I’m going to give you a quick but very tactical tip for your content.
When you are using images, whether for thumbnails, YouTube, or Instagram, choose visuals that people instantly recognize.
Do not use random stock footage or some AI-generated filler.
Make it obvious
If you are creating a hyperlocal news post about Chicago, use the Chicago skyline, the Bean, or Wrigley Field. These landmarks immediately spark familiarity and will increase engagement.
Or, if you are creating a post about things to do in Kansas City this weekend, look at what agent Kyle Talbot did. He used B-roll of the KC skyline.
This may sound obvious, but I still see a lot of “generic” templates being posted. A simple image change can capture attention and drive more engagement.
Dos and Don’ts, Straight from BAM
At BAM, you will notice in many of our thumbnails and carousels that swipe to video, we use memes or recognizable images.
What NOT to Do
Here are a couple of examples where we did not use recognizable images, and the engagement dropped.
This was just a generic AI image:
The chart helps, but this post does not stand out because the brain has to process what is happening instead of instantly connecting with it.
What you SHOULD Do:
Now look at these examples where we used recognizable memes and familiar faces.
Jonah Hill reaction meme for a rate drop:
Leonardo DiCaprio in The Wolf of Wall Street:
Simpsons meme for an educational carousel:
Exhausted sloth to emphasize the message:
Robert Downey Jr. reaction:
We use the same approach on the BAM YouTube channel. The principle does not change.
Bottom line
Recognizable images stop the scroll. They spark familiarity, trigger emotion, and give context before anyone reads a word.
Replacing generic images with visuals that people know is one of the easiest ways to increase engagement and make your content feel sharper, more entertaining, and more relevant.
