Fifty-six percent of marketers believe visual content is very important to their strategy, with another 23% saying their content is nothing without compelling visuals. Additional research shows visual content gets more views.
Many brands use visual content to stand out, grab customer attention, and boost engagement. However, visual content requires dedicated staff time and team commitment to high-quality content.
Benefits of visual content
Why are more marketers focusing on visual content? Visual content connects with customers differently than text-based messages. Here’s why strong visuals are a must:
Visual content is “sticky”
Marketers work to create memorable or sticky content. You want people to see it and remember it, and research shows visuals aid in recall. Customers can remember 10% of the information three days after reading text, but when combined with an image, they’re more likely to remember 65%.
Visuals give you all the feels
When customers see visual content, it evokes emotion. When customers see a tired mom trying to make dinner or an excited child learning to swim, for example, it triggers an emotional response that helps customers connect with the image and brand.
Visuals can tell a story
With attention spans getting shorter, you don’t have much time to engage a customer. A visual is a great way to grab attention and tell a story at a glance. With the right visuals, you won’t need much text to support it.
Examples of visual content in the wild
Here’s how you can deploy visual content to engage customers:
Use graphics to educate consumers
Graphics lend themselves to visual content. By combining data with pictures, text, and an organizational structure, you can effectively teach consumers about your product or service.
Take Spotify’s Wrapped report, for example. At the end of the year, the music brand sends its users a visual representation of their musical interests through brightly colored graphics. Listeners see data points like their most played songs, preferred genres, and number of songs listened to. Spotify users look forward to this visual report each year and even share it on social media.
Use visuals to showcase the experience behind your product
Many brands aren’t just selling a product, they sell a lifestyle. Visual help highlights it.
Harley Davidson, for example, sells motorcycles, but beyond the physical sale, they promote an adventurous, living-for-the-open-road lifestyle.
The Ritz Carlton doesn’t just promote rooms to stay in, they promote luxurious stays that elevate your travel experience. Look at this Instagram snap that features the sweeping views of Melbourne through the hotel’s floor-to-ceiling windows.
Use illustrations to set your brand apart
Many marketers rely on templates to produce content quickly, resulting in a cookie-cutter look. To stand out, some brands have embraced illustrations to capture attention.
Salesforce, a well-known CRM software company, also uses illustrations. On its website, the brand uses mascot illustrations to highlight its features.
Tips to create visual content
If you’re ready to up your visual game, consider these tips to get started:
- Set high-quality standards that rely on premium images and video.
- Select a color palette and stick with it for consistent, recognizable content.
- If you use stock photos, don’t go for the most popular one – try something different.
- You can add text to a visual, but keep it to a minimum.
- If you use text, make sure it’s legible on mobile devices.
- Create graphics that are the correct dimensions for the platform you’re using.
- If you focus on video marketing, make sure your thumbnail is appealing.
- Add your logo, subtly.
If it’s time to reassess how visual your content is, sit down with your team and audit your recent work. Talk about the changes you’d like to see. Set the color palette, discuss the vibe you’d like to create, and put a plan in place to advance your visuals.
