Swipe right: How the image generation is impacting marketing

Is it possible to take salient marketing lessons from a hook-up app? The answer to that question is a resounding Yes!

That’s because the success of the Tinder mobile dating app—where members can post their photos and short bios for others to peruse and ‘swipe right’ if they want to meet that person—has underscored the fact that we are living in the image generation. I’m not only referring to the personal image that a person conveys, but photos and images that largely determine a website or app’s long-term success.

Why? As most of us know, mobile web interaction is the go-to means of connecting with clients for most progressive organizations. In your own business you’ve probably noticed that most of your website traffic (assuming you’re tracking it) now comes from mobile devices. In-depth research on viewing habits has demonstrated time and again that when people navigate a website or app on their phones or tablets, they scan and scroll until something catches their eye. That something is typically a pithy headline or an intriguing image.

What I’m learning, however, is that many organizations simply aren’t grasping the impulsive nature of the product and service-buying public. The simple rule is that if a user of your mobile app or website isn’t visually stimulated and nudged into taking some type of action within a few seconds, they will navigate elsewhere, likely to the platform of one of your competitors.

What bothers me most about this lack of mobile design awareness is that it’s costing organizations a great deal of time and money. Companies are pouring thousands of dollars to bolster their online experience, but are putting too little emphasis on visual design in the process.

So, what’s an image-conscious marketer to do?

First, remember that any image or interactive visual element such as a button or call to action on your app or website must relate to your brand and drive some sort of desired result. In Tinder’s case, for example, it’s all about helping people connect—the more attractive the pictures of individual members, the greater the number of connections. Unless you, too, run a dating company, you’ll need to use images that resonate with your target market and convey a clear message about what it is that you sell, pictures that would make customers want to ‘swipe right’ and connect with your brand.

And contrary to popular belief (and Tinder’s recipe for success) images of people may not be as effective as those featuring products.

What tends to work best are images that stand out in a newsfeed. That means interesting product shots that might drive instant purchase decisions, or images that convey your organization’s value proposition and competitive advantage, particularly if yours is a services company with a more abstract offering to illustrate. And of course, any content such as blogs should include an image to illustrate its subject matter.

Fintech firm Wealth Simple, for example, does a great job using sepia-tinged lifestyle shots that reinforce the potential benefit of their online investing services. Their images are not of portfolio managers, but instead highlight what life could look like for anyone who entrusts the management of their investment portfolio to Wealth Simple’s algorithm.

There are many other examples of companies that get it right, but countless others who fall flat with an over-reliance on overused stock imagery, or graphic elements that don’t enhance user experience. And really, there’s nothing worse in the swipe-and-touch-reliant mobile world than seeing a picture or button that can’t be clicked to produce another action, to take the user on a specific information-gathering or commercial journey, or to create a larger or more interactive version of that visual element.

So, when designing your website or mobile app, think images first. Because in an era when it’s all about appealing to Millennials online, it’s important to make sure they swipe right when engaging with your brand.

This article first appeared in the Financial Post

Dave Burnett is CEO of AOK Marketing, a Toronto-based firm that helps traditional offline businesses get discovered online.