It is all about attention. Effective communication strategies rely on it. Perception change requires it. Investor relations professional strive on the ability to acquire it.
Attention is the single most difficult thing to achieve.
The second most difficult challenge when it comes to acquiring attention is keeping it.
In a time when almost everyone in the developed world is inundated with headlines, stories, information, news, etc, how does a company stand apart from other competitors or projects?
Whether you are a junior resource company on the TSX, a major global producer, or a service provider looking for sustainable revenue growth, the same will hold true for you. Without the ability to acquire attention, you will not succeed.
Statistically, the best way to grab attention online is by incorporating images and video. When people hear information, they're likely to remember only 10% of that information three days later. However, if a relevant image is paired with that same information, people retained 65% of the information three days later.
On Twitter alone, posts with images receive 150% more retweets than tweets without images.
Instagram, the fastest-growing social network, is built on sharing photos and videos. It also, arguably, provides the largest opportunity for mining and metals companies to expand messaging.
One of the best sources to chat about images and communication strategies is James Hodgins, one of the most reputable, and talented, mining-industry photographers in mining. Hodgins says that he began pursuing industry partners years ago after walking trade show exhibits and seeing the same stock photography from many companies.
Listen to our entire conversation here where James and I chat about industry images on social media, how he approaches his projects and some of the frequently asked questions he gets from his clients.
What he realized was many of the photos were not directly in line with the company brand or story theme. Visually, nothing connected. Five years ago, however, things started changing.
"I think thats due specifically because of Instagram and LinkedIn," he said. "They are all posting snapshots of people doing their job. More-so in the past two years than ever."
For the junior companies looking to launch projects and recruit capital, what better way to do so than putting a brand out online and showcasing that project with powerful images and content?
"I'm pretty excited about using social media for business and marketing. When I talk to my clients about it, they get excited about it as well," Hodgins states.
Leveraging attention starts with powerful content and James is a great resource to begin that journey. You have probably seen a lot of his work and not even realized it.