Social media is a never-ending conveyor belt of content. Staying on top of trends, posting regularly, and making insightful comments can lead to increased engagement but also serious burnout. I should know – I opened my first Twitter account (now X) back in 2008. Amassing about 18,000 followers on X was the easy part. It was much more difficult to maintain the flow of content, especially during the long period of writing two books.
I find it difficult to create engaging content because that’s not my main job. I have been a journalist since 2001 and have seen the platforms emerge and grow. These days, LinkedIn is my platform of choice, mostly because it’s designed for working professionals. I still use
Recently, I decided to explore how a Google image generation tool called Nano Banana Pro could help me liven up my account, engage with new followers, and provide a few twists and surprises beyond my usual stream of article links and sarcastic tech-related posts.
I created over 20 images, usually by describing exactly what I wanted in great detail. Nano Banana Pro is now integrated with the Google Gemini Pro 3 chatbot, so creating the images was quick and easy. Which proved more challenging? Providing the right level of detail so that the image generation tool responds with something worth posting.
Here are the social media posts that got the best results, mostly on my LinkedIn account, along with the prompt I used and how people responded. My only surprise? The Nano Banana Pro graphics resonated more with my Instagram followers than I expected. On LinkedIn, my impressions increased by 57% during my testing period – this is due to the increase in comments and shares and the algorithm promoting my content more.
1. Design an explanatory graphic
Prompt used: “Create an explanatory image that I can use to promote an article (with a link).”
What impressed me most were some graphics Nano Banana Pro created, like the one above, to promote one of my articles. I call them explainer graphics because they are more like an infographic designed to illustrate the article concepts. For example, I asked the bot to create a graphic for an article comparing three chatbots in job searches. My shocking discovery is that Nano Banana Pro, now part of the Gemini bot, incorrectly selected itself as the “winner” compared to ChatGPT and Grok. In fact, Grok won this test by a significant margin.
Despite the obvious hallucination, the graphics looked great. The reason this prompt works so well is because the bot can take the article text, analyze it, and then create an explanatory graphic. As with almost everything that works on social media, the secret is to appeal to what followers like to see – images that summarize a concept often result in high engagement.
However, Nano Banana Pro did not add the Daily Sparkz logo to the graphic and the comments and likes were low. I had to try something different with my audience.
2. Create an inspirational graphic
Prompt used: “Create a graphic with a quote from John Brandon. Display it on a poster in an office.”
If you’ve used social media regularly in the last few years, you know that the most viral posts often include an inspirational thought, a celebrity quote, or a motivational comment.
The big surprise? I didn’t know that Nano Banana Pro hallucinated so strongly. First, the bot selected itself as the best job search tool and then created an offer for it doesn’t actually exist. The poster Gemini designed said, “You can’t hire someone to practice for you,” and attributed the statement to me. Here’s what actually happened. The original quote is from Jim Rohn and is more like, “You can’t have anyone to do your push-ups.” Why Nano Banana Pro created a false quote makes no sense, but what’s even more surprising is that this graphic was a hit – it had well over 400 impressions, which isn’t bad for my LinkedIn feed.
On I could imagine using Nano Banana Pro to create this type of filler content to inspire followers, mixed with posts that include a link or call to action.
3. Create a controversial graphic
Prompt used: “Creating a really compelling graphic that says AI is a glorified search engine.”
We all know that controversy is the key to success on social media. The human brain is attracted to negativity and controversy. As Psychology Today recently noted, “Early humans who were highly aware of threats were more likely to avoid danger and pass on their genes.” When we up
I decided to try out some controversial graphics and Nano Banana Pro was happy to oblige. I actually asked the bot to create one about itself. I wanted the image to show that an AI chatbot is nothing more than a glorified search engine. Curiously, this post didn’t generate too many comments, but a few people disagreed with my statement. The truth is that AI chatbots can often function like search engines, but they are more conversational and helpful.
Was I wrong when I said controversial graphics would lead to higher engagement? Not really. I just tend to keep things civil, and the algorithm hasn’t rewarded me for controversy. I agree and avoid making blanket statements intended to cause anger. If I posted controversial graphics regularly, I suspect engagement would increase.
4. Help me go viral
Prompt used: “Create an image that is similar to other social media posts that have gone viral.”
After all my testing over several weeks, where I created around 20 social media graphics and posted them on various platforms, I was mostly impressed with the results. Nano Banana Pro created some compelling graphics in just a few seconds, and most of them looked professional. I still had the feeling that they were enveloped in that typical soullessness, as if no human being was involved. Most of the graphics lacked personality, even if they were well designed.
That’s when I decided to try a new command prompt. I wanted to get to the point and achieve my goal of better engagement or complete virality. I asked Nano Banana Pro to create a compelling graphic similar to other images that have gone viral.
I wish I could say it worked, but what Nano Banana Pro actually delivered was… a cute photo of a dog and kitten sleeping next to each other. Admittedly, some people commented on the post on Instagram, while LinkedIn users ignored it and reposted about the stock market. In my opinion, viral posts are not that predictable. It can take a combination of timing, insight, and spotting the right trend that fits the interests of your own followers. Bots are not yet intelligent enough to help. Firstly, they use my own feed and analyze what worked. It’s all generic.
Final thoughts
In the end, the graphics looked incredible and I was happy with the results, even if the engagement was lower than expected. I plan to continue using Nano Banana Pro to create graphics, but I will proceed with caution. Sometimes they lack personality and liveliness. Computer-generated images cannot convey real feelings and personality, they merely generate content through a prompt. This is very different from what a social media producer can do. Only a person can convey humanity.
