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Visual Content
Brand Engagement
Visual Storytelling
Visual Marketing
Brand Growth
ARTICLE #91
How to use visual content for better brand engagement?
Visual Content
Brand Engagement
Visual Storytelling
Visual Marketing
Brand Growth
Written by:
7 min read
Updated on: August 20, 2024
Toni Hukkanen
Head of Design
Creative Direction, Brand Direction
Toni Hukkanen
Head of Design
Creative Direction, Brand Direction
Toni Hukkanen
Head of Design
Creative Direction, Brand Direction
Visual content can cut through the noise and capture the attention of the audience in a way that text alone cannot. Studies show that the human brain can process information in the form of visuals faster than text. This makes visual content a powerful tool to convey complex ideas in a quick and effective way.
But, 43% of marketers admit that creating high-quality visual content is one of their biggest hurdles. From copyright issues to review times, different size requirements, and lengthy creation, visual content marketing is not without bottlenecks.
If you have never experimented with visual content marketing before or want to learn how to improve the quality of content you create, use this guide to understand how to do it correctly for better brand engagement.
Visual content can cut through the noise and capture the attention of the audience in a way that text alone cannot. Studies show that the human brain can process information in the form of visuals faster than text. This makes visual content a powerful tool to convey complex ideas in a quick and effective way.
But, 43% of marketers admit that creating high-quality visual content is one of their biggest hurdles. From copyright issues to review times, different size requirements, and lengthy creation, visual content marketing is not without bottlenecks.
If you have never experimented with visual content marketing before or want to learn how to improve the quality of content you create, use this guide to understand how to do it correctly for better brand engagement.
Visual content can cut through the noise and capture the attention of the audience in a way that text alone cannot. Studies show that the human brain can process information in the form of visuals faster than text. This makes visual content a powerful tool to convey complex ideas in a quick and effective way.
But, 43% of marketers admit that creating high-quality visual content is one of their biggest hurdles. From copyright issues to review times, different size requirements, and lengthy creation, visual content marketing is not without bottlenecks.
If you have never experimented with visual content marketing before or want to learn how to improve the quality of content you create, use this guide to understand how to do it correctly for better brand engagement.
What is visual content marketing?
What is visual content marketing?
What is visual content marketing?
Visual content marketing involves the strategic use of images, infographics, videos, and GIFs to communicate with your target audience, increase engagement and share stories.
In content marketing, visual content promotes a product, improves brand recall, and influences consumer behaviour. When you optimise these visuals, new users discover them in Google Search. Studies show that people retain 65% of information if the content contains an image. This clearly highlights the importance of a strategy that can grab attention and keep your brand at the top of the minds of your target audience.
For example, tweets with images get 18% more clicks, 89% more favourites, and 150% more retweets. Visuals have also increased motivation to take action, consume additional content, and improve learning and comprehension.
Visual content marketing involves the strategic use of images, infographics, videos, and GIFs to communicate with your target audience, increase engagement and share stories.
In content marketing, visual content promotes a product, improves brand recall, and influences consumer behaviour. When you optimise these visuals, new users discover them in Google Search. Studies show that people retain 65% of information if the content contains an image. This clearly highlights the importance of a strategy that can grab attention and keep your brand at the top of the minds of your target audience.
For example, tweets with images get 18% more clicks, 89% more favourites, and 150% more retweets. Visuals have also increased motivation to take action, consume additional content, and improve learning and comprehension.
Visual content marketing involves the strategic use of images, infographics, videos, and GIFs to communicate with your target audience, increase engagement and share stories.
In content marketing, visual content promotes a product, improves brand recall, and influences consumer behaviour. When you optimise these visuals, new users discover them in Google Search. Studies show that people retain 65% of information if the content contains an image. This clearly highlights the importance of a strategy that can grab attention and keep your brand at the top of the minds of your target audience.
For example, tweets with images get 18% more clicks, 89% more favourites, and 150% more retweets. Visuals have also increased motivation to take action, consume additional content, and improve learning and comprehension.
Why is visual content marketing important?
Human brains are wired for visuals. Whether there are cave paintings, hieroglyphs, or modern emojis, we all convey meaning and emotion through visual storytelling. Though it isn't easy to create visual content if you don't have an in-house designer, the payoff is more than worth it. With great imagery, you can make your content aesthetic and eye-catching and drive more sales.
Increases brand awareness
By designing branding images, you can get the content of your company in front of a wider audience. This increases content visibility across multiple channels. Right now, video marketing is the winner. Recent research reports show that 95% of marketers agree that video marketing plays a great role in increasing brand awareness.
Boosts engagement
Images make the text more readable and engaging for the audience. The better the content, the more reach it gets, such as likes, shares, and comments.
Stats show that posts with images have a 650% higher engagement rate than text-only posts. Data from Forbes Advisor justifies that 87% of marketers admit video content has helped reduce the bounce rate at their website by keeping viewers engaged. Around 21% of content marketers use visual content to increase dwell time.
Enhances information retention
People hardly remember 10% of the information three days after seeing it if there is no image in the content. Catchy videos and images are easier for brains to digest. That's why it is important to add visual content to create a stronger memory association and retain the information more efficiently. People will share your content with their friends and family if they remember it.
You can add social sharing buttons to your content to reach a larger audience and gain new followers.
Higher conversion rates
With high-quality, engaging, branded video content and original graphics, you not only get more traffic but also more sales. Around 67% of consumers say the quality of product images is essential to them when making a purchase. So, if you maintain the visual content in the best way, you can attain success.
Human brains are wired for visuals. Whether there are cave paintings, hieroglyphs, or modern emojis, we all convey meaning and emotion through visual storytelling. Though it isn't easy to create visual content if you don't have an in-house designer, the payoff is more than worth it. With great imagery, you can make your content aesthetic and eye-catching and drive more sales.
Increases brand awareness
By designing branding images, you can get the content of your company in front of a wider audience. This increases content visibility across multiple channels. Right now, video marketing is the winner. Recent research reports show that 95% of marketers agree that video marketing plays a great role in increasing brand awareness.
Boosts engagement
Images make the text more readable and engaging for the audience. The better the content, the more reach it gets, such as likes, shares, and comments.
Stats show that posts with images have a 650% higher engagement rate than text-only posts. Data from Forbes Advisor justifies that 87% of marketers admit video content has helped reduce the bounce rate at their website by keeping viewers engaged. Around 21% of content marketers use visual content to increase dwell time.
Enhances information retention
People hardly remember 10% of the information three days after seeing it if there is no image in the content. Catchy videos and images are easier for brains to digest. That's why it is important to add visual content to create a stronger memory association and retain the information more efficiently. People will share your content with their friends and family if they remember it.
You can add social sharing buttons to your content to reach a larger audience and gain new followers.
Higher conversion rates
With high-quality, engaging, branded video content and original graphics, you not only get more traffic but also more sales. Around 67% of consumers say the quality of product images is essential to them when making a purchase. So, if you maintain the visual content in the best way, you can attain success.
Human brains are wired for visuals. Whether there are cave paintings, hieroglyphs, or modern emojis, we all convey meaning and emotion through visual storytelling. Though it isn't easy to create visual content if you don't have an in-house designer, the payoff is more than worth it. With great imagery, you can make your content aesthetic and eye-catching and drive more sales.
Increases brand awareness
By designing branding images, you can get the content of your company in front of a wider audience. This increases content visibility across multiple channels. Right now, video marketing is the winner. Recent research reports show that 95% of marketers agree that video marketing plays a great role in increasing brand awareness.
Boosts engagement
Images make the text more readable and engaging for the audience. The better the content, the more reach it gets, such as likes, shares, and comments.
Stats show that posts with images have a 650% higher engagement rate than text-only posts. Data from Forbes Advisor justifies that 87% of marketers admit video content has helped reduce the bounce rate at their website by keeping viewers engaged. Around 21% of content marketers use visual content to increase dwell time.
Enhances information retention
People hardly remember 10% of the information three days after seeing it if there is no image in the content. Catchy videos and images are easier for brains to digest. That's why it is important to add visual content to create a stronger memory association and retain the information more efficiently. People will share your content with their friends and family if they remember it.
You can add social sharing buttons to your content to reach a larger audience and gain new followers.
Higher conversion rates
With high-quality, engaging, branded video content and original graphics, you not only get more traffic but also more sales. Around 67% of consumers say the quality of product images is essential to them when making a purchase. So, if you maintain the visual content in the best way, you can attain success.
Types of visual content that captivate and convert
The key to a successful visual content marketing strategy is to ensure the right balance. Some types of visuals might work best for certain audiences or platforms while not for others. So, the task is to determine which is best for the story you want to tell. Here are some of the most commonly used types of visual content.
Infographics
Infographics are an excellent tool for drawing all your complex data and statistics and collating them into compelling, easily understandable visual content. Statistics indicate that infographics are 30 times more likely to be viewed than written articles.
If you want to make it effective, ensure its design is impactful. The right combination of colours, shapes, and fonts should present your data clearly. Add only accurate information from peer-reviewed sources. You can make simple stats compelling using the right visuals, but those design elements should support your story, not just showcase your design skills.
Images
If you split a lengthy body text with some catchy images, people will finish reading what you have written. Make sure the images are high quality and relevant to the context. Posts with images get 94% more views compared to those without images.
It is better to use original images or the ones you clicked to add a personal touch to your marketing campaigns. Though purchasing and creating high-quality images is expensive and time-consuming, tools like Canva, Flickr, and Morguefile have made it easier.
Videos
Videos are a great way to present common problems and give possible solutions to your product. A well-edited video serves as extra clout for your campaign as it demonstrates your readiness to go the extra mile for quality.
A study showed that adding a video on a landing page boosted conversions by 86%, and 92% of video marketers admit video plays a key role in their marketing strategy. You can enhance your business with all types of videos, such as how-to videos, demonstrations, animated explainer videos, and customer testimonials.
Screenshots
Use a screenshot to give your audience an idea about the inner workings of your service or product. You can showcase your services from a direct perspective and combine screenshots with some testimonial or marketing copy to increase your credibility.
Screenshots can be your saviour for backing up the promises you make in your sales content. Though this type of visual content seems least awe-inspiring, screenshots can be hugely beneficial as a trust-building tool. You can add them in infographics and solid share presentations to add more meaning to the stats or information you are presenting.
Memes
Memes are widely recognised as images paired with humorous captions. Many people didn't think memes would play a role in content marketing, as they were mainly popular among college students. But now, they represent an easy-to-create, quirky form of visual content.
Before using them, you must know if they are appropriate for your niche and align with your audience. If your brand matches with a younger audience, then memes are a good form of visual content marketing.
Slideshows
Another way to add value to your content is to share a presentation or slideshow with your audience. With a well-designed slide, you can easily share a summary of your blog post, including a series of tips or how-to steps.
A good SlideShare presentation also allows you to inform and communicate with your audience without depending on their device. As a lot of information will be covered in a presentation, make sure things like colours, borders, and fonts are consistent.
The key to a successful visual content marketing strategy is to ensure the right balance. Some types of visuals might work best for certain audiences or platforms while not for others. So, the task is to determine which is best for the story you want to tell. Here are some of the most commonly used types of visual content.
Infographics
Infographics are an excellent tool for drawing all your complex data and statistics and collating them into compelling, easily understandable visual content. Statistics indicate that infographics are 30 times more likely to be viewed than written articles.
If you want to make it effective, ensure its design is impactful. The right combination of colours, shapes, and fonts should present your data clearly. Add only accurate information from peer-reviewed sources. You can make simple stats compelling using the right visuals, but those design elements should support your story, not just showcase your design skills.
Images
If you split a lengthy body text with some catchy images, people will finish reading what you have written. Make sure the images are high quality and relevant to the context. Posts with images get 94% more views compared to those without images.
It is better to use original images or the ones you clicked to add a personal touch to your marketing campaigns. Though purchasing and creating high-quality images is expensive and time-consuming, tools like Canva, Flickr, and Morguefile have made it easier.
Videos
Videos are a great way to present common problems and give possible solutions to your product. A well-edited video serves as extra clout for your campaign as it demonstrates your readiness to go the extra mile for quality.
A study showed that adding a video on a landing page boosted conversions by 86%, and 92% of video marketers admit video plays a key role in their marketing strategy. You can enhance your business with all types of videos, such as how-to videos, demonstrations, animated explainer videos, and customer testimonials.
Screenshots
Use a screenshot to give your audience an idea about the inner workings of your service or product. You can showcase your services from a direct perspective and combine screenshots with some testimonial or marketing copy to increase your credibility.
Screenshots can be your saviour for backing up the promises you make in your sales content. Though this type of visual content seems least awe-inspiring, screenshots can be hugely beneficial as a trust-building tool. You can add them in infographics and solid share presentations to add more meaning to the stats or information you are presenting.
Memes
Memes are widely recognised as images paired with humorous captions. Many people didn't think memes would play a role in content marketing, as they were mainly popular among college students. But now, they represent an easy-to-create, quirky form of visual content.
Before using them, you must know if they are appropriate for your niche and align with your audience. If your brand matches with a younger audience, then memes are a good form of visual content marketing.
Slideshows
Another way to add value to your content is to share a presentation or slideshow with your audience. With a well-designed slide, you can easily share a summary of your blog post, including a series of tips or how-to steps.
A good SlideShare presentation also allows you to inform and communicate with your audience without depending on their device. As a lot of information will be covered in a presentation, make sure things like colours, borders, and fonts are consistent.
The key to a successful visual content marketing strategy is to ensure the right balance. Some types of visuals might work best for certain audiences or platforms while not for others. So, the task is to determine which is best for the story you want to tell. Here are some of the most commonly used types of visual content.
Infographics
Infographics are an excellent tool for drawing all your complex data and statistics and collating them into compelling, easily understandable visual content. Statistics indicate that infographics are 30 times more likely to be viewed than written articles.
If you want to make it effective, ensure its design is impactful. The right combination of colours, shapes, and fonts should present your data clearly. Add only accurate information from peer-reviewed sources. You can make simple stats compelling using the right visuals, but those design elements should support your story, not just showcase your design skills.
Images
If you split a lengthy body text with some catchy images, people will finish reading what you have written. Make sure the images are high quality and relevant to the context. Posts with images get 94% more views compared to those without images.
It is better to use original images or the ones you clicked to add a personal touch to your marketing campaigns. Though purchasing and creating high-quality images is expensive and time-consuming, tools like Canva, Flickr, and Morguefile have made it easier.
Videos
Videos are a great way to present common problems and give possible solutions to your product. A well-edited video serves as extra clout for your campaign as it demonstrates your readiness to go the extra mile for quality.
A study showed that adding a video on a landing page boosted conversions by 86%, and 92% of video marketers admit video plays a key role in their marketing strategy. You can enhance your business with all types of videos, such as how-to videos, demonstrations, animated explainer videos, and customer testimonials.
Screenshots
Use a screenshot to give your audience an idea about the inner workings of your service or product. You can showcase your services from a direct perspective and combine screenshots with some testimonial or marketing copy to increase your credibility.
Screenshots can be your saviour for backing up the promises you make in your sales content. Though this type of visual content seems least awe-inspiring, screenshots can be hugely beneficial as a trust-building tool. You can add them in infographics and solid share presentations to add more meaning to the stats or information you are presenting.
Memes
Memes are widely recognised as images paired with humorous captions. Many people didn't think memes would play a role in content marketing, as they were mainly popular among college students. But now, they represent an easy-to-create, quirky form of visual content.
Before using them, you must know if they are appropriate for your niche and align with your audience. If your brand matches with a younger audience, then memes are a good form of visual content marketing.
Slideshows
Another way to add value to your content is to share a presentation or slideshow with your audience. With a well-designed slide, you can easily share a summary of your blog post, including a series of tips or how-to steps.
A good SlideShare presentation also allows you to inform and communicate with your audience without depending on their device. As a lot of information will be covered in a presentation, make sure things like colours, borders, and fonts are consistent.
How to develop a visual content marketing strategy?
As you now know the importance and types of visual content, you can also learn how to create a visual content marketing strategy to grow your brand. Visuals help you build authority, drive more traffic and get you more customers. But all this success is possible if you use the right visuals with the right purpose at the right time. Without the proper strategy, your visuals won't be able to bring optimal results.
Identify your audience and channels
You need to determine who will be watching your content, what type of content you should create, and what level of knowledge your audience has.
Then, decide on what channels you will share your content. You should have a proper plan for owned channels (company sites, social accounts, and newsletters), earned channels (influencers, major publications), and paid channels (content and sponsored posts).
Build the right team
To create high-quality visual content, you will need skill, information, and infrastructure to pull it off. You will need the right team to get things done. You can create some content yourself, but it will be better to reach out to a creative network or an agency to do the heavy lifting.
If you do it in-house, you need to assemble a team of designers, SEO experts, and content creators. If you take help from a visual content agency, your tasks will be handled by experts who are well aware of trends and best practices.
Think like a storyteller
Who isn't a fan of storytime? Stats show that effective storytelling can lead to a 30% increase in conversion rates. Video content has gained popularity in recent years, which shows consumers crave visual storytelling.
Your story doesn't need to be an epic saga, but a clear and consistent narrative thread can also do wonders. Once you have found your story, plan your visual media elements to relay it across different platforms.
Take inspiration from Nike's visual content strategy, which forges an emotional connection with its audience. Through captivating experiences, athlete stores, and motivational imagery, Nike inspires everyone with its story of overcoming obstacles.
Stay consistent on brand
The best brands have one thing in common: excellent storytelling and consistent visual identity. Coca-Cola, Disney, Apple, etc, have every aspect of their content marketing, product experience, and in-store experience consistent.
To achieve this, you will need to make sure your content assets have a consistent visual design across all distribution channels. You can also achieve this consistency with branded templates and design best practices.
Add the logo of your brand to the original images and tag them using relevant keywords and hashtags to make it easy for your audience to find your content.
Source images without breaching copyright laws
The tricky part of creating great visual content is sourcing images without breaching copyright laws. You will need to read the fine print when using stock images, templates, and other photos. You will also need to ask the image owner sometimes if you have doubts.
If artists are handling your visual assets, you will need to have a clear contract with them. The contract should cover all things licensing, such as ownership rights and intentions for the art. When sharing user-generated content, you can credit artists, but it's not always necessary.
Work smarter, not harder
It is common to feel burnt out during content creation. If you are not finding time to rest when creating a visual content strategy, rethink your workflows.
You need to go for sustainable content marketing to find clever ways to cut your creation time without impacting quality or production. You can achieve this with the right content marketing tools to automate repetitive tasks and free up the best brains to work on the next big idea. It’d be better to repurpose existing content into visual assets such as blogs, webinars, and reports and turn them into shareable infographics or short videos.
Distribute your content
You need to make your content inclusive enough to reflect diverse audiences and consumption contexts. The best way to make your content more accessible is to add alt-text descriptions to help visually impaired users consume your content. You can also run images through online colour contrast tools to check their readability.
Add a transcript to explain your videos to people with impaired hearing. You can also include close captions in all your social videos. Avoid overusing emojis, as screen readers translate them into words, which can confuse some of your audience.
Measure your ROI
Online marketers have traditionally focused on attracting a large number of visitors, with page views as the primary measure of ROI. Though high traffic is important, you will need to pay attention to other metrics to build a long-term relationship with your audience.
The first one is conversions. Visual content can drive action. When an audience engages with your content and sees well-placed CTAs, they will take specific actions, like signing up for a newsletter.
The other metric is interactions that result from true engagement. These interactions include likes, comments, and follows. Once visitors find your content helpful, they will spend more time with it, such as watching a video, exploring your site or browsing photos. This will build a stronger bond with them.
As you now know the importance and types of visual content, you can also learn how to create a visual content marketing strategy to grow your brand. Visuals help you build authority, drive more traffic and get you more customers. But all this success is possible if you use the right visuals with the right purpose at the right time. Without the proper strategy, your visuals won't be able to bring optimal results.
Identify your audience and channels
You need to determine who will be watching your content, what type of content you should create, and what level of knowledge your audience has.
Then, decide on what channels you will share your content. You should have a proper plan for owned channels (company sites, social accounts, and newsletters), earned channels (influencers, major publications), and paid channels (content and sponsored posts).
Build the right team
To create high-quality visual content, you will need skill, information, and infrastructure to pull it off. You will need the right team to get things done. You can create some content yourself, but it will be better to reach out to a creative network or an agency to do the heavy lifting.
If you do it in-house, you need to assemble a team of designers, SEO experts, and content creators. If you take help from a visual content agency, your tasks will be handled by experts who are well aware of trends and best practices.
Think like a storyteller
Who isn't a fan of storytime? Stats show that effective storytelling can lead to a 30% increase in conversion rates. Video content has gained popularity in recent years, which shows consumers crave visual storytelling.
Your story doesn't need to be an epic saga, but a clear and consistent narrative thread can also do wonders. Once you have found your story, plan your visual media elements to relay it across different platforms.
Take inspiration from Nike's visual content strategy, which forges an emotional connection with its audience. Through captivating experiences, athlete stores, and motivational imagery, Nike inspires everyone with its story of overcoming obstacles.
Stay consistent on brand
The best brands have one thing in common: excellent storytelling and consistent visual identity. Coca-Cola, Disney, Apple, etc, have every aspect of their content marketing, product experience, and in-store experience consistent.
To achieve this, you will need to make sure your content assets have a consistent visual design across all distribution channels. You can also achieve this consistency with branded templates and design best practices.
Add the logo of your brand to the original images and tag them using relevant keywords and hashtags to make it easy for your audience to find your content.
Source images without breaching copyright laws
The tricky part of creating great visual content is sourcing images without breaching copyright laws. You will need to read the fine print when using stock images, templates, and other photos. You will also need to ask the image owner sometimes if you have doubts.
If artists are handling your visual assets, you will need to have a clear contract with them. The contract should cover all things licensing, such as ownership rights and intentions for the art. When sharing user-generated content, you can credit artists, but it's not always necessary.
Work smarter, not harder
It is common to feel burnt out during content creation. If you are not finding time to rest when creating a visual content strategy, rethink your workflows.
You need to go for sustainable content marketing to find clever ways to cut your creation time without impacting quality or production. You can achieve this with the right content marketing tools to automate repetitive tasks and free up the best brains to work on the next big idea. It’d be better to repurpose existing content into visual assets such as blogs, webinars, and reports and turn them into shareable infographics or short videos.
Distribute your content
You need to make your content inclusive enough to reflect diverse audiences and consumption contexts. The best way to make your content more accessible is to add alt-text descriptions to help visually impaired users consume your content. You can also run images through online colour contrast tools to check their readability.
Add a transcript to explain your videos to people with impaired hearing. You can also include close captions in all your social videos. Avoid overusing emojis, as screen readers translate them into words, which can confuse some of your audience.
Measure your ROI
Online marketers have traditionally focused on attracting a large number of visitors, with page views as the primary measure of ROI. Though high traffic is important, you will need to pay attention to other metrics to build a long-term relationship with your audience.
The first one is conversions. Visual content can drive action. When an audience engages with your content and sees well-placed CTAs, they will take specific actions, like signing up for a newsletter.
The other metric is interactions that result from true engagement. These interactions include likes, comments, and follows. Once visitors find your content helpful, they will spend more time with it, such as watching a video, exploring your site or browsing photos. This will build a stronger bond with them.
As you now know the importance and types of visual content, you can also learn how to create a visual content marketing strategy to grow your brand. Visuals help you build authority, drive more traffic and get you more customers. But all this success is possible if you use the right visuals with the right purpose at the right time. Without the proper strategy, your visuals won't be able to bring optimal results.
Identify your audience and channels
You need to determine who will be watching your content, what type of content you should create, and what level of knowledge your audience has.
Then, decide on what channels you will share your content. You should have a proper plan for owned channels (company sites, social accounts, and newsletters), earned channels (influencers, major publications), and paid channels (content and sponsored posts).
Build the right team
To create high-quality visual content, you will need skill, information, and infrastructure to pull it off. You will need the right team to get things done. You can create some content yourself, but it will be better to reach out to a creative network or an agency to do the heavy lifting.
If you do it in-house, you need to assemble a team of designers, SEO experts, and content creators. If you take help from a visual content agency, your tasks will be handled by experts who are well aware of trends and best practices.
Think like a storyteller
Who isn't a fan of storytime? Stats show that effective storytelling can lead to a 30% increase in conversion rates. Video content has gained popularity in recent years, which shows consumers crave visual storytelling.
Your story doesn't need to be an epic saga, but a clear and consistent narrative thread can also do wonders. Once you have found your story, plan your visual media elements to relay it across different platforms.
Take inspiration from Nike's visual content strategy, which forges an emotional connection with its audience. Through captivating experiences, athlete stores, and motivational imagery, Nike inspires everyone with its story of overcoming obstacles.
Stay consistent on brand
The best brands have one thing in common: excellent storytelling and consistent visual identity. Coca-Cola, Disney, Apple, etc, have every aspect of their content marketing, product experience, and in-store experience consistent.
To achieve this, you will need to make sure your content assets have a consistent visual design across all distribution channels. You can also achieve this consistency with branded templates and design best practices.
Add the logo of your brand to the original images and tag them using relevant keywords and hashtags to make it easy for your audience to find your content.
Source images without breaching copyright laws
The tricky part of creating great visual content is sourcing images without breaching copyright laws. You will need to read the fine print when using stock images, templates, and other photos. You will also need to ask the image owner sometimes if you have doubts.
If artists are handling your visual assets, you will need to have a clear contract with them. The contract should cover all things licensing, such as ownership rights and intentions for the art. When sharing user-generated content, you can credit artists, but it's not always necessary.
Work smarter, not harder
It is common to feel burnt out during content creation. If you are not finding time to rest when creating a visual content strategy, rethink your workflows.
You need to go for sustainable content marketing to find clever ways to cut your creation time without impacting quality or production. You can achieve this with the right content marketing tools to automate repetitive tasks and free up the best brains to work on the next big idea. It’d be better to repurpose existing content into visual assets such as blogs, webinars, and reports and turn them into shareable infographics or short videos.
Distribute your content
You need to make your content inclusive enough to reflect diverse audiences and consumption contexts. The best way to make your content more accessible is to add alt-text descriptions to help visually impaired users consume your content. You can also run images through online colour contrast tools to check their readability.
Add a transcript to explain your videos to people with impaired hearing. You can also include close captions in all your social videos. Avoid overusing emojis, as screen readers translate them into words, which can confuse some of your audience.
Measure your ROI
Online marketers have traditionally focused on attracting a large number of visitors, with page views as the primary measure of ROI. Though high traffic is important, you will need to pay attention to other metrics to build a long-term relationship with your audience.
The first one is conversions. Visual content can drive action. When an audience engages with your content and sees well-placed CTAs, they will take specific actions, like signing up for a newsletter.
The other metric is interactions that result from true engagement. These interactions include likes, comments, and follows. Once visitors find your content helpful, they will spend more time with it, such as watching a video, exploring your site or browsing photos. This will build a stronger bond with them.
Visual content marketing examples
Now that you are aware of visual content marketing, its types, and how to make it successful, check out these real-world examples to gain valuable insights for your content marketing initiatives.
McDonald’s
McDonald's recently launched a campaign to match the target audience deeply due to the growing popularity of anime. The campaign was inspired by Studio Pierrot’s iconic characters, vibrant colours and bold design. It blended anime's visual appeal with McDonald's branding.
The campaign centred around short videos that featured anime characters from series like Bleach and Naruto. McDonald's created an authentic experience for fans while sticking to the original animation style. The campaign went viral on social media, and fans responded with enthusiasm by sharing memes, art, and cosplay photos.
Nike
The Dream Crazy campaign of Nike featuring Colin Kaepernick used powerful visuals and videos to share inspiring stories of athletes who overcame adversity. The addition of black and white imagery added a layer of emotional depth to make visuals simple yet impactful.
This campaign led to a 31% increase in Nike's online sales and generated over 2.7 million social media mentions within just 3 days.
Spotify
The annual Wrapped campaign of Spotify is another great example of a successful visual content marketing that demonstrates the power of personalised content and community engagement. Spotify turned the listening data of users into colourful, personalised infographics to highlight their top songs, genres, artists, and total listening time.
The brand has created an engaging story using bold colours, playful animation and a shareable format instead of simply listing statistics. Each December, Spotify builds excitement with teasers and countdowns to turn Wrapped into an eagerly awaited event.
Now that you are aware of visual content marketing, its types, and how to make it successful, check out these real-world examples to gain valuable insights for your content marketing initiatives.
McDonald’s
McDonald's recently launched a campaign to match the target audience deeply due to the growing popularity of anime. The campaign was inspired by Studio Pierrot’s iconic characters, vibrant colours and bold design. It blended anime's visual appeal with McDonald's branding.
The campaign centred around short videos that featured anime characters from series like Bleach and Naruto. McDonald's created an authentic experience for fans while sticking to the original animation style. The campaign went viral on social media, and fans responded with enthusiasm by sharing memes, art, and cosplay photos.
Nike
The Dream Crazy campaign of Nike featuring Colin Kaepernick used powerful visuals and videos to share inspiring stories of athletes who overcame adversity. The addition of black and white imagery added a layer of emotional depth to make visuals simple yet impactful.
This campaign led to a 31% increase in Nike's online sales and generated over 2.7 million social media mentions within just 3 days.
Spotify
The annual Wrapped campaign of Spotify is another great example of a successful visual content marketing that demonstrates the power of personalised content and community engagement. Spotify turned the listening data of users into colourful, personalised infographics to highlight their top songs, genres, artists, and total listening time.
The brand has created an engaging story using bold colours, playful animation and a shareable format instead of simply listing statistics. Each December, Spotify builds excitement with teasers and countdowns to turn Wrapped into an eagerly awaited event.
Now that you are aware of visual content marketing, its types, and how to make it successful, check out these real-world examples to gain valuable insights for your content marketing initiatives.
McDonald’s
McDonald's recently launched a campaign to match the target audience deeply due to the growing popularity of anime. The campaign was inspired by Studio Pierrot’s iconic characters, vibrant colours and bold design. It blended anime's visual appeal with McDonald's branding.
The campaign centred around short videos that featured anime characters from series like Bleach and Naruto. McDonald's created an authentic experience for fans while sticking to the original animation style. The campaign went viral on social media, and fans responded with enthusiasm by sharing memes, art, and cosplay photos.
Nike
The Dream Crazy campaign of Nike featuring Colin Kaepernick used powerful visuals and videos to share inspiring stories of athletes who overcame adversity. The addition of black and white imagery added a layer of emotional depth to make visuals simple yet impactful.
This campaign led to a 31% increase in Nike's online sales and generated over 2.7 million social media mentions within just 3 days.
Spotify
The annual Wrapped campaign of Spotify is another great example of a successful visual content marketing that demonstrates the power of personalised content and community engagement. Spotify turned the listening data of users into colourful, personalised infographics to highlight their top songs, genres, artists, and total listening time.
The brand has created an engaging story using bold colours, playful animation and a shareable format instead of simply listing statistics. Each December, Spotify builds excitement with teasers and countdowns to turn Wrapped into an eagerly awaited event.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are key visuals in marketing?
The key visual can be the primary image for advertising materials such as billboards, posters, and online banners. These all communicate the core message of the campaign. These visuals can differ in terms of complexity and style, from simple icons or logos to detailed photographs or illustrations.
What are the principles of visual marketing?
The fundamental principles are emphasis, balance, contrast, alignment, repetition, proportion, movement and white space. According to the design principles in visual marketing, a balanced design feels stable, while an unbalanced design feels unsettling.
What is the best use of branded content?
A branded content has the strongest audience retention potential. With branded content you can connect with customers and align your brand with their values. You can also share stories that resonate with consumers.
Final Thoughts
Visual content marketing might not be a quick win, but it is certainly worth it. The benefits, like high engagement, higher conversion rate, and increased brand visibility, speak for themselves. However, marketers often experience challenges in finding the right tools to speed up the process of producing and reviewing visual assets. So, make the best use of visuals to tell your brand story that connects with the audience to achieve your goals. As stats also show, 75% of people claim to see better marketing ROI when they put visuals in their content.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are key visuals in marketing?
The key visual can be the primary image for advertising materials such as billboards, posters, and online banners. These all communicate the core message of the campaign. These visuals can differ in terms of complexity and style, from simple icons or logos to detailed photographs or illustrations.
What are the principles of visual marketing?
The fundamental principles are emphasis, balance, contrast, alignment, repetition, proportion, movement and white space. According to the design principles in visual marketing, a balanced design feels stable, while an unbalanced design feels unsettling.
What is the best use of branded content?
A branded content has the strongest audience retention potential. With branded content you can connect with customers and align your brand with their values. You can also share stories that resonate with consumers.
Final Thoughts
Visual content marketing might not be a quick win, but it is certainly worth it. The benefits, like high engagement, higher conversion rate, and increased brand visibility, speak for themselves. However, marketers often experience challenges in finding the right tools to speed up the process of producing and reviewing visual assets. So, make the best use of visuals to tell your brand story that connects with the audience to achieve your goals. As stats also show, 75% of people claim to see better marketing ROI when they put visuals in their content.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are key visuals in marketing?
The key visual can be the primary image for advertising materials such as billboards, posters, and online banners. These all communicate the core message of the campaign. These visuals can differ in terms of complexity and style, from simple icons or logos to detailed photographs or illustrations.
What are the principles of visual marketing?
The fundamental principles are emphasis, balance, contrast, alignment, repetition, proportion, movement and white space. According to the design principles in visual marketing, a balanced design feels stable, while an unbalanced design feels unsettling.
What is the best use of branded content?
A branded content has the strongest audience retention potential. With branded content you can connect with customers and align your brand with their values. You can also share stories that resonate with consumers.
Final Thoughts
Visual content marketing might not be a quick win, but it is certainly worth it. The benefits, like high engagement, higher conversion rate, and increased brand visibility, speak for themselves. However, marketers often experience challenges in finding the right tools to speed up the process of producing and reviewing visual assets. So, make the best use of visuals to tell your brand story that connects with the audience to achieve your goals. As stats also show, 75% of people claim to see better marketing ROI when they put visuals in their content.
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We’re remote-first — with strategic global hubs
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