Choose each image to carry one message
People skimming a timeline look at the image before the text. The image decides whether they stop, and only then is the text read. So an image isn't decoration. It has the same job as the first line of the post.
A good image meets one condition: you can tell what the post is about just by looking at it. For a new product, the product is large and the star of the picture. For a job example, the finished result is clear at a glance. For an event notice, the date and place can be read immediately. Decide what the image is meant to tell people first, and reduce everything else.
Image sizes and aspect ratios differ by network. The numbers are collected in image and video sizes for each network, so this page sticks to how to make and present images.
What to shoot: real photos are strongest
For a business or shop, the image that communicates best is a real photo of your own work. Stock photos and polished illustrations look tidy but tend to feel like you've seen them somewhere before. What customers want to know are concrete facts: what this shop's dishes actually look like, what tools this company's craftspeople use.
Easy subjects to shoot
| Business type | Easy subjects |
|---|---|
| Restaurants | Hands during prep, the moment something comes out of the oven, seasonal ingredients |
| Retail and online shops | A product in use, packaging as it arrives, color variations side by side |
| Hair salons and beauty salons | Before and after, caring for tools, the light in the salon |
| Construction and renovation | Before and after work, safety measures on site, materials in use |
| Manufacturing | Close-ups of parts, inspection steps, products lined up before shipping |
When you use a photo of a person, always get the OK of the person in it. That includes staff. If a customer is in the shot, get their OK or reshoot from an angle that leaves them out.
Tips for shooting with a smartphone
You don't need special equipment. A few points make photos easier to see. First, light. Natural light near a window gives good color and soft shadows. Avoid standing right under fluorescent lights or shooting into backlight. Next, background. If extra items appear behind the subject, the eye wanders. Tidy the background before shooting, or move closer to the subject to show less of it. Last, level. Turn on the grid lines on your screen and line up shelves and floors so they're straight, and the photo looks neat.
Rules for adding text
You may add text to announcement or summary images. Text on an image is handy, but if you add it the wrong way the image becomes unreadable.
Make it readable on a phone screen
Social media images are seen on a small phone screen while scrolling past. If you design on a computer screen, you won't notice the text is too small. After you make one, send it to your phone and check that you can read it at arm's length. Keep text on an image to one headline and at most one or two supporting lines so it gets read through.
Don't put important things at the edges
On some networks, the top, bottom, left and right of an image get cut off in list views. Examples include Instagram's profile grid and link cards, where the original ratio isn't kept. Put text and products toward the center, and near the edges put only things that wouldn't matter if cut.
Don't repeat the post text
If the text in the image is the same as the post text, readers see the same information twice. Split the roles: the image carries the single most important line, and the post text carries the background and details.
Keep a consistent look
Besides how each image turns out, the impression of the whole account matters. In places where posts appear side by side, like an Instagram profile, scattered colors, brightness and shooting styles make it harder to tell what the business is.
Consistency doesn't mean every photo has to be identical. Just deciding three things gives a unified look when posts are lined up: the tendency of brightness (bright or muted colors), the background (the places you often use, such as a white wall or wooden table), and the typeface and color for text. Write the decisions down briefly so that anyone who takes the photos can shoot the same way.
Free design tools and smartphone apps are enough for making images with text. If you save common forms (announcements, notices of business days, new product introductions) as templates, you don't start from scratch each time and the look stays naturally consistent.
How many images to include
Some networks let you attach many images to one post. How many depends on the network, and X, for example, allows up to 4. When you use several, put them in this order: the first image grabs interest, and the following ones show the substance. For explaining steps, use one step per image; for a case study, go before, during, after, and people have a reason to swipe.
More isn't always better. If you line up many similar photos, people get bored partway through swiping. Use only as many as your message needs. The idea of multi-image posts is also explained in carousel.
Add a description (ALT)
ALT is a field where you describe in words what's in an image. Read-aloud tools used by people with visual impairments read this description out. It also helps when the connection is slow and the image doesn't load. A short definition is in ALT text.
In ALT, describe specifically what is in the image so that someone who can't see it can still get the meaning of the post. Instead of "photo of the product," write something like "three golden-brown croissants on a white plate." If you put text in the image, copy that text into the ALT too, because read-aloud tools can't read text inside an image.
Cautions when using AI-generated images
You can also make images with AI. It's handy for illustration-style pictures and for backgrounds that convey a seasonal mood. However, avoid using AI images in place of the real thing. If you draw dishes, products or job examples with AI, you show something different from the real item and mislead customers.
Meta says that on Facebook, Instagram and Threads, it may require an AI label on realistic videos and realistic-sounding audio that were created or altered using digital processing including AI. Images aren't covered by that requirement, but images that Meta's systems detect as AI-generated or altered are shown with a label. It is safest to use AI images only in ways where it wouldn't matter if people knew they were AI. Cautions on using AI in operations are explained in more detail in cautions when using AI for social media.
Preparing images with SNS TOWN
In SNS TOWN you can keep the photos you took and the images you made together in the Library. Open the Library from the screen where you create a post, and you can choose and attach on the spot. If you connect a Google Drive folder, images you put in the folder are automatically imported into the Library, so you only need to drop photos into Drive.
You can add an image description (ALT) to each image in the screen where you create a post. The limit is 1,000 characters for X, Threads, Instagram and Facebook Pages, and 200 characters for LinkedIn. The number of images you can attach also changes with the network: 4 for X, 10 for Facebook Pages, 9 for LinkedIn, and up to 20 for Threads and Instagram.
In AI drafts, if the Library has a fitting image it is chosen, and only when there is none and the content calls for a picture does the AI draw an image. We instruct it not to put text or logos in AI-drawn images. Text is more reliable in the post text than inside an image, and it also won't conflict with the ALT. The steps for attaching are shown with screenshots in attaching images and video.
Frequently asked questions
Do I have to hire a professional photographer?
A smartphone is enough. Just watch three things, light, background and level, and photos become easier to see. Another approach is to hire a professional only for a few long-lasting photos, like the one that fronts your website, and take everyday posts yourselves.
Can I use stock photos?
You can, as long as the terms of use allow social media use. But other companies may use the same photos, and your own character comes across less. They suit illustrations and backgrounds, combined with real photos.
Do images with text get better reactions?
It depends on the business and the kind of post, so there's no single answer. Announcements and summaries come across better with text, while photos that convey a mood look better without it. Try both and compare using your own account's numbers.
Do I have to add ALT?
You can post without it. But adding it helps the content reach people with visual impairments and helps when an image doesn't load, so we recommend it.
What if I want to use a photo with a customer in it?
First check with the person in it whether it's OK to post on social media. Keep a record that they agreed so you can tell later. Cautions on using photos the customers posted themselves are explained in handling UGC and customer posts.
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