44 THE POWER OF VISUAL STORYTELLING Types of Images Used for Visual Storytelling Photography • Collaborative storytelling benefits both cus- • Any moment can turn into a photo tomers and companies. Customers get to see opportunity. their images liked by fans, and companies get • Photos people share across social media plat- insight on what motivates customers. forms show what’s important to them and what they believe is shareworthy. Photo Collages • Well-composed photos are not new to com- • Multiple images and collages can sometimes panies; however social media–friendly images tell stories better than one image alone. that drive an immediate response are! • It is an easy concept! Many times tens, or • On social media, users look for realistic pho- even hundreds, of photos and images are tos and brand-aligned images. being shared, and combining them may help tell a visual story. Graphs and Drawings • Multiple images offer a creative opportunity • For highly technical products, graphs and to highlight different attributes of a company, visualizations can be a better option. a product, or an event. • Many are visual learners and respond better to charts, graphs, and numbers. Images with Text Overlays: Captions, • In some cases, easy-to-read visuals make mes- Quotes, and Stats sages more digestible and more sharable. • These images are a cost effective and easy way to enhance a traditional image. User-Generated Images • They are also a great way to make sure cap- • Collaborative storytelling can deepen relation- tions aren’t overlooked. ships with consumers. • Small amounts of text, one-liners, quotes, • Consider developing a user-generated image or stats, can greatly contribute to your visual program. story. • When consumers are part of the process, incredible images can come out of collabora- tive storytelling programs.