Blog Post Preview on Social Media

Blog Network.Needs a Category.Social Media.Visual Identity

Images are a major part of social media and having that in mind during the writing and publishing process will help us put our best foot forward in creating content that is both eye catching and informative.

What Makes a Good Image?

Images that we use within the posts and as the featured image should give readers a good idea of the major elements of the story. See some examples of images that are both informative and eye catching below.

two women with masks on in a supply closet
The above image is a perfect example of how to make something staged look like it was taken in the moment. Don’t be afraid to coach your subjects. What’s great about this photo is that it fits the moment. They’re wearing Chapman gear, they’re helping get students ready, they’re wearing masks, maintaining social distancing and taking their own photo for that reason.
man in a movie theater
This photo definitely has more production value. It’s a well lit shot of the new Dean of the film school taken inside the theater inside the building. It showcases the quality of the university while welcome its new leader.
two women shake hands
Cliches are Cliches for a reason. This photo perfectly sums up a career fair. This is the experience in one picture. Lots of smiles and interaction.

 

Adding an Image

Keep in mind that social media images work best in landscape. You will also want to make sure that your image is the right size to ensure that it won’t be cropped in a funny way when the post is shared on social media. You can find all dimensions for different images here.

A good rule of thumb is to size your photo based on Facebook’s link preview image size as that is the most common and friendly size for most placements. – 1200 x 630 pixels

You can resize your photo in your own photo editing program, in dimensions.chapman or within WordPress.

When you are ready to add your image, there are two important places that are right next to each other, see screenshot below.

screenshot of wordpress page

You will want to add the image to both the Facebook and Twitter sections in the Yoast SEO block in WordPress. That is the only thing you’ll need to do for the image to pull properly in social media.

You will also want to add it as a “Featured Image” in the bottom right tab. This will ensure that it’s the first image of the post and will display this image in Newsroom.