What are the benefits of using graphics in your content strategy?

1 Visual appeal

One of the most obvious benefits of using graphics in your content strategy is that they make your content more visually appealing. Graphics can break up long blocks of text, add color and contrast, and create a consistent look and feel. They can also convey emotions, moods, and personalities that words alone cannot. By using graphics that match your tone, style, and purpose, you can capture your audience's attention and interest.

2 Information delivery

Another benefit of using graphics in your content strategy is that they can help you deliver information more effectively. Graphics can simplify complex concepts, illustrate processes, show relationships, and highlight key points. They can also support your arguments, provide evidence, and persuade your audience. By using graphics that complement your text, you can enhance your content's clarity, credibility, and relevance.

3 Engagement and retention

A third benefit of using graphics in your content strategy is that they can increase your audience's engagement and retention. Graphics can stimulate your audience's curiosity, imagination, and emotions. They can also invite your audience to interact with your content, such as by clicking, scrolling, zooming, or sharing. By using graphics that provoke your audience's response, you can improve your content's impact, influence, and value.

4 Brand identity

A fourth benefit of using graphics in your content strategy is that they can strengthen your brand identity. Graphics can express your brand's vision, mission, values, and personality. They can also differentiate your brand from your competitors, create recognition and loyalty, and build trust and reputation. By using graphics that reflect your brand's identity, you can reinforce your content's message, meaning, and goal.

5 SEO optimization

A fifth benefit of using graphics in your content strategy is that they can optimize your content for search engines. Graphics can improve your content's ranking, visibility, and traffic by adding keywords, metadata, alt text, and captions. They can also reduce your content's bounce rate, increase your content's dwell time, and generate more backlinks and social media shares. By using graphics that follow SEO best practices, you can boost your content's performance, reach, and conversion.

6 Common challenges and solutions

Using graphics in your content strategy can also pose some challenges and pitfalls. You need to select graphics that are relevant, appropriate, and original for your content, while avoiding graphics that are irrelevant, inappropriate, or clichéd. Additionally, you should use graphics that are sufficient, but not excessive, for your content. Furthermore, you need to use graphics that are legal, ethical, and respectful for your content. To help with this process, there are online tools such as Canva or TinyPNG which can be used to create or customize graphics, compress and optimize them respectively. Creative Commons is another online tool which can be used to find and attribute graphics that are free to use or share.

7 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?