Photos. Videos. Infographics. Animations. Data visualizations. You can hardly find a piece of content without any visuals these days. Words simply are not enough to engage and delight today’s audience anymore… That is where visual marketing comes in.
Not sure if you really need visual content? Let’s take a look at the data behind the power of visual content marketing.
Quick Takeaways:
- Visual content is vastly preferred by consumers
- Visual content drives social media engagement
- Utilizing visuals can significantly enhance message retention and brand recall
- Tailor the visual elements to suit your audience and brand message
Consumers Prefer Visual Content
It is a known fact that the human attention span continues to get shorter and shorter… only having 8.25 seconds of focused interaction does not work in favor of any marketing strategy.
Having solid and consistent visual content in all forms will appeal to your audience far more than just some words on a page. According to WordStream, 91% of people prefer visual content rather than written.
The importance of social media in todays marketing environment cannot be overstated. A strong visual content strategy combined with a social media presence can take any business to a whole new level of engagement.
It is crystal clear that today’s consumers prefer some degree of visual marketing over text-based interactions, so how can you harness the power of visual content for your strategy? Read on to find out.
Visual Content Drives Social Media Engagement
Visuals are a must if you want to make a lasting impression on your audience and encourage them to share your content. An average reader can remember images six times easier than text. That means an image is six times more likely to help you keep the attention of your viewers.
According to Hootsuite, “LinkedIn posts with images have a 98% higher comment rate on average”. So not only does visual content grab the attention of your audience, it also translates into consumer interaction.
People are much more likely to share content they find valuable, relevant and meaningful, and one of the most effective ways to enhance your messaging is by incorporating visual elements.
According to AdWeek, people only remember 20% of what they read, but they remember 80% of what they see.
However, not all visuals are created equal. Don’t expect to see big changes in your social sharing and engagement if you are just plugging in stock images to every piece of content.
There is an art to creating powerful imagery, and there are many important things that can help you master visual marketing to generate more leads and sales:
16 Visual Content Marketing Statistics to Know for 2022 [Infographic]
Picking The Right Content Type
Stock images are not your only option when it comes to adding visual elements to your content. Adding infographics or short videos can make your blog content much more visually engaging and meaningful for your audience.
For longer content like whitepapers or eBooks, a visual theme, such as an animated character, can bring the entire piece together to keep your audience entertained and engaged.
But if you really are short on time or don’t have any resources to create visual content, using stock photos is still better than having no visual elements at all. Just make sure that your stock images are relevant and visually interesting.
Another way to add a little something extra to your visual content is to add your brand or business logo onto the piece of media you are working with. Careful and intentional placement of a logo gives your audience something to remember and associate with your name.
Don’t be afraid to get a little creative to engage your readers!
Make A Call-To-Action
According to the same Forbes Insights study, visual content like videos can drive people to take action. This is what makes visual marketing such an important tool for marketers, so make sure you take advantage of this by including a call-to-action (CTA) in your visual content.
CTAs can include everything from encouraging people to visit your website to signing up for your newsletter or making a purchase. But not all CTAs have to be obvious.
If you create a visually interesting piece of content that is full of valuable information relevant to your audience, they will be inspired and even feel compelled to share it without you having to ask.
Cater to your Audience
Now, what’s the whole point of visual marketing anyway? To appeal to your audience and figure out how to use the most effective and compelling content. That way you can translate that appeal to gain even more viewers.
Visual content is no an exception to one of the most important aspects of marketing and the use of visual content: how it is geared to the people who are going to view it.
The images and other visuals you post should represent, reflect, and embody your consumer base. When choosing what visuals to utilize, always be sure that they suit your audience and your brands message.
Along with that, there should be an element of consistency throughout all social media mediums you are using. Your brand should have a slight sense of visual identity that consumers can associate with your name.
A little uniformity makes you recognizable to viewers and memorable to anyone seeing your content. This allows you to take some risks, such as participating in a new trend on your social media platforms.
Overall, the most important thing to remember is that your content should always be centered around your audience and customer base.
![Visual Content Marketing - Asian Insights [Statistics] | Cooler Insights](https://coolerinsights.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/The-Power-of-Visual-Content.jpg)
Deliver A Seamless Omni-channel User Experience
It does not matter if you have the best visual content on social media with CTA links driving consumers to your landing pages – if your website is not optimized for mobile, strong visual marketing is nothing to them if they cannot access your pages on their devices.
This is just one example of poor omni-channel user experience. Consumers should be able to enjoy a seamless, consistent experience at every touch point and interaction with your brand, both online and offline.
Additionally, make sure you adjust your content for each social media platform you are using to promote your business. Be knowledgable of the demographics of the audience on each platform and the most valuable type of content shared on each platform to see the best results.
For consumers, there is nothing more frustrating than being directed to an incorrect landing page or getting conflicting messages across two different channels or platforms when looking for what they want.
Visual content marketing is all about the customer, so making their experience as enjoyable and convenient as possible will benefit your brand or business more than you’d think.
Still need some help nailing down the actual content part of visual content marketing? Check out our content builder services or schedule a free consultation with us today!
The post Powerful Visual Content Marketing: Why and How? appeared first on Marketing Insider Group.
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