Do you need visual content in your marketing?

Over the past years, we’ve seen the explosion of visual social media platforms such as Instagram, Pinterest, Snapchat, and Vine. Arguably, Facebook is still the seminal visual platform, with users uploading over 350 million photographs every day. Traditionally, Twitter had been a purely text-based social channel, but eventually enabled users to upload and embed images and videos to their feed. At the moment, Instagram, Pinterest, and Tumblr are three of the fastest growing social networks, with Snapchat storming ahead with 200 million active monthly users.

Google’s purchase of YouTube in 2006 highlighted their vision for video, and the inclusion of YouTube videos in mainstream search engine results highlighted the importance of video to online marketers. The statistics don’t lie; 73% of B2B marketers believe that video has positively impacted their results, and HubSpot report that on average, websites have a two minute longer dwell time if they include video. There are plenty of efficient options for building your brand’s video presence, which I discuss in the full article, linked to below.

Furthermore, the importance of unique and compelling imagery in online material can set brands apart. Old-school stock imagery is best avoided, whilst high-quality rights-free image banks have offered something a little more palatable. However, there’s no substitute for original contextual imagery. Google’s ability to recognise the content and context of images is improving, which is a warning sign, although the webspam team have said that using stock isn’t punishable. Regardless, by using remarkable and unusual imagery to accompany blog posts and landing pages, you can increase click-through rate and improve the performance of social posts.

The written word will forever be important, yet as humans, our brains are hardwired for processing images every day. In the following article, I’ve looked at how you can make use of the widespread shift towards visual media, ensuring that your content and social strategy is geared towards embracing high-quality imagery and video.

Visit the link to the Kurve blog below to read the full piece. You can expect:

• Useful resources for finding great imagery
• Advice for creating your own unique images and videos
• Information about how visual content can impact SEO
• How to use infographics and visuals in social media

*Why visual content is imperative for great marketing*