Gone are the days when online marketing strategies were heavy on written content. With time, more and more brands have started relying on visual content to create for scroll-stopping experiences for their audience.
In fact, a survey revealed that in 2018, 80% of marketers used visual content in their social media marketing efforts.
So, what’s the catch?
In 2020, we’re seeing what may be called an explosion of content – visuals included.
Moreover, the human attention span is decreasing faster than ever. In fact, hashtags stayed in the top 50 for 17.5 hours on Twitter in 2013. This decreased to 11.9 hours by 2016.
In such a time, how can marketers create visual content that stands out, piques users’ interest, and enhances engagement?
Read on to learn four ways that will help you take your visual content strategy to the next level.
1. Create High-Quality Visual Content
Creating high-quality visual content is not easy. While you might be tempted to slap together some stuff and feed it to your audience, this won’t make for an effective visual content strategy.
Whether you’re creating content yourself, delegating to someone, or sourcing free stock images, here’s what you must remember:
Invest in the Basics
You don’t have to be a one-(wo)man army.
Regardless of whether you have a large budget or a small one, making investments is necessary.
For instance, if videos are to be a crucial part of your visual content strategy, invest in the right gear. A good camera, microphone, tripod, and lighting kit are the least you need to create kick-ass videos.
Furthermore, there’s no shortage of tools to help you manage your visual content. Many of them provide end-to-end solutions and are pretty light on the pocket.
Avoid Data-Heavy Visuals
While it may be difficult to filter out data, try not to overwhelm your audience with too much of it. Abstain from stuffing your content with too many graphs or reports when just one could do the job.
Embrace Minimalism
The less is more idea stands true for visuals, too. Not only is it more soothing to the eyes, but also way easier to digest in the era of content fatigue.
Additionally, it helps eliminate all sorts of distractions - a pair of shoes set against a plain backdrop is often great for emphasizing the product.
Let’s take a look at an example of minimalistic visual content:
Instrmnt is a design studio in Glasgow that manufactures watches and other lifestyle goods. They use minimalism in their visuals extremely well.
Image via Instagram
2. Harness the Power of Personalization
Personalization is the holy grail for those brands that wish to nurture a connection with their audiences. From personalization, comes the feeling of trust and loyalty – key to businesses of all kinds.
A visual content strategy that considers the audience’s lifestyle, preferences, and interests can pave the way for positive customer experiences. This, in turn, can lead to more loyal customers.
Here are some ways in which you can customize your visual content:
Behind-the-Scenes Visuals
Wouldn’t you want to know more about what goes into the making of your favorite products?
Putting out behind-the-scenes visuals, bloopers, or simply what a day at your office looks like, can go a long way to boost trust.
Here’s an example of a video that walks viewers through the highs and lows of starting a luxury brand - Marco & Co.
Image via YouTube
Offering your customers a peek behind the curtains can show them a different side of your business. There’s no denying that visual content can help you achieve this the best.
Localizing Visual Content
Understanding where your target audience resides, what their culture is like, and what resonates with them is crucial for delivering a personalized experience.
For instance, while color red represents joy for the Chinese, the Japanese associate it with danger or caution.
When you go the extra mile by accounting for your customers’ feelings and beliefs, you can inch closer to nailing your visual content strategy.
3. Collaborate with Social Media Influencers
Partnering with social media influencers can give a huge boost to your visual content marketing strategy.
Social media influencers are individuals who have expert knowledge in their niche, and a loyal online following. By means of putting out relevant, authentic, and high-quality content, they have great sway over their audiences.
If you want to curate powerful visual content while investing less time, money, and effort, these content creators may be your best bet.
In fact, as per a 2019 report by Linqia, 57% of marketers believe that influencer content outperforms brand-generated content.
Here is an example of American Greetings collaborating with mommy influencer Peace Love and Mommy.
Image via Instagram
When you partner with influencers, you’re outsourcing the planning, creation, as well as publishing of visual content to someone who’s best at it and knows their audience well.
Additionally, partnering with the right influencer will ensure that you’re reaching out to an audience that’s genuinely interested in your product.
What’s more?
There are many types of influencers you can partner with, such as nano, micro, and macro-influencers. Nano and micro-influencers tend to have higher engagement rates than macro-influencers. They are also exceptionally cost-effective due to their smaller audience size.
Thus, incorporating them into your startup’s marketing strategy is a great idea.
4. Don’t Shy Away from Humor
What’s better than a hearty laugh?
Infusing humor into your visual content can help you create something that’s relatable, relevant, hilarious, as well as shareable.
One of the best ways of achieving this is by making memes. While some people believe that memes are just for high schoolers and entertainment, a number of brands have proved them wrong.
For instance, Ugly Drinks promotes their product on Instagram by means of creating memes.
Image via Instagram
However, if you’re planning on making memes a part of your strategy, you need to tread with caution.
Consider this: What really is a joke?
What’s funny and what isn’t is really subjective. If you end up putting out inappropriate visual content, it could backfire. Not only will this lead to broken trust, but also reduced sales.
To avoid sticky situations, you need to tackle subjects that aren’t potentially-controversial for your audience. What’s their idea of humor? What inspires them? Is there something that could offend them?
Understand your audience and their reactions better using the right tools with social media listening capabilities to figure out if the subject of your memes is controversial. If you’re well aware of the social sentiment, memes can be a gold mine for you.
All Set to Improve your Visual Content Strategy?
Visuals are catchy and can attract the attention of your audience better than a wall of text. If you haven’t hopped on the visual content bandwagon yet, it’s about time you do so.
By means of personalizing, creating high-quality content, partnering with influencers, and tickling the funny bone, you can benefit greatly from visuals.
How have you enhanced your visual content strategies? Tell us in the comments section below.