Blog - ComBlu - Make It VisualIf you are feeling like you are drowning in content, it’s because you are! The world’s information is currently doubling every two years, giving us access to more data, facts and stories than ever before. And, thanks to our smartphones, tablets and the Internet, we are constantly receiving, analyzing, sharing and creating even more information. But, as content marketers, how do we ensure that our content can break through this sea of information? We can by embracing visual content.

 

 

 

Why create visual content? Visuals aid in decision-making and are more persuasive and make a better, longer overall impression than simple text. Consider these facts:

  • 90% of information transmitted to the brain is visual. Visuals are processed 60,000X faster in the
    brain than text.
  • 60% of consumers are more likely to click on a business whose images appear in search results
  • 67% of consumers consider clear, detailed images to carry more weight than product information or
    customer ratings

Here are just a few of the ways that visual content can help you to engage your audience and deliver your key messages:

1. Visual content is easy. Charts, infographics, photos and video instantly communicate. Your audience can gain something of value in just a quick glance.

2. Visual content feels personal. Photos and illustrations are an excellent way to bring your brand identity and messages to life in a way that the written word just can’t.

3. Visual content is accessible. Visuals can also take complex information, concepts and data and serve them up in a way that is easy to digest and understand.

4. Visual content engages. Visuals are inviting and draw in your audience. They grab attention and encourage further exploration.

5. Visual content travels. Photos, videos and infographics are easy to share because they explain themselves.

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There are many brands that do an excellent job with visual content—so there are some great examples to follow and reference. The team at HubSpot has put together a fun eBook called: 55 Brands Rocking Social Media with Visual Content. It contains some great examples of how you can integrate visual content into your social strategy. In addition, Jodi Harris at the Content Marketing Institute wrote a great blog Visual Content:Which Brands Are Showing Marketers How It’s Done?.

The bottom line is: visual content is one of the most powerful tools for increasing message penetration and engagement with your target audiences. When integrated into your overall content strategy, visual content can contribute to increased brand awareness and accelerate product and service sales. So the next time you are looking at your overall content mix, be sure to include visual content.

Colleen Nolan

Colleen Nolan

Colleen is an advocate at heart who believes that with the right message and motivation anything is possible. A strategic campaign designer and communicator, she is skilled at defining and analyzing a desired result, and then developing the marketing and communications pathway to achieve success. Colleen quickly makes an intellectual and emotional connection with key audiences and uses these skills to craft communications programs that have strong resonance and dramatic impact.

Colleen has 20+ years experience in engagement, issue management, community building and mobilization.