TYPES, TIPS, AND TACTICS OF VISUAL MARKETING 25 The photos people take and share across social media platforms showcase how they see and experience their lives, what’s important to them, and what they believe is shareworthy with friends and family. For companies looking to amplify their visual storytelling efforts, photographs offer a good starting point. The concept of well-composed photos is nothing new to companies— it’s something they’ve been sourcing for their websites, advertisements, retail locations, and for the news media for a long time. What’s new, though, is the concept of social media–friendly images that drive an immediate response. With professional images, techniques like retouch- ing, food styling, set design, and lighting are commonplace. However, with social media, people are looking for images to be realistic and in line with company values and offerings. By retouching how a model looks in a dress or styling a sandwich to be larger than it really is, you run the risk of generating customer complaints and distrust in your products. Take TripAdvisor, for example, which allows members to post images of their hotel stays. With more than 14 million real images posted to the site, the value of seeing these images is so that consumers can see if the hotel truly matches the images shown on the hotel’s website. GRAPHS AND DRAWINGS In some cases, when you market a highly technical product, graphs and visualizations may be a better way to go. Some people respond better to charts, graphs, numbers, and visual frameworks. Sometimes putting the concept you are trying to communicate into an easy-to-digest visual framework might make the message you are delivering not only easier to understand but also easier to share with others. Case in point: when Ekaterina talks about the significance of the word of mouth and brand advocacy with her clients, she talks about the Five Ls of a customer’s emotional journey and the fact that the fastest and the most effective way to achieve brand affinity is not through the brand’s own messages but through building a strong network of advocates. She points out that the goal of your brand should be to take your prospective