A picture paints a thousand words, as the adage goes. Of course, antiquated as the statement may be, it still rings true. Images stimulate our brains differently to words, not to mention being processed an astonishing 60 000 times faster than text based information. And thanks largely to technological developments and the rise of the smartphone in mainstream use, visual content is on the up as a format of choice for audiences interacting with content online.
The impact of this trend for content marketing is huge. Consider that tweets accompanied by images receive an impressive 150% more retweets, while over 80% of buyers express a desire to access interactive or visual content on demand, and it becomes undeniable that visual content creation needs to be a priority for content marketers.
However for many Content Marketers the idea of creating excellent visual content can seem slippery to grasp, especially after years of churning out non-visual content. It's about more than just picking an image you think is cool, or whipping up a quick video. It takes as much consideration as any text-based content would, and comes with a unique set of best practices.
8 Dos for Creating Effective Visual Content
1. Keep It Recent
As with non-visual content, it's vitally important to keep your visual content recent. There will be occasions where a well-placed image may have a better shelf-life than another, but the general rule of thumb is to always use images that are current.
2. Always Foster Credibility and Authenticity
It's not uncommon for people to express a deep mistrust in company's and corporate entities, especially for members of the millennial generation. As such, many companies make a mistake in including visual content they've generated themselves, as opposed to user-generated content. In reality, this doesn't translate well in terms of credibility and authenticity. A far better alternative is to focus on getting visual content that is generated personally by delighted customers or clients.
3. Make Sure Your Images Are Relevant
When you select images, make sure they're relevant to your subject or text (if accompanied by text). It's crucial that your visual content be presented in context. Otherwise it could easily be misunderstood and detract from your marketing efforts.
4. Don't Be Afraid to Show Plenty of Personality
Gone are the days when vanilla stock photos ruled the use of images by companies. Today's audience is fully aware of the fact that stock images don't portray their true nature. They often come across as bland - when choosing images, always elect to choose ones that show personality. The right visuals will add depth and character to your brand in a positive way.
5. Never Forget to Include a Caption
Visual content can tell a story well - but there's a way to ensure it does so with even more finesse, and that's by including a well-thought out caption. By including one, you help communicate your brand's identity and bring your visual content even further to life.
6. Stay Consistent
When creating visual content, it's important to reinforce your brand and keep your content consistent. This is achieved by creating visual content that uses the same fonts and colouring as your website, as well as your brand logo and social media accounts.
7. Allow Social Interactions
As with all your other content, your audience will expect to be able to interact with your visual content. To meet this need, make sure you give them plenty of opportunities to do so by sharing your content via social media, email and also allowing comments on your content after you've shared it. It's also important to acknowledge when your audience does share your content or comment on it.
8. Never Skip On Quality
Thanks to technology, your audience is accustomed to creating high-quality visual content themselves, which means it's even more vital to ensure your content is up to scratch. An advantage to having an audience with the ability to generate excellent visual content is that it's possible to source wonderful content from them (which is also a great way to boost engagement!).
5 Don'ts When Creating Visual Content
1. Never Succumb to Personal Bias
When selecting visuals for your content, be careful not to forget your end goal. It's easy to fall in love with an image personally, only to find that same image is counterproductive to your marketing goals and received poorly by your target personas. Never forget that purpose of visual content is the same as text-based; to draw your audience into action.
2. Don't Forget to Build a Good Strategy
Without a good strategic plan in place, you run the risk of losing site of your brand and its objectives across the many areas you're promoting it in. Take the time to develop a visual content strategy that both reflects and embodies your brand.
3. Don't Overdo Your Efforts
Infographics are a hugely popular format of visual content. They're easy on the eye and a wonderfully quick way to digest statistics and facts. However, it's imperative that you resist the urge to go wild and stuff your infographics with too many images.
4. Do the Bare Minimum
If you're implementing a visual content marketing campaign, focus on optimising your images across multiple channels. Each of the social media platforms has its own specific guidelines and constraints, parameters that you can use to ensure your visual content is displayed optimally across all channels. Don't fall into the trap of using a single graphic across all social sites.
5. Misalign Your Images and Brand
A weak visual campaign is often defined by infrequent posts and clashing images, all of which serves to create confusion in your target audience. Your images should present a unified brand across all media channels, and your visual content should include your company's logo to help your viewers identify the image's source. Remember that branding is reinforced by conformity in colours and fonts as well.
Visual content has the power to impact your viewers strongly, and if you've never considered putting together a visual content campaign, perhaps now is the time to start. Whether it's through infographics, slide shares or video, take the plunge and give it a try!
