People love imagery. The “cone of experience” says that images are three times more engaging than text.
What is the secret to making the most of images? What can the most successful sites teach us?
Looking at MailOnline (the most popular news site in the world) it’s clear that images of people are key.
The MailOnline’s sidebar is famous for being all pictures of people. Based on the current 20 top sidebar headlines…
- 100% people shots
- 100% are celebrities (although some are “C” list)
- 95% attractive
- 85% female focus, 35% male focus. (20% are couples)
- 40% scantily dressed (mainly female)
I suspect that people care more about browsing the pictures than they do about the actual stories.
The power of people watching will come as no surprise to users of Tinder.
Of course, you shouldn’t just copy MailOnline. Your site can have people pics relevant to your audience.