Visual Storytelling 202: How to test images online

It may be cliché,

but a picture can be worth a thousand

words

Data Driven Communications

It may be cliché,

but a picture can be worth a thousand

words

Case study: Communicating coal

It may be cliché,

but a picture can be worth a thousand

words

It may be cliché,

but a picture can be worth a thousand

words

Fugitive coal dust. Next stop: your lungs.

“It is impossible to overstate how effective

these images werein building opposition

to the project.”

PPC

Does this make you want to fight coal?

Or this?

It may be cliché,

but a picture can be worth a thousand

words

Digital media=real time feedback

It may be cliché,

but a picture can be worth a thousand

words

Old model

It may be cliché,

but a picture can be worth a thousand

words

New model

It may be cliché,

but a picture can be worth a thousand

words

Drowning in data

It may be cliché,

but a picture can be worth a thousand

words

Measuring what matters

Get clear on goals

Pictures speak volumes

Check your Facebook newsfeed

Photos rule

Twitter loves photos too

All photos, all the time

Platform overwhelm

Social media as on-ramps, website as hub

Low risk laboratories

Image testing opportunities

• Email A/B tests• Facebook posts

and ads• Website landing

pages

Low numbers≠ Statistically significant results

Start with a hypothesis

Focus on the problem?

Or the solution?

Show people?

Or places and wildlife?

Text overlay: call to action

Photo size and placement

Big Testing

Email

Our supporters have email overload

Our messages are being filtered

• 4 out of 10 emails are read on a mobile device.

• That is up over 300% from two years ago.

• Many mobile readers “filter” messages to decide which to read later

Catch the eye, touch the heart

Email A/B testing

What we can test

• Subject lines• Sender name• Time and day• Copy• Call to action• Image

Facebook

Facebook ads

Change just the photo

Facebook posts

Check the Insights

Text over photo memes

Webpage A/B testing

Obama’s fundraising page

Optimizely

Share Progress

Testing tips

• Get clear on goals• Start with a

hypothesis• Change one

variable at a time• Test, test, and test

again to notice trends

More testing tips at visualstorylab.org

Your turn: questions?