How Important is it to Use Visual Content in Your Marketing??
Rhea Allen
Co-Founder at Peppershock Media with Marketing, Strategy, Award Winning Creative Production & Performance Driven Expertise. Host of The Marketing Expedition Podcast & Adjunct Marketing Professor @BoiseState. ????
Using visual content in your marketing is more important now than ever, and here’s why!
People prefer visual content.
Since the very first grainy black-and-white images began gracing the pages of newspapers and other advertisements as early as the 1850s, visual content has become the gold standard when it comes to marketing.?
Even prior to the advent of photography, drawings, and illustrations were being used to tell a story, evoke a feeling, or capture the audience’s attention since our ancestors were painting on caves in Lascaux in France.
Humans are visual creatures, and we are more likely to engage and retain information that is depicted or displayed visually. In fact, when illustrations are included with instructions, our ability to follow them improves by 300%!
Visual content sells, and video, in particular, is only going to increase in popularity over the next coming years, and beyond.?
The vast majority of consumer traffic (over 82%!) is video, and almost ? of us are likely to hop on Youtube to check out a how-to video nowadays. Youtube itself boasts over 83% of video traffic, with Facebook following close behind at 76%
Video streaming services are experiencing double-digit growth year over year, and if you can imagine 1.74 BILLION viewing hours, then it won’t be hard for us to convince you that video is the way of the future.
Even if we can’t hear video content, we still want to see it!?
?Even when we aren’t able to, or choose not to listen to the audio that’s available when watching a video, most of us still prefer it to text alone! That’s why it’s so important to make your video content audio agnostic (captions, or subtitles).
Having audio agnostic video content also allows you to reach those who may be hard of hearing, or unable to hear, and can also enable you to reach audiences who may speak a different language than the one the video was recorded in.?
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Visual content isn’t just about video; let’s talk AR/VR and more!
There’s a lot more visual content that you can add to your marketing than just video, images, or illustrations. AR, Augmented Reality, VR, or Virtual Reality are all technologies that are allowing businesses to connect with and engage their audiences in new ways!?
Instead of simply looking at a picture or watching a video, AR/VR technology allows you to see how that product will look in your space (or even on your face!) with AR, and virtually go into a space, turn around and check it out with VR!?
Business applications for AR/VR are going to outpace personal use, and $9.2 BILLION dollars is going to be spent to reach, attract and engage audiences using this technology.?
As a business, it’s going to not only become easier to use and create AR/VR content, but leverage it in a way that is meaningful, useful, and beautiful to your customers.
Other ways to create and use visual content in marketing.?
Aside from video, images, AR/VR technology, the almighty .GIF still stops a lot of scrolling and can lead your customers back to your website.?
Animation is compelling and can tell stories, educate and entertain in ways that are already time-tested and proven. Animation (in 3D too!) can really allow your ideas to take flight without the constraints of reality, and inspire both your customers and the potential audience too.
Where can I use visual content in my marketing??
The answer to this question is, everywhere! Even if you have a podcast, using the right visual imagery can draw your listeners in.?
Every platform has its own nuances, restrictions, and sweet spots when it comes to video, graphic images, photos, gifs, AR/VR, animation, and more, allowing you to fine-tune your visual marketing efforts to create the results you are looking for.?
There are so many amazing apps, programs, and ways to create visual content, from drones to those we can create on our smartphones. The sky’s the limit (literally, since we mentioned drone camera photography!).?