Featured picture of post "Three Best Ways to Indicate Your Image is Interactive"

Three Best Ways to Indicate Your Image is Interactive

Andrew Beelitz

After enhancing your images with interactive tags through ThingLink, your media takes on a whole new functionality for your viewers. They have access to information, actionable items, and additional media, but your viewers may not be used to mousing over images to find the interactivity. What’s the best way to show that they can engage with your media? 

 


 

Solution 1: Use a visual prompt

via Motor.ru, The Laws of Levitation

In this captivating article from Motor Russia they use their own custom logo to indicate interactivity. Edited into their images before tagging, the small yellow hand simply indicates that viewers should hover over the image in order to interact with the additional content. On the live image, you’ll notice that they are using pinned icons. This means that the icons show on the image whether readers mouse over or not, so users are more likely to notice the tags and therefore interact with them.

Solution 2: Just tell them!

via Europa Press, Imágenes del nuevo billete de 20 euros con ‘portrait window’

Europa Press takes the indication one step further! Not only do they have a their own icon to suggest interactivity, they spell it out for their readers. “Pasa por los iconos para conocer las novedades” or, “go through the icons for updates.” With an inconspicuous note, readers know exactly what to do and get the full ThingLink experience. This color coordinated image explains the security features of the upcoming new 20 euro bill.

Solution 3: Use an actionable icon

via JensonUSA, Road Trip to Moab: Part 2

JensonUSA takes what is perhaps the easiest route to implement. They use a mouse icon in the upper left of their image that has text instructing their users to click/hover for more information. This method requires no custom graphics, just an additional tag! English readers will naturally look to the upper left at first, so this is a great way to get their attention and teach them how to interact with the media you’ve created.  


How to do this with your own images

Adding a custom logo or instructional text can easily be accomplished by any of our users! Before uploading, use your favorite image editing platform (Photoshop, GIMP, Affinity, etc.) to add a simple text box or hand icon. Or if you have our Pro, Whitelabel, or Premium plans, upload a custom icon to do the job and pin it on your images. Upload custom icons here. They can be up to 140 x 64 pixels.


Pinned icons are also available to any of our paid users. Find the option under tag styling in the image editor. Just check the ‘pinned icon’ box before saving your tag.  

To create an instructional tag like Jenson’s choose whichever icon you think works best (the mouse icon is available with any of our paid plans) and include a short sentence to indicate interactivity. ex: “Click/hover on on the image for information on _______”

If you’re not yet familiar with image interactivity (or ThingLink), click here to request a demo and discover how you can harness the true power of interactive images in your marketing, branding, and content.

Other posts

Featured picture of post "Three Best Ways to Indicate Your Image is Interactive"

How to Make a Virtual Escape Room

Can you create an escape room virtually? The answer is yes – and much more easily than you may think! In recent years, physical escape rooms or breakout rooms...

Featured picture of post "Three Best Ways to Indicate Your Image is Interactive"

Best Interactive Infographics

If you create or provide eLearning courses or workplace training, or you create any type of content marketing, you need to know how to use infographics. Infographics...

Featured picture of post "Three Best Ways to Indicate Your Image is Interactive"

Five Stages of Design Thinking

In this blog post we look at the five stages of the design thinking process and suggest innovative solutions for making the process as effective as possible.  ...

Featured picture of post "Three Best Ways to Indicate Your Image is Interactive"

Six Examples of Interactive Maps

Some inspiring examples of interactive maps created by ThingLink users. Thanks to mobile apps like Google maps, we are now all used to using maps every day that...

Avatars of product experts

Meet ThingLink Experts

If you’d like to learn more about what ThingLink can offer to your company, you can schedule an online meeting with one of our product experts below.

Start now
Create unique experiences with ThingLink! It's easier than you think! Start now