9 Simple Ways to Add Visual Appeal to Your Content

Leverage Visual Marketing To Scale Your Inbound Lead Flow Today

When most people hear the term visual content marketing, they automatically think of product or explainer videos. Now, those are certainly great examples, but there are several other ways to market your content visually, and in fact, it’s best to diversify your methods. You want customers to remain interested in your brand, and to anticipate your next creative piece. Here are some familiar, and perhaps some not so familiar ways to add visuals to your content marketing arsenal.

Video

Video is a powerful marketing tool. Whether it’s a short piece focused on how your company started, or a longer one highlighting the benefits of your product or service, this is an excellent way to speak to the masses. When creating your video, there are a few things to remember in order to keep the viewers interested. First, stick to the point and always make sure that the video is as short as possible. The average web user will only pay attention if the piece is no longer than 3 minutes. Try to inject some humor into the presentation, and check out what your competitors are doing.

• Fact: Viewers who “like” a company’s video online are over 90% more likely to make a purchase from that company in the future.
• Tip: Shorten your video by writing down the key points that you want the viewers to walk away with, and only present that information in the production.

Infographics

You can rest assured that if people feel they’ve learned something from you, they’re more likely to do business with you. Sometimes, that can be hard to accomplish with an article, and that’s where infographics can play an important role in marketing. They’re great for presenting all sorts of information and data in a visually pleasing manner that people can easily digest. Use them on your blog, and make sure you give readers the capabilities to embed them onto their own sites. This could lead to more visitors and potential customers. Infographics can be short or long, and should always focus on a single subject. There are programs that will allow you to create your own, or you can hire a company to produce one for you. The main thing to remember is that the content is just as important as the visuals. You need a good writer on hand that can relay your company’s message in the right tone.

• Fact: Search volumes for infographics increased 800% in just over 2 years.
• Tip: There are several DIY infographic platforms for beginners or business owners on a budget.

Memes

If you use any social media platform, you’ve encountered a few memes, if not dozens per day. They’re the images that are sometimes overlaid with quirky text that captures people’s attention. Using these in your marketing strategy can be very beneficial if you are consistent with the look and brand. Your messages should be helpful to your audience, and the graphics should not overpower the text. There is a proper balance of both text and images in good memes. That’s what makes them professional, eye-catching, and good for marketing. Use services like Pic Monkey to create quick graphics to share on all of your company’s social platforms.

• Fact: 74% of adult internet users regularly use social networking sites.
• Tip: Do not overuse memes with social media. Daily can be too much. Shoot more towards 2-4 times per week.

Quotes

Quotes without images are just as good as memes, if the message is powerful and relevant. There are several websites that house meaningful quotes, or you can be creative and come up with a few of your own. The point is to use the quote to give the readers an idea of what your company stands for. Comedic quotes are also popular, and help to break up the monotony of constantly posting text. Again, you can use these in social media, or pop a few in the middle of a long, serious blog posts. A simple colored background is all that’s needed.

• Fact: Graphic posts account for 87% of Facebook interactions.
• Tip: Use quotes that inspire, but are also relevant to your business niche.

Animation

Animation gives a lightheartedness to your product or service. These are great for explainer videos, intros and other types of video marketing. These aren’t as easy to create as memes and quotes, but they’re very powerful and can be used for a variety of marketing purposes, including sales, consumer education, and branding. The key to getting this right is to make sure that the script is rock solid. Don’t try to sell the viewer on too many things in your animation. As with regular videos, short animations work well. Remember the 3-minute time limit.

• Fact: Animated videos can increase conversion rates by 20% or more.
• Tip: Save money on your video by writing the script, and having it professionally edited, as opposed to hiring a writer.

Interactive Infographics

Interactive infographics gives viewers a reason to stay on your page longer, and keeps them engaged while they’re there. When creating or planning these, make sure that the interactive portion reveals data or other information that is not displayed in the general area of the piece. As with the infographic, the content here is just as important as the images, so take the time to write something engaging to accent the interactive areas of the piece.

• Fact: The brain processes visual information 60,000x faster than text.
• Tip: The interactive portion of your graphic needs to operate properly or you risk frustrating and ultimately losing viewers. Test this thoroughly before releasing it on your website.

Slideshare

Businesses use Slideshare to teach, entertain, and to sell. Use existing articles to create a presentation, or write new content. Slideshare graphics can be stock images that work well with the content being displayed. Just make sure that they’re high quality, and interesting. You can also tweak them a bit with Photoshop to make them unique. The key to a successful Slideshare is to make sure that it looks professional, meaning that it follows a particular format, and offers valuable information.

• Fact: In 2013, Slideshare received 60 million visitors per month
• Tip: Your presentation doesn’t have to be long to be effective. 6-10 slides is enough to get your message across.

Original Pictures and Images

Whether it’s an image of a flower that you took on your way to the grocery store, or an image of some materials that you sell to customers, originality is always best. Make time to go out and take pictures that are related to your business: pictures of your building, letterhead, business neighborhood, etc. Take pictures of people reading your material; anything that sets you apart from the millions of people online that are all using the same stock images. Use these in your newsletters, welcome emails, websites, social media channels, and wherever else you see fit to market.

• Fact: Articles that contain graphics are viewed 94% more than those without graphics/images are.
• Tip: Use keywords in the alt tags of your images to give your site an extra SEO boost.

Your marketing arsenal should include several types of visual content to engage customers online. The more you diversify your content, the better your chances of capturing leads from numerous sources. If this is all new to you, start small and experiment with visuals that you can create independent of any professional designers or writers. Once you get your feet wet, you’ll have a better idea of the types of content that your customers will respond to.

Leverage Visual Marketing To Scale Your Inbound Lead Flow Today