Many brands choose to promote their content through imagery. Photography, graphs and infographics are a great way to reach a wider audience and convey your message effectively. For many businesses, visual storytelling has proven essential in the recipe for success. Read on to find out how this powerful tool is essential in marketing content for a successful business.
Better information retention
Humans understand complex concepts better with images. From diagrams and graphs to images and maps, the vast majority of people are visual learners. Use an image to support a point, summarise a paragraph or even convey new information. Imagery is an effective way to ensure readers have a strong understanding of your content.
Remember, there is a difference between simply using visuals and using visuals the right way. Choose relevant imagery that helps to portray your story. Otherwise, readers will not make the connection between the visuals and the content.
A closer connection to readers
One of the best ways to engage with your audience is to create a personal connection. Find common ground between what you’re trying to promote and what your target demographic is looking for. Try to understand the needs of your target demographic and how you can meet them. Content marketing expert, Robert Rose emphasises the importance of providing unique value to your target demographic, that cannot be provided by another company.
A great place to introduce visual storytelling is by finding information or concepts that be difficult for your target audience to understand. Making sense of data and statistics is perplexing to most. Instead of a list of numbers or a paragraph of the results, you could consider displaying the data graphically.
Larger reach
In a world centred around technology, there is a constant need to remain relevant. Technology is changing rapidly- from one-click purchases and ultra-fast internet to Apple Pay. Be sure to stay up to date with great visuals that remain with the times. With an increased focus on online engagement, this brings up another potential barrier. Many people will choose not to read a large block of text on a screen. By bringing in visual storytelling, you will be able to reach a larger audience.
Make use of visual storytelling by setting the scene. Rather than placing focus on induvial products for sale, focus on their broader use. Harrows, a hospitality furniture supplier, provides a great example of how this technique is employed. They uniquely do this by showcasing their projects rather than only displaying a webpage of their products. This provides their audience with memorable, eye-catching and vibrant images of how their products can be utilised in different ways. From restaurants and airports to commercial buildings, their projects page captures the interests of a wide consumer demographic.
An expansive presence
Instagram, Pinterest and other social media platforms are fast becoming popular ways to market content. One thing they have in common is their visual presence. Capture more of an audience by catering for all platforms. You will be able to promote your content in a wider variety of ways and through a broader range of channels.
With established accounts on many social media platforms, Nike is, without a doubt, excelling in their social media presence. Their high quality, effective visual storytelling takes their audience on a journey through the use of great visual imagery.
The power of infographics
With today’s changing technology, there’s almost no limit to what you can create. Infographics are an excellent choice for visual storytelling. As its name suggests, this is a visual representation of information to give an overview of a topic. Be creative in the form of which visuals are used. Visual storytelling isn’t solely limited to a photo image. Branch out to graphs, flow charts, comics and many more.
Evoenergy demonstrates this perfectly. They primarily use interactive infographics which change depending on which parameters are chosen. This could include specific dates, topics and activities. This allows the user to choose what data to view themselves and decide what interests them. To create an effective infographic, here are three things to remember:
- Minimal writing is best. Images are the focus, and as such information should be provided within the images.
- Have a clear beginning, middle and end
- Don’t overcrowd your infographic. Your audience should be able to easily follow and understand your infographic