For any brand to launch a successful social media campaign, it is important for them to offer up shareable content that will encourage followers to spread the word. Posting interesting visual content is a sure-fire way to improve brand awareness on social networks. Here is some helpful advice on how to use visual marketing tools in order to promote your brand successfully in the online world.
Why Does Visual Marketing Work?
The brain processes visual information 60 000 times faster than it does with written text. Since the average person can be distracted within 8 seconds, it is important offer up information about your brand in a visual format that can be processed and shared quickly. This is why visual marketing has become such a successful tactic in building brand awareness for brands in a wide range of fields.
Some of the most successful brands in the world have adopted various visual marketing strategies to boost their profiles in the online world. Starbucks, Nike, Oreo, Coca-Cola and Taco Bell are just a few of the companies that post visual content that attracts followers and encourages them to share it with their contacts.
Infographics
Present data in an interesting and unique way to get your followers talking about your brand. Share results of a recent study or offer advice in a guide that is presented in a unique visual way, and you can attract plenty more followers to your brand.
Infographics are some of the most powerful tools for generating backlinks, as they are visually appealing and educational. While social networks seem to be overrun with infographics nowadays, you can ensure that users will interact with your brand by offering up unique visual content that cannot be found anywhere else. Think of something truly unique to present visually and your brand can attract plenty of views and shares from users across the web.
Photos
More visual brands like makeup manufacturers and clothing designers will have more access to interesting photos and videos, but even brands that aren’t particularly photogenic should be able to find visual content that will attract followers. A common tactic is to post behind-the-scenes photos from events that your employees attend or any interesting projects that you are working on. This is an easily accessible form of visual content that can be posted across various channels.
Another popular way to use images is to convey text in a visual format. Use images of quotes or reviews to present information in a visual way to your followers. While this is still a text-based post, it a format that is easy to process for users on social media sites.
Videos
Today’s social networks are more accommodating to videos than ever before, making them a popular visual marketing tool. Over 60% of users are more likely to buy a product after watching a video that features it, while 75% of users will visit the brand’s website after viewing a video.
While making a video may seem like a daunting task, smartphones and affordable video editing software make it easier than ever to promote your brand on this visual platform. There are also many ways to go about using videos to promote you brand – share advertisements, short tutorials and behind-the-scenes videos across the full range of social networking platforms to engage your followers.
User-Generated Content
Get your clients and customers involved! Encourage them to send pictures of them using your products, which you can then post on your social networks. In many cases, followers will simply enjoy being featured by their favourite brand; however, brands also offer up giveaway prizes to users to who send in the most interesting pictures.
This type of visual content saves your social marketing team the time and effort it takes to source visual content. Additionally, followers that have been featured are more likely to share this content with their friends. While this type of content works best for visual brands like makeup manufacturers and designers, plenty of other industries can take advantage of user-generated photos. For example, Pepsi, Lowe’s and T-Mobile have all launched successful marketing campaigns based on user-generated content.
Customise Content For Each Social Network
When you share content across Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat and any other relevant social networks, ensure that it is customised to each platform. Each social network has its own format for posts, and you should aim to ensure that your visual content is optimised for viewing by the specific users of each platform.
This is an example of how GE optimised its posts for various social networks, and it serves as a great example as to how brands should customise their content:
Animated GIFs and Memes
These are quite new to the online marketing world, offering up a more humour-based way for brands to engage with users. A meme is an image that is accompanied by funny text, and many brands are using them to make followers laugh.
This is a popular example of a major brand that used a meme to attract attention to its products:
Animated GIFs have gone in and out of popularity in the online world, but sites like Buzzfeed have ensured that they are here to stay. A very popular form of visual communication in today’s digital market is using animated GIFs to tell a story or show off various products. This content is easy to share across various social networking platforms in order to appeal to various demographics.
Quizzes
Quizzes are a unique form of visual marketing that appeals to all types of social media users. While brands previously had to link away to other sites to offer quizzes to their followers, they can now be embedded into social networks to keep users on the brand’s page. As an interactive form of visual marketing, quizzes keep users engaged with your brand, and they are likely to share their result with friends. It is not uncommon for popular quizzes to go viral, and brands should certainly consider creating a quiz or two for their fans.
Image: Author’s Own
