The human brain is capable of processing visuals 60,000 times faster than texts and this is the very reason information communicated through images can be understood easier and much faster than text. Studies suggest that people remember 10% of what they hear, 20% of what they read, and 80% of what they see and do. Pinterest was launched in May 2011 and reported a growth of 1047% in unique visitors within a year. That should give you an idea about the power of visual content. I think we have all heard the phrase that ‘An image is worth a thousand words. It matters, a lot!

When asked what visual content is, many of us might just think it is a beautiful picture that is visually appealing. Visual contents are more than just beautiful photos. Content marketing is evolving and visual content is the norm that marketers are religiously following. Visual contents are the things that we see and read every day and every time we open our social pages starting from images, infographics, videos, to slideshows and what not! So I will start with the WHYs before I answer the HOWs.

Importance of visual contents

1. Awareness

Companies at this point are willing to do anything to increase their brands’ awareness. The best thing about attractive visual content is to increase your brand’s awareness by attracting and engaging huge audiences. For this reason, companies that are smart and forward-thinking are shifting their focus to visual content. Visual contents provide an opportunity to communicate and engage with your audience creatively using great designs, something which nobody could imagine before visual content came into existence. Because visual contents are easy to post/publish they are shareable and have a greater reach.

2. Easy to Consume and Understand

Studies suggest that the human brain can process visual contents faster than any other form of information and grab the audiences’ attention immediately and are retained in the memory for a longer time. Visual contents are understandable and information present on them can be easily consumed by the human mind with minimal effort. Thus the retention rate of visual contents is higher as opposed to other formats. Visual contents have become a simpler way of communicating lots of information quickly.

3. Massive Contribution to ROI

A picture is worth a thousand words. Visual content not only build the viewers' trust by providing something of great value, but it is also said to have properties that not only educate but also inform viewers about a brand’s products and services. Good visual content will have effective Call To Actions (CTA) because a proper CTA is all it takes to convert a viewer into a buyer. Nobody loves to read huge details about your product nowadays. Reading is time-consuming and also less engaging. It’s the picture of your brand that customers enjoy looking at the most. Quality visual content instigates engagement and customer interactions which will help to connect and develop a relationship with your brand. The more the interaction the better the chances of conversion.

Here are 5 steps to building winning content strategies.

How to create effective visual content?

1. Know Your Audience

Before you step into the depth of content marketing it is of extreme importance to find out who your customers are. Most marketers fall into the trap of lack of thorough research and proper insights about their customers. The key to successful visual content lies in the answers to the questions like what is your audience looking for? What type of visual content can add more value to them? How can you attract new customers? Once these questions are answered, you are good to proceed.

2. Develop a Creative Strategy

Once the audience has been identified the next step is to develop a creative strategy that will not only capture the audiences’ attention but will also address your goals. An effective creative strategy allows you to design around it and allows the creative ideas to be properly aligned with the goals. For creative idea generation, brainstorming is the ideal way to move ahead.

3. Design Your Contents

After your idea is finalized start designing your content. Make sure to maintain a timeline to keep track of the progress. Good designs do not come out of thin air. It is an art that has to be mastered by communicating the message through visual art. Before preparing visual content it is important to ensure that visual artists are familiar with the brand brief and know what’s expected of them. Good sense of design and art directions are the basis of attractive visual content. Visual contents are not only about being visually appealing but are also about being able to communicate the information effectively and clearly with the audience.

Here are 5 easy ways to create great visual content!

4. Reach Out to Your Audience

After the making of great visual content, the final step is to reach out to your audience. You need to figure out a concrete distribution strategy that will help you to address the most effective distribution channels to reach most of your potential customers. Preparing and delivering the right content is not enough, you have to constantly interact with your audience to ensure pure engagement. Engagement helps to establish your brand’s credibility and also wins your customer’s trust in developing a strong bond. Engagement can take different forms starting from likes, comments, new fans, reviews to deciding to avail your product or service.

Click here to find out how to connect with your audience in 3 easy steps!

Now you know how to maneuver around creating amazing visual content, it’s time for you to take the driver’s seat and give it a go!