7 Types of Visual Content That Will Boost Engagement

In this digital era, it’s important to embrace all forms of content to help your brand stand out. Text-based content will always play a part in digital marketing, but creating and promoting visual content can bring huge benefits when you get it right.

 There are three main advantages of using visual content:

• It’s more attractive. Press release distribution company PR Newswire found that including photos, videos, and other visual media in press releases attracted 77 percent more views than text-only content.
• It’s more accessible. We can process visual information 60,000 times faster than textual content.
• It’s more memorable. According to Brain Rules by Dr. John Medina, you’re six times more likely to remember information if visuals are attached.

So whether you’re reading a social media post, an article or an ebook, visual elements make your content more attractive, accessible and memorable. And all these factors result in more engaging and shareable content.

With this in mind, here are seven types of visual content you should be using to make your marketing more effective.

 Images

In one extensive study, BuzzSumo found that articles that included an image once every 75-100 words received double the social media shares as articles with fewer images. Buffer also found that tweets with images received 150 percent more retweets than those without.

While people may overlook a block of text, an image can communicate your message in a few seconds. You can find free stock photography images on sites like Flickr and Photobucket, but to make your social media and blog posts more memorable, create original images.

Video

Cisco predicts that videos will make up 80 percent of all global Internet traffic by 2019.

Evernote has always made good use of video on its website and across social media. The brand’s detailed explainer videos educate users about their tools, and its website also features various videos of customer stories.

How-to product videos, behind-the-scenes coverage, customer testimonials or employee interviews are a good place to start. Try to include a call to action that encourages viewers to take the next step, depending on your marketing goals.

Infographics

According to the Nielson Norman Group, infographics are “liked” and shared on social media three times more than any other type of content.

Pointvisible’s Content Marketing Statistics and Trends: 2017 Edition is a great example. Using bold graphics, they demonstrate the importance of content marketing using detailed stats and facts, but in a visual way that’s easy to follow.

Pull together some stats and interesting facts promoting the benefits of your company, and create your own infographic using tools like Canva or PicMonkey. You can then distribute this via your website, social media channels- and email.

Memes

Memes are ideal for Twitter and Facebook and are easy to create. Think about your target audience and what they’ll find amusing or inspiring.

Grammarly has always created great memes that provide value and humor for its followers.

Their Pinterest page also features sharable “Grammarly cards” that promote their tool and the importance of good grammar.

GIFs

GIFs are perfect for sharing fun, light-hearted content. Twitter has made it easy to add GIFs to tweets, with a built-in option that lets you attach a GIF based on your chosen phrase.

You can also create your own GIFs with GIF Maker by Giphy or And Then I Was Like, which helps you turn webcam video into a shareable GIF. You might already have video content that you can repurpose into a GIF.

Screenshots

With a screenshot, you can show your audience how your product or service works. You could also add marketing copy or a testimonial to the screenshot for added credibility. Have you read a testimonial or review from an industry forum about your product? Why not take a screenshot and include it in future content?

360-Degree Video

Not every video is suited to the 360-degree makeover, but if it helps to highlight your brand in an interesting way, you could give it a try. Visit Las Vegas uses 360-degree videos to give viewers virtual experiences of trademark Vegas scenes, from party events to a zip line over the Las Vegas Strip.

What unique experiences can you offer your audience with 360-degree video? For help with creating these interactive videos, see this article from HubSpot.

Take Full Advantage of Visual Content

Why not involve your audience in visual content creation? User-generated content can bring extra authenticity to your brand. For example, you could create a contest on social media, asking people for photos or videos of your products in action.

There’s so much text-based content online, you need to try other formats to engage potential customers. You don’t need to use all of these examples to boost engagement, but if you can create more quality visual content which your audience appreciates, you’ll improve the impact of your content in the long run.