6 Undeniable Reasons Why Visuals Reign Content Marketing

Any word can be a jargon to anyone. Everyone has their own set of acronyms with a goal of reaching out to vendors, mothers, college graduates, newly-weds, pet-lovers, name it. Thought leaders have multipart processes targeted to elaborate concepts of unicorns and rainbows. Even brands have their own set of patented buzzwords. These may sound confusing, and sometimes, it really is. Veritably, there are times when words are not enough.

If you can recall, articles and “blogs” have been around since the early years of Internet. Even with the limitations of technology back then, spreading information has never been this easy. A good composition of words will do the trick.

Today, with all the digital fuzz going on, writing has become an extremely competitive battleground. People, too, get more demanding and clever, making the competition for attention steep. One of the most cost-effective and proven ways to bid for audience’s attention is through creative visuals. Probably like this one?

Looks too 90’s? Well, it’s because it is. Don’t worry though, it’s way better now, and we all know that.

Fairly good introduction? Then, let us get straight to the missile that has saved many digital marketers’ boats. Below are the reasons why visuals have taken the Internet and everything digital by storm.

1. Because People Are Innately Visual Beings

Visuals are, as we’ve all heard, worth a thousand words. It reaches to your audience almost effortlessly. It will always have the right words to say to anyone, that is not exaggerating. Nobody can resist the charm of a well-composed and well-placed visual.

It ignites emotions faster than you can finish a sentence or two. Even by just adding colors will have a significant effect to your mood, regardless of how hard you deny it. We as humans, or let’s be specific —audience, are naturally visual beings.

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Research shows that 65% of the general population are visual thinkers. Visuals help greatly in creating an easier recall, most especially when you are representing a brand. It also plays a significant role in decision making, as visuals greatly increase the effectivity of your Call-To-Actions, may it be an order asking your audience to do something, or just as simple as hitting a button.

2. Because It Creates A Whole New Level Of Experience

When you are having a conversation with someone, what do you immediately notice? It’s not how they look, it’s how they speak. Why am I even asking this question? It is because a huge slice of marketing is about conversations.

Images can help you finish a sentence when you can’t seem to find the right words to say or can totally drive your point by placing the situation into context.

Visual assets create the necessary background for your story. It relieves the audience the agony of not understanding immediately what they are reading about.

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It is proven, time and time again, that what influences a sale is the overall experience of a customer. Visuals help in communicating your value proposition by giving your customers a more profound understanding by showing, instead of telling.

3. Everybody Has A Smartphone, With A Camera

Last 2013, 967.78 million smartphones were sold. The figures may not cover the whole population of the world, but chances are almost all people where you are right now has their smartphone in their pockets.

This vast statistic is one of the primary culprits of viral content spreading throughout the Web. We can’t have enough of the snooping around and be into someone else’s business. There is also a fact that we as people are storytellers. People just love to share. People love to take pictures. People used to say “Have you heard?”, now it’s “Have you seen?” And believe it or not, seeing something is way more convincing than just hearing it. Hence the quote, “To see is to believe.”

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The Internet has given businesses and individuals the opportunity to make a photo of your Grandpa dancing wiggle go viral. More interestingly, a study by The New York Times Consumer Insight Groups says sharing is human nature. Findings reveal that 84% carefully consider sharing the information about the issues or causes they care about the most. Market research can be a breeze by staying active in social media and sharing sites, as people openly shares what they are all about.

4. Visual Asset Is A Personality, A Mood, A Voice

Nowadays, many visual assets start with “Time to make some linkbait, people!” with the content and quality being the afterthought. Sadly, to some, linkbait and visual assets are synonyms. The concept that visual sells is nothing new, but that thought alone isn’t the draw of a successful content.

Steve Jobs, a world-renowned entrepreneur, marketer, and inventor known for his influence in gadgets, has been the world’s best captivating presenter. His secret? His visuals. His personality. He used to deliver the most awe-inspiring and memorable presentations in history. What made him the best? He got his personality and his voice along with his simple yet profound visuals. Jobs didn’t ever try selling his products. Never. Jobs sold experiences.

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You can always opt for all-text content depending on your purpose, but nothing is better than being able to visualize concepts that would be more difficult to put into words. That is one big role of the visuals to any content. It should create personality. It should set the mood. Your visuals should speak the loudest voice in the room. Great visuals should translate data and knowledge to user experience.

5. Numbers Are Suddenly Interesting

Let’s face it, most of us hate this subject. When we are faced with numbers, all we can do is count.

Making all sense of this ultimate jargon, that they call Mathematics, is certainly not for the faint of heart. But with the help of visuals, even numbers can turn into a pleasant joyride. Encapsulating the whole context of visual and information hierarchy to turn seemingly senseless numbers (I prefer to call it data), into a very immersive story. Visuals give these meaningful data another chance to show their true beauty. The stories behind the numbers and in the digital world, everybody wants one.

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You might have noticed by now that a lot of images included in this article are infographics. Because they’re everywhere! And for a good reason. Infographics made data look cool. You can now present real figures that are truly important without boring the life out of your audience by creating an infographic.

In creating infographics, always remember these three simple steps:

1. Data
2. Story
3. Visuals

No shortcuts, and in that exact order. With the right data and right niche, you can surely pump up your content marketing campaigns and have an infographic for a flagship.

6. Visuals Dominated The Sharing Game

The more people crave for information, the higher the demand for it. This calls for another competition. You see where this is going, right? Again, visuals. Visuals can instantly turn your pure 3,000 huge chunk of text into an appetizing gourmet meal ready to be consumed. The same way our science books “try” to make chemistry look cool.

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This is an old-age war among marketers, advertisers, and businesses. How to exist in crowded media?

Noah Kagan, founder of Appsumo, amazingly analyzed the social share counts of over 100 million articles. Can you take a quick guess to what type of articles gets shared the most?

Unsurprisingly, pictures top the chart of the most widely shared content on the internet, particularly social media. Images help your post to standout. It gives extra life to the written content.

The concept of selling features over benefits is over and to make things even clearer and to debunk what other ‘artists’ and influencers are saying–no, you cannot control human emotions through your genius visuals.

Final Thoughts

Invoke through your visuals. Invoke them to read, to understand, to feel, to share. Know what your audiences feel. You can either challenge or blend in. Even take advantage of their weaknesses. Set the stage, the mood, and the tone. Note that there are things better visualised than said. Know the basics of storytelling, give them the setting. The challenge lies on visualising a thought that only exist in your audiences’ minds.

It boils down to knowing your ideal audience for your every content really well. Take the extra mile, be one of them.

Thanks for reading and enduring an artist’s rambling. Think I’m better off a writer? Nah? Give me a tap on the back through the comment box.