As the attention span of consumers continues to dwindle, businesses are leaning more and more towards visual marketing to catch their attention, improve engagement, and boost business ROI.
Static images, videos, infographics, GIFs, and memes have become a staple in most marketer’s toolkits.
Don’t believe me?
Then, check out these insights from a Venngage survey of marketers:
Image via Venngage
Now, no sane marketer would spend 31% of their overall budget on visual marketing if it didn’t directly get good ROI for your business.
If you’ve yet to embrace visual marketing for your business, I have you covered. In this post, I’m going to discuss four direct benefits of including visuals in your marketing strategy.
Read on.
1. Consumers Love Visuals
It’s a fact that humans are hardwired to respond to visuals. The majority of people are visual learners, which means they grasp and retain visual information better than they do plain text.
How does that help you grow your business ROI?
The consumer is the king. Sounds cliched, but it’s still true. In a hyper-competitive ecosystem like ours, consumers are spoiled for choice. If their preferred business doesn’t serve them content in the formats they seek, they will be only too happy to switch to a competitor that does.
In short, a business can’t afford to turn off their audience at any cost. If they love visuals, visuals are what they should be served.
A word of caution here:
Consumers today are discerning and judgemental. It takes them just 80 seconds to create a subconscious judgment of a graphic design, based on which they decide whether to engage with it or scroll past it. Even a minor element like color can control 62%-90% of their perception.
So, how can your visuals win their hearts?
Familiarize yourself with the basics of graphic design if you’re a hands-on person. Your visuals should not only be impactful, but also aesthetically pleasing. Remember, a $138 investment in design can result in a three-fold turnover increase for your business.
The flyer is an excellent medium to convey the message of your brand. It gives more visualization and that much-needed human touch as compared to any other sharing tactic. Creating attractive flyers is no longer time-consuming because an online flyer maker tool allows you to do so in minutes.
2. Videos Boost Conversions
No matter where you use visuals (ads, landing pages, emails, etc.), you will notice a spike in conversions. In fact, Think With Google found that shoppers use online videos for guidance when it comes to making purchase decisions.
Image via Think with Google
Paying heed to the trend, most ecommerce brands have incorporated videos into their landing pages. When you create a landing page, your aim is to showcase your products in the best light and convey your value proposition. Nothing can do this better than videos.
You can pack in a lot of content into a seconds-long video and follow it up with a compelling CTA to drive conversions. Apart from product videos, you can use video testimonials and how-tos on landing pages to foster buyer trust, which impacts ROI in the long term.
For example, you can use video to educate your existing customers about a new product and its features, and can easily increase your customer retention.
Likewise, video ads are super-effective at raising brand awareness and sales. In fact, Animoto found video ads are the #1 way audiences discover new brands. Whether you advertise on social media or display networks, video ads are the way to go. If you are want to promote on YouTube then you can create awesome videos using Video Maker.
Want a pro tip?
When it comes to social media advertising, not all ad formats are created equal. Carousel, Story, Native – the ad format choices are mind-boggling, and each has a different purpose, placement, and potential. It’s best to consult an advertising pro who understands how each network works and how to get you the best ban for your buck.
3. Visual-Laden Posts Get High Engagement
Consumers won’t buy from you unless they engage with your brand first. And, visual-heavy posts witness high engagement rates. Create a professional brand kit to represent your brand in the market to boost awareness.
Here again, videos are a frontrunner. Brightcove found that videos are a favorite of netizens of all age groups. They are loved by 53% of boomers and 66% of millennials.
Image via Brightcove
Additionally, most video watchers tend to engage with brands after watching their videos.
Visuals are also very shareable. 48% of people share them on social media – the highest of any content format. So you need to write your social media content adding some relevant visuals.
But beware:
Using visuals just to boost your share quotient can be a bad move. Visual overload can dilute your messaging. So, use visuals wisely, package them appropriately, and target them accurately to reach the right audience.
And guess what?
Among visuals, infographics have a major role to play when it comes to engagement. They pack a lot of information that the audience can consume in a short time. And for creating captivating visuals, infographics you need different templates for different social media platforms such as Instagram Post Template, Instagram Post Creator, Facebook Cover, etc
However, to make the most out of infographics, it’s essential to design them well. That’s where a degree in digital media can help you. It can equip you with the right set of skills needed to develop stunning infographics that can attract the attention of your audience.
4. Visual Marketing Enables Visual Search
Visual search is becoming increasingly popular on Google, especially among millennials. It means using real screenshots and images in Google Search.
eMarketer found that younger consumers are very comfortable using visual search while shopping online since it’s convenient and quick.
Image via eMarketer
It follows that brands that use ample images on their websites will be easily found by searchers. They get more conversion opportunities than brands with text-only content.
As image recognition tools abound and search algorithms evolve, this trend is poised to grow.
If you want to stay ahead of the pack, build image libraries and optimize your image metadata. In addition, focus on building a presence on visual-first platforms like Pinterest.
Conclusion
Do you need more reasons to prioritize visual marketing for your business? I bet not.
And the best part?
Visual marketing need not burn a hole in your pocket. There are many affordable (and sometimes free) photo and video editing tools to create high-quality, optimized content for your campaigns.
So what are you waiting for?
Jump on the trend and reach out to me if you need more advice or assistance. Drop your requests in the comment section.
