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The Internet is accessible to everybody today. As marketing strategists, you would want to exploit its reach to access the customer’s domain, through digital marketing.
Digital marketing is here to stay and has been making significant strides in the conversion of views to sales. It involves advertising through electronic media utilizing both written word and visual content.
Written content is economical and easier to create as compared to visual content. But of late marketers are finding that Internet viewers and product consumers are more attracted to visual content than the written word.
It refers to representing content in the form of visuals that are appealing to the eye. Different types of visual content have been highlighted in another para under the topic of visual content tools.
There is a need to compare visual marketing and content marketing at this stage.
Time was when marketing campaigns were done through Television, radio, displays, and print media. The channels of communication were less, and the marketers could easily advertise their products through these channels.
With the advent of the Internet, there are so many platforms that people approach that the marketer needs to push his brand awareness through different means, such called content marketing. The popular formats that were being used are Blogs, video blogs, webinars, and posts on popular social media channels.
But with information explosion and restriction in time, attention spans are less, and concisely conveying more information is the only way to grab consumer attention. As visuals can express more with less, this form is the best form to entice your audience to remain on your website and convert their interest into purchase.
Written content is very popular in the form with blogs posts, emails, quotes, interviews, news releases, white papers, e-books, Q&As, Quotes, listicles, checklists, reviews, etc. But it tends to become monotonous after a few minutes of reading.
There are a set of people who prefer seeing reading. This audience also has a problem reading long texts.
In such a situation, a visual content marketing blog is slowly becoming popular on platforms such as Facebook, YouTube, social media, Tumblr, Pinterest, Instagram, learnfromblogs, Infographics, memes, videos, visual content images, etc.
Thus, text with visuals makes a more significant impact, reaches more people, and hence leads to more conversions. This piece of news ratifies this fact…PR Daily, a news site, states that visual content is viewed 94% times more than written only content.
So, how important visual content is? Read on to understand...
1.) It can create an impact on uneducated people also who do not read but can comprehend what is being conveyed through pictures.
2.) The brain absorbs and processes a visual image faster. (60000 times faster) then text, so visual content is quickly and clearly understood by its viewers.
3.) Research states 40% viewers respond to visual information more than plain text
Visual content remains in the memory for long, according to D.John Medina’s book Brain Rules. We are six times likely to keep information in memory when what we see is in the form of visual content than text.
4.) Visuals such as memes, graphic designs, typographic, infographics, etc. are more attractive and appealing to people and can make them buy the brand that is highlighted.
5.) According to research, the top form of content preferred by businesses currently is visual content. At least 32% of marketers believe so, especially for B2C marketing.
6.) 80% of digital market teams use visual content for social media marketing according to the same above source
7.) This source also reports that people tend to remember 65% more information even after three days if it is conveyed through visual content
8.) Jeff Bullas, a popular digital marketer, vouches for the fact that visual content information has 94% views than written text
These stats and pointers show how important visual content is!
Let us see in which areas one can apply visual content …
The visual cortex is the area that sees visual content. The brain processes an image faster than words. The processing of words is complex - it starts from letters to words to sentences and then to the paras, which is a long process, but the pictures or graphics processing is faster. Visual content makes the words look more appealing. Hence it is an effective method to market your product.
The following visual content guidelines could help you in designing your marketing strategy...
You need not be a visual content designer to create visual content. Just learn the basic rules, just like how people learn to cook to whip up simple dishes. You can still hire one if you feel that an expert in the field can make a difference.
There are a lot of free online resources you can tap, such as visual marketing eBooks to help you in the task.
Have a plan first, then scale it for various platforms
Create excellent, original, interesting and compelling content
Create SEO compliant content to have more traffic
See that your content looks good on all devices, whether they are phones, iPads, or computers.
Use social media tools for cropping your image.
Work on technical aspects as well to optimize content.
Digital marketing involves the use of electronic devices for marketing, both online and offline. Billboards and public displays were popular at one time, but now marketing strategies not only come to your doorsteps but to your living rooms through Television and Web pages. The reach is higher with deep penetration.
Content is ever-evolving. The written word is not enough in modern times; some visual tools are a must.
There are so many platforms to be covered from social media to webpages. Digital marketing in platforms like Pinterest, Instagram, and Vine will be unique only with visual content.
Low attention spans make visual content that much important. Where people skim words, visuals every few lines will keep them hooked to your website.
Some facts below will emphasize how popular visual elements are in digital marketing.
Facebook posts see 2.3X more views when they accompany images or graphics or illustration
A 2018 HubSpot survey shows the following results of what consumers want to see
Videos – 54%
Blog articles 18%
Social videos - 34%
Viewers prefer focusing on infographics over text according to eye-tracking studies
Infographics increase web traffic by 12%
People who follow illustrations are better at following directions in them by 323%
Tweets that have images tend to be retweeted 150% more than tweets without images
There are many more proofs to show how digital marketing can improve engagement adopting visual aids in its strategies.
Visual advertising can sell not only your product but also a vision and idea behind your product. It depends on how you create your visual content strategy.
Involve some technical aspects and more psychology to make your strategies impactful.
The new tag now is “Visual Content is King.”
How? Here are some visual content benefits…
Brand awareness refers to how much your consumers can remember and recognize your brand. Visual content helps viewers recall your brand easily.
65% are visual learners according to the social science research network so that they can recognize your brand with visuals. These visual learners would then share it with friends and increase awareness of your products. Also, old customers would relate to the brand and may even buy other products of the same company.
You must have noticed that once your videos or infographics get viral, traffic to your website increases.
Another point to note is that longer posts attract more search engines to your website, thus increase in ranking, traffic, etc. But you can keep your visitors engaged through the 3000+ worded posts when visuals are added in between.
Visuals with written content make an interesting read. The true fact is that the picture is worth a thousand words is emphasized by visual content. A single design image could tell many stories that need thousands of written words to convey an idea...
BuzzSumo data states that Facebook posts are more effective with images, while Twitter updates have more retweets if they are visual.
The biggest problem online I that visitors keep moving from one website to another. Visual content gets more views, retains visitors, and compels them to read other parts of the website. Thus click-through rates of a site are increased.
Once your brand is recognized, more people will come to your website, appealed by your visual stories convert their interest to purchase your product. Thus your sale increases.
Marketing strategies can make or break a company. With the advent of digital marketing, the competition has become intense.
Even so, every company now has an equal chance to win more consumers by being different and more compelling, despite the size or geographic location.
Small companies can stand up to the competition on following these hints:
There are numerous tools available that a small company can use to create creative and engaging content that will attract its viewers to its products
Big companies play big. If you share their content on your website, you also attract their viewers and followers to look into your own and increase conversions. This is possible by commenting, retweeting, or sharing their posts on social media like Facebook. Remember some points while doing so…
Add a few words about your product and how it provides something more than what your competitor offers
Build your landing page with rich media of photos, graphics, and videos to increase your brand’s credibility. Enrich the page with excellent creativity to compel your viewers to gain conversions. To do so, first, analyze your target audience and how to engage them on your website.
The brain processes visuals faster in the visual cortex. Man created words only after came only after he became sophisticated developed better means of communication than cave paintings. So visuals are a simpler form of communication that can be understood by anybody – a layman or an intellectual.
Also, visuals are retained in memory long after the text is forgotten. This is the reason for the popularity of visual content in digital marketing in recent times. For example, People prefer a cooking video over recipe books or recipe texts.
Visual content for the website should be compelling and engaging. It is the appropriate solution to engage visitors skimming through long text.
Here are some types of visual content tools you can use for the web and tips as to how they can be made more compelling for your audience on the website:
Images are a pictorial representation of content. To create images more appealing, keep the following in mind…
Image SEO attracts Google search too. Optimizing your content with SEO compliances using captions and alt text also will do the trick.
JPGs or PNG format can be used “design content images” and screenshots
PNGs will work for intricate images that have higher resolution
The preferable size for web images could be between 1500 – 2500 pixels and the below 1 Mb
It should be appropriate to the content with the image you are posting
Original photos will be more compelling than others. In case you are looking for other options, try Canva, Flickr, or Morguefile. Do check for copywrites, though.
Photos/Images should not be repeated. Use graphics in between your blog.
Try to include an image after every 100 words.
Screenshots are the images of the computer or mobile screen that you are looking at. They
They are very useful especially when you describing a procedure
Examples recipes or installation of software at every step to highlight details
Come handy when you are giving references for another article. Just take a screenshot and post and give credit to the source
Using arrows, text, annotations would enhance your screenshot
It could be a great form to garner customer reviews from social media and forums that have many followers.
Info graphics are a pictorial representation of content in the form of charts and diagrams. They help your users comprehend complex text, points, processes, or statistics. Intelligent, original, and impactful infographics work best should be an ideal visual representation of written content.
Animated and interactive ones generate more interest and retain visitors. Research is a must before creating an infographic.
They work where both infographics and images do not. To make them operational, create unique illustrations. Sometimes it is best to hire designers for this purpose.
Though expansive, they are the best form of visual content. They are a powerful form and can help attract new customers; help in branding and name recollection, ultimately increasing sales.
Videos can make a difference even during intense competition. They are known to increase conversions by 86%.
Different types of videos that you can use are...
Welcome video – as an introduction to the website and the company
Commercials - advertising products
Informational video – soft-sell making a secondary pitch for sales. It could include How-to-do-videos, customer testimonials as well as demonstrations videos
Public Service Announcements – created by nonprofit organizations
Memes are complimented with humorous quotes or wordings that have the tendency to be shared and may go viral regularly. They can bring in the young college-going audience. Quirky form of visual media needs creativity
Slides form of content are also a great form to use on the web and can be shared across the world. Creative presentation with authentic links would retain more audience on your webpages.
You can use powerful and hard-hitting quotes created by your employees or influencers for your content strategy. Quotes can be created using interesting backgrounds with images or illustrations to significant effect.
Once you understand what visual content options you have to make your marketing strategies effective, you will need to understand design aspects as well.
Your offerings will not be sold directly through content marketing, but a compelling interest is necessary to create an increase in your sales. For this, you need to design your content based on consumer psychology, creativity, and SEO rules. There are specialist designers who can help you out. But if you are not able to employ a person sooner, you can take help from the following tips to optimize your content.
Check out the following tips to create captivating visual content…
Use color to show emotions. Be careful while doing so.
Each color has its positive and negative effects for example
A black suit may look formal and display confidence, but it may look depressing as sportswear
A white is a soothing color when worn by nurses but will minimalistic in certain conditions.
Red may mean danger, but it also helps when you need to concentrate
You will need to plan color for the background, fonts, branding features, and photographs.
For example, the official Coca Cola brand has black red and white colors, while the Google search engine has Blue, red, yellow, and green colors.
The next important factor in your design will be your placing of elements on the visual. This will decide where you want your viewer to see. Some of the techniques and visual tools to be followed here are Gestalt principles, rule of thirds, visual path, golden mean, and a focal point. There are some readymade templates that you can use to achieve this.
You may want your viewers or audience to concentrate on one Focal element in your visual highlight your message or goal.
The visual characteristics that you can fine-tune to get the right effect are - color, size, shape, depth, and value.
Also, some techniques like selective focus, light exposure manipulation, and illumination can help you get your content perfect.
When a viewer sees a graphic, his gaze travels in a
“Z” path from top left to right and diagonally across to left and right again or
an “F” path - the top right to left and below than going from the center to the right
Highlight important points in the path to accentuate information on your visual content in the areas of focus.
Use other techniques like leading lines, balancing elements, contrasts, etc. to be effective.
Visual content works well when occupied with written content. Plan the size, fonts, and colors of both the content so that they complement each other.
When using images or photos of individuals, body language becomes an essential part of content strategy. Non-verbal communication is achieved with the movements made by the focal element, such as standing, sitting, smiling, moving, direct gaze, etc.
The direct gaze is very useful for personal products endorsed by celebrities.
Three quarters gaze the viewer a sense of fascination for the product.
Some elements in your content need to be repeated in a pattern to get special attention. It could be words, geometric figures, color, etc. that can help you to bring out this technique.
Planning blank space that has no content, also called white or negative space, is also important when you want to highlight your main content. Empty spaces can make your design more classy and interesting.
These techniques play on the viewer’s psychology.
Association technique will touch on the viewer’s outlooks of ideas, places, and nostalgia. This technique can be used based on the age, ethnicity, and geographical location of the viewer.
Storytelling technique is a common technique used for advertising. Who does not love a good story? Told well, your story could be a form for brand recognition and recall. Storytelling techniques is best used for video content.
Fantasy aspects can be added to your content narrative directed at children, book lovers, movie fans, etc.
The point of view is used for videos when the viewer is made to feel as if he is taking part in an action sequence.
Behind the scene, the technique shows the elaborate process by which a brand has been created. The honesty of the brand is the psychological feeling that the marketer wants to emphasize with this technique
Some visual content can appeal to viewers’ emotions like fear, pity, excitement, amusement, pride, etc.
Bandwagon pressure technique is another common technique used by some MLM companies playing on FOMO, a fear of missing out aspect
Social proof is a technique that can be established using influencers or customer testimonials or celebrity endorsements
The animation is a great technique that can retain skimming viewers to your content.
Lately, artificial intelligence techniques are also being exploited to augment Visual Content Strategy. Three areas where this technique can gain conversions are Gaming, healthcare, and education.
Numerous visitors of all hues visit social media. Visual content can attract them to your content, make them comment, follow, share, and, most of the time, purchase your product.
For example, the famous Google Doodle itself shows how visual content appeals to its visitors. Linked-in, Facebook, and Twitter posts with images and videos are more likely to be shared with friends and acquaintances.
How can you make a visual content part of your social media strategy? Here are a few tips for visual content description
Start from the basics
Decide the subject that you want to present to social media.
Remember simplicity will always win
Learn some basics of photography to be more effective for photo content.
Understand lighting effects –it’s best to use natural light
Be familiar with the colors. Use contrasting colors from more effect. Decide what background colors would be best for your content.
Take the help of colleagues or executives who are experts at taking photos for posting on Instagram.
Determine your budget and create content accordingly.
Decide the channels of social media that you will be launching your visual content –the more popular the platform is, the more persuasive your visual content should be. Do your homework accordingly
Resources for creation - There are many free and paid resources and tools online that can serve as a visual content strategy guide for this purpose.
There is numerous visual content of media such as templates, tock photos, presets that can be employed to get what you want. Do you understand copyright issues before adopting the images for your content?
Start with the research of your would-be visitors – their interests, their views, what they want to see.
Create a theme after your research – decide content, colors, and visuals to create a draft visual content and finalize it. Be as creative as you can be
When creating visual content, know which device your audience will be using and size up your content accordingly.
Keep in mind the platform you are going to launch the visual during the process of visual content development.
Just like written content, visual content can also be optimized for SEO. Keep the guidelines in mind before finalizing your content in this format. This point becomes more relevant on platforms like Pinterest, where keywords play an essential role in searching visuals and descriptions.
Image specifications should be compliant with the platform you are launching. This is because every social media has a different specification for posting visual content.
Add animation to make your image more compelling. It could be in the form of GIFs or videos or cinema graphs or motion graphics.
The text in your content should be bold and precise. Adjust text and background color and check with contrast checkers as per the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines. Keep the image-text ratio also in mind.
Use alt-text descriptions that are accessible to most persons, in some cases, even the visually impaired visiting the Internet. Sometimes descriptive audio and video transcripts and subtitles can also be used.
You can integrate your logo into your visual content, especially for social media channels like Pinterest.
Avoid themes that may turn controversial. Keep in mind the diversity of your visitors and be inclusive and representative of all.
Also, your content should be appropriate to the market/social media/political trends at the time of launching.
Finalize content and be ready for launch.
Launch visually driven content at the appropriate time when your content is relevant to the conditions prevailing the market.
Social media has a different platform, and the requirements of each platform are different. While the above points hold good for all platforms some unique
Social media has many engaging platforms, and one of the biggest networks is Instagram. It is very popular with the younger generation, especially teens and twenty-somethings. Viewers between 30-50s-year-olds find viability in this platform.
Some statistics to highlight how important it is for you to be represented on Instagram:
1 billion people use Instagram every month, and the genre mix is 52% female and 48%, male
200 million users visit one business profile every day
130 million users click on shopping Instagram posts every month.
Some pointers for digital marketing of visual content on this platform…
It is a very visual platform to highlight the personality of your brand using video or story.
Create unique color schemes, themes, and vibes to increase appeal.
Doing some research about your audience and competitors would be very helpful.
The best forms of visual content that works on Instagram are Images, graphics, videos, quotes, and storytelling. Use all the types intermittently for better effect.
Influencers can also be enlisted for endorsing your post
Keep the timing of your post relevant to the market conditions.
Also, determine how many times a day or week you will post.
Some businesses that can get a boost from Instagram are Fashion, Food, Pets, Photography, jewelry, beauty products, and fashion accessories.
YouTube is a strong visual platform. It has videos that are free and easily accessible to all on both web and mobile. It is the biggest search engine next only to Google with billion registered subscribers. Reports of the Cisco Visual Networking index state that videos will account for 82% of global web traffic indicate that by 2021. So, it is one of the best avenues to promote your products and services.
It supports music videos, how- to do clips, Educational content, comedy, Guides, recipes, etc.
Your videos on YouTube can
Augments brand awareness
Engage viewers and create leads and conversions
Improve traffic to your website and ultimately
Increase sales numbers
Use video marketing tools to create great videos to keep your audience engaged to your channel. Some examples of these tools are Sidley promo, Wave, and Vyond.
Center your YouTube content strategy by creating brand videos that emphasize on your core values. Some how-to videos and interviews with influencers could also up your views. Animation and documentaries are other ways that you can retain viewers.
Follow these videos with product videos for a select audience. Testimonial videos can be used as a means of bandwagon pressuring tactics.
Keep track of comments and follow up with replies and links to your webpage.
Since it is a popular search engine too, keep some SEO factors also in mind. Carefully add keywords that represent your business in your YouTube videos. Headline, tags, description, number of subscribers, engagement metrics – all factors could give you more mileage on YouTube. TubeBuddy is a YouTube management tool to know where you stand in terms of ranking and traffic.
Facebook is an important platform for digital marketing.
Worldwide, Facebook stands second in being the leading source of videos.
About 67% of digital marketers feel that Facebook is an important platform to present their products to its viewers.
Market analysts also report that 500+ million people watch videos on Facebook every day.
Consecutively, learning how to exploit Facebook is a wise move for your content marketing strategy. Here are some tips for moving forward...
Research your prospective viewer
Have concise goals before you create your content
Design highly creative content designed
Use more visuals content than simple text
Conclusion:
Visual content has become one of the popular means to advertise on online platforms and apps. They are more compelling and can retain and convert visitors to buyers of your brand today.
There are different types of Visual content, and you can employ them to your needs based on the product/service, idea, or vision you are offering; platform or device it will be accessed and the time when it will be relevant.
The more creative and enterprising your visual driven content is, the more you click will be received on your webpages. Adopt visual content into your marketing strategies for your company today and see the benefits it will receive.
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