Social media has become integral to building an audience and community for many streamers. Platforms like Twitch, YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram allow streamers to engage with their fans directly. While streaming live gameplay is central, creating eye-catching visual content can help streamers stand out in a crowded marketplace and make lasting connections with their viewers.
In this Article:
Visual Content Drives Engagement
Humans are visual creatures. Our brains process images 60,000 times faster than text. On social media, posts with images receive 150% more likes and comments than text-only posts. For streamers, visual content in the form of thumbnails, banners, graphics, photos, and videos allows them to quickly capture attention.
Viewers will be more inclined to click, react, share, and comment on posts that are visually stimulating. This higher engagement then signals to social platforms that the content is popular, leading to increased distribution and discovery.
Tips to Use Visual Content on Social Media
Optimize Your Profile
A streamer’s social media profile is the homepage that greets new visitors. Ensuring it is aesthetically pleasing and on-brand is crucial. Profile and cover photos should feature high-quality Executive headshots of the streamer. Profile themes, colors, and icons should match the streamer’s overall style and content.
Moreover, many social platforms like Twitch and YouTube allow for banner images and animated emoticons. Using a free animated banner maker to design a colorful, lively header that engages visitors helps make a strong first impression.
Create Eye-Catching Thumbnails
The thumbnail image is often determining whether a viewer clicks on a video. Thumbnails need to be simple yet dynamic. They should feature bright, contrasting colors that pop against the feed. The text should be minimal but clear.
Include the streamer’s face, expressions of excitement, and any visual references to the game or video content. Testing different designs and assessing performance can help streamers refine what works best for their audience.
Share Clips and Highlights
Additionally, short-form, captivating clips are perfect for platforms like TikTok and Instagram Reels. These could be funny moments, epic wins, crazy bloopers, or behind-the-scenes footage. Sharing these moments teases followers of the streamer’s personality and content.
The clips can then direct people to check out their long-form streams. However, streamers should avoid over-promoting. The clips need to be entertaining, stand-alone pieces of visual content.
Pro-tip: Use OneStream Live Studio’s portrait mode to live stream clips and highlights in portrait orientation for TikTok and Instagram Reels.
Post Photos Showing Personality
Furthermore, photos allow viewers to connect with the human behind the streamer persona. Candid shots of the streamer gaming, creating content, interacting with fans, or showcasing their interests give followers a glimpse into their world.
Photos featuring merch hauls, new equipment, and gifts from fans also provide an engaging visual way for streamers to say thanks.
Collaborate with Other Streamers
Moving on, collaborations generate hype and new audiences for streamers. A photoshoot featuring two or more streamers as characters from a game helps build buzz.
Also, it conditions followers to expect epic duo streams or crossover events down the line. Behind-the-scenes photos capturing the collab process boost engagement. The streamers should share the images across their respective social platforms for maximum impact.
Go Live on Location
Moreover, streaming on location in real-world settings creates interactive moments with followers. The streamer can go live at industry events, fan meetups or popular tourist areas. This combines the spontaneity of IRL streaming with the community engagement of a normal stream.
Afterward, photos from the experience give viewers who missed it a visual recap. This provides a compelling reason for them to catch the next on-location stream. You don’t need an amazing device to do this either – a used iPhone 14 will work fine.
Pro tip: Use the OneStream Live Mobile App’s live broadcasting feature to go live directly from your phone’s camera on the spot!
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Hire a Professional Photographer
For landmark occasions like reaching a partnership or a follower milestone, hiring a professional photographer for a high-quality streamer photoshoot can be worthwhile.
These headshots and images showcasing the streamer’s brand can be used across their social platforms and channel branding. Seeing the streamers looking their best in crisp, polished photos helps attract new viewers and gives existing fans some great visual content.
Post User-Generated Content
Lastly, showcasing fan art, gifts, and creative content generates a sense of community. It rewards devoted viewers by validating their contributions. Streamers should repost user-generated visual content and use features like story tags, stitches and reacts. This gives creators a morale boost while entertaining their larger fanbase.
Furthermore, contests encouraging fans to design emotes, gear, or thumbnails can spur a wave of visual content. Offering prizes like gift cards or merch for winning entries helps incentivize participation.
Final Thoughts
To conclude, great visual content allows streamers to maximize their social presence. Optimizing branded imagery and consistently posting eye-catching photos and videos fosters engagement. As a result, this strengthens relationships with existing viewers while potentially exposing them to new audiences.
So, I think it’s pretty clear that streamers who use the power of visual content will gain a competitive edge and definitely shine bright among the lot! Combine the force of visual content with the ease of OneStream Live, and let your streams speak for themselves!
OneStream Live is a cloud-based live streaming solution to create, schedule, and multistream professional-looking live streams across 45+ social media platforms and the web simultaneously. For content-related queries and feedback, write to us at [email protected]. You’re also welcome to Write for Us!
