article. Accompany a textual content with pleasant and representative images to make your articles accessible and interesting. 

5 trivial rules that are often forgotten 

1) Use copyright free images or get the permission of use 

The image you upload must be free or you must get the permission to use it! You cannot download images owned by others and use them as you wish without paying for the copyright. You can only use:

• original images (i.e. photos taken by you) 
• images protected by copyright, that you have regularly purchased online, possibly by citing the author 
• freeware images (i.e. free and downloadable images from sites that collect them) 
• royalty-free images (i.e. images that can be downloaded and used after paying a one-off fee on the website where they are offered, without any further payment obligations)

Photographers use watermarks (digital watermarks or signatures) to ensure that their photos are marked. If you download and use images like these, you damage yourself and your article.

2) Publish images with correct sizing

To obtain a good result, it is important that the image you choose have the correct proportions to be uploaded to Cam.TV, otherwise it will appear "cut off" (see: Choose the Right Size for Your Post Images!). It is equally important that your image has adequate dimensions and is high quality, otherwise it will appear grainy and affect negatively the final result.

3) Maintain consistency between image and content

A very effective communication technique is to choose images that have an evident correlation with the text. 

The inserted image can therefore: 

• Anticipate the topic of the text 
• Help the readers to better understand the text 
• Show the funny side of the topic described 
• Highlight some themes over others 
• Attract the attention of users (without exaggerating because creating an expectation and then disappointing it, makes the readers' confidence collapse and reduces engagement)

4) Choose a single communication style

With only a few exceptions, it is always recommended to avoid mixing photos and graphic designs. Choose a single style that is suitable to your message and to the feeling you want to inspire. This will transmit clarity and harmony.

5) Insert icons to make the information more intuitive 

You can use icons, because they can be a good, simple and effective solution to help the readers find their way around the text.

For example, inserting the phone icon next to a mobile phone number will immediately draw the readers' attention to that particular item.

Special icons are smileys with different expressions (happy, perplexed, sad), these can be found in some websites or touch-screens in physical stores. They can be very useful. For example, they can make the users understand, without the use of words, that by clicking on one of the smileys they will be able to rate their browsing or shopping experience. 

In addition to these fundamental aspects, there are also small rules to take, create and share captivating photographs. 

We will talk about this more in the next article!

bibliography: "Choose the Perfect Images for your Article" https://vocal.media