Evolution is a truth and it is a necessity. The way humans have evolved so does the technology and everyone has experienced it. If we talk about two to three decades ago, not many have even thought that we will be living in a digital world. This also won’t be wrong to say that this is only the beginning, here is a lot that our next generation will see.
Digitalization has reached so far that no one can think about their business without going digital. To achieve success, it has become a necessity for every business to show its presence digitally and this is known as digital marketing.
Now, when we are talking about digital marketing, it is important to know that content holds the key. Content is the medium by which you will interact with the audience on a digital platform and for that, it is necessary to clearly say what you want to. But here’s a catch, most of us might think that content only means written piece of information that people read to get what they are looking for. This is not right though, everything that is included in the information along with words is a part of the content, for example, images, GIFs, graphs, and videos. These are known as visuals and they play a vital role in grabbing the attention of the people and helping them understand better.
What is visual content marketing?
A single image can clearly convey the message that a paragraph of 500 words can and it is easier for people to see an image than read long sentences. So, in simpler terms, visual content marketing is a process of using images, videos, & GIFs to convey the message and promote your brand. People get attracted to colorful and interesting images more as compared to only boring texts. Doing this also improves the image of the company or brand and builds trust.
An image stays up in the mind of individuals more easily when compared to memorizing written content. This can create a huge impact to increase brand awareness and help it get more recognition & attention from people.
Importance of using visuals in a digital marketing campaign
The first thing that comes in our mind while talking about digital marketing is social media. It is one such platform where millions of people stay online, thus, it gives the chance to get global exposure and interact with the target audience in an engaging manner. To hit the right spot and in the right way, it is important to have an interesting, engaging, and unique visuals that deliver clear, crisp, & precise piece of information. Let us see the benefits of using visuals.
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Not everyone wants to read
Time is money and people spend it wisely. Everyone wants to achieve more in less time and we know that this is not possible for most of the things. But, when it comes to conveying a message, it is possible and we can do it by effectively using visuals in our content. People prefer visuals more than written content and they give much more attention to that. Only a small percentage of people make an effort to read what you’ve written on your social account or website and this will not give you what you are looking for.
Thus, including visuals is always good to attract the target audience and receive a response. Platforms like Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter focus more on posting images rather than written content and that has seen huge success. When we talk about Twitter, tweets with images receive more retweets when compared to the ones with plain texts and this justifies why & how visuals are important.
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More views
While scrolling the news feed, when someone sees an interesting or unique image, there are high chances that he/she will stop by to see what’s there. This is the power of including visuals while running a digital marketing campaign. It has been noticed that a written piece of content has more chances of being read when it contains relevant, informative, and unique visuals. By doing this, you will be able to easily attract the target audience and make them trust your brand.
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Improves engagement
Creating storytelling visuals will help engage people more and they’ll look for further such visuals from your brand in the future. Utilizing innovative & creative ideas to create interesting GIFs about your brand that not only promotes it rather deliver important information as well will build your brand’s authority. People like useful content and you must focus on creating one for your brand. For example, promoting your stain-resistant shirt by showing how it works will drive more traffic rather than just writing that the shirt you provide is stain-resistant.
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Improves brand awareness
One of the most important things that any brand or business must keep in mind is their logo. Never forget to put the logo and name of your brand in the visuals that you create. This is necessary to make people aware of your brand. After watching the visuals you’ve posted on social media or your website, people will easily recognize your brand when they’ll see it the second time and this will improve your brand’s awareness.
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Increase web traffic
As we’ve seen that visuals help get more engagement, improved brand awareness, and more views thus, it points towards getting more traffic on your website as well. Digital marketing is still evolving and in the coming years, we will see it becoming much more popular. Using informative & engaging videos and images will tempt the audience to visit your website and if they find what they are looking for, it’ll increase the chances of lead generation as well.
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Better conversion rate
Now, when people are able to easily find what they are looking for through your visual content marketing, it makes it easier for them to decide which brand to choose and it helps in improving conversion rate as well. People remember more what they see than what they read and having visuals in your content is a big plus for you. It has been noticed that people get influenced more with attention-grabbing videos & images and decide accordingly to buy that product or service.
These above-mentioned are key benefits of including visuals in your digital marketing campaign. It is directly related to the success you seek and avoiding this might not help you out to get your goal. But if we look deeper, it is not only about including the visuals rather it is also important to focus on what is being added and how it is being added.
Types of visuals that can be used in digital marketing
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Uniqueness is the key (images)
No one wants to see the same information or even the same visuals, doing this has a high chance of losing trust. Thus, for every business, uniqueness is the key, be it written piece of information or even visuals. So, it is advised to create your own images that are nowhere on the digital platform. There are many free and paid tools available in the market that you can take help of and if you have a web designer in your team, what else you can wish for.
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Infographics are the best
Nothing can convey a message best than an image with colorful graphics including clip arts and designs. Yes, we are talking about infographics that have received very high popularity in the last some years. Infographics are always engaging and attention-grabbing and the reason behind that is the ease by which they deliver information without any hassle. Hiring an experienced graphic designer will be of great help in creating outstanding and informative infographics that can take your brand forward.
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Memes are everywhere
Memes are flooding everywhere on the entire social media network and they are popular among all age groups. Using memes is the best way of improving brand awareness and it can be quicker than you could ever think. But it is always important to make sure that the memes you create are relevant to your brand and they are full of humor. Try this and see how powerful it turns out to be.
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Use quotes
Everyone has their own interests and they only get influenced based on their interests. In the race to grab the attention of the target audience and get more traffic, using images with famous quotes relevantly in your digital marketing campaign especially on social media will be great. Doing this might influence more people and get more attention. Using quotes of people related to your niche will be a smart move in deriving effective results.
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Gifographics can do the magic
Gifographics is a relatively new term that has been popularized by marketing experts. It is gaining quick attention for digital marketing campaigns and has started to show its importance as well. Now what exactly a gifographic is? It is an animated visual which contains properties of an infographic and a GIF. If created with a unique and relevant piece of information, it will quickly grab the attention of your target audience and might deliver the response you are seeking. One of the best things about a gifographic is that it can easily be optimized for mobiles & displays and that’s where the catch is.
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Videos are still the best
Short videos of 3-5 minutes having relevant content related to your niche are still loved by people. Few things to consider while posting videos are to make sure that you are posting it on the right channel and if you are doing it on your website, it is not slowing down your site’s speed. Another important aspect is to make sure that it could easily be accessed on the mobile platform. You can also choose a third-party platform for posting your videos to maintain your site’s speed.
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Screenshots could become the guide
Using screenshots in your blogs or another piece of content could be really helpful in explaining your perspective to the audience. This could be of great help especially when you are explaining a process of something, for example, how to download & install the software. In this scenario, taking screenshots and posting them relevantly in between your written piece of content will help readers easily understand what you want to say. Not only while explaining a process, but screenshots could also be helpful while referencing data of any famous organization in your content.
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Illustrations
Sometimes it is best to create your own illustration to describe the message you want to convey in the best possible way. The reason for this is that not every time the infographic or just an image will work. In such situations, it will be best to create a unique illustration that people understand and love.
These are the visuals that one can use during the digital marketing campaign. But try not to use all in once as it will do more harm than good. Smartness always lies in using them relevantly and effectively. Another pro-tip of creating visuals is to hire an experienced graphic designer who can design exclusive infographics, illustrations, images, and other visuals to make your marketing campaign more effective.
The bottom line
The human brain tends to remember more what it visualizes than what it reads. Thus, for a brand to market its products or services, it is necessary to use images, videos, infographics, and other such visuals to create an image that people remember easily. This will have a direct impact on your brand’s awareness along with many other benefits. The importance and popularity of visuals in digital marketing are increasing day by day and it is delivering results what it is known for.
A combination of texts and graphics is always compelling and it always grabs the attention of readers, plus, makes the information easy to understand. Now, when you are able to explain to your audience what you offer, how you offer, and why they should choose you increases the chances of getting more attention and more leads. Hence, it is best for the businesses and you should consider this while planning & executing your digital marketing campaign. We hope that this blog has given you an in-depth information of how visuals can be highly effective and what difference they can make. So, don’t forget to add graphical content visuals in your digital marketing strategy and enjoy the success.