How to conduct visual content marketing?

Visual content marketing has been around for a while, but some marketers still don’t know how to make the most of it.

Statistics show that 23.7% of content marketers regard visual content as their biggest challenge.

In this article, we will show you the types of visual effects you can create, some examples of great visual content marketing and how to make your own visual effects.

table of Contents

• What is visual content marketing?
• Types of visual content that can be used

1. What is visual content marketing?

Visual content marketing involves the use of visual content (such as images, videos, and GIFs) to convey information to audiences, establish emotional connections, and grow businesses. Contrary to popular belief, visual content marketing is more than just sharing beautiful pictures and charts. It's about understanding how the human brain processes visual effects and using this information to promote your content marketing efforts.

So, how does the human brain process visual effects?

Research tells us that we tend to retain visual information for longer periods of time than plain text or auditory information. Visual effects have also been shown to improve learning and comprehension, and increase motivation to take action and consume other content. In terms of marketing, visual effects can help in many ways.

The following are the biggest benefits of using visual effects in content marketing:

• The visual effects are very interesting: exquisite visual effects can make even the most boring subject interesting and vivid. Add visual effects to the content to attract the audience so as not to make users feel bored.
• The vision is easy to digest: by visually explaining the concept bit by bit, the information is easier to understand. For example, visual flowcharts can help explain complex business processes to employees.
• Visual effects are shareable: people like to share images and videos on social media. Add social sharing buttons to your infographics and visual effects to make social sharing very convenient for your audience.
• Visual effects are great for SEO: visual effects with appropriate alt tags can display relevant keywords on image search engines. In addition, more sharing can help you build backlinks for your website, which can improve search engine rankings.
• Visual effects can increase brand awareness: Add logos, company names and even website links to infographics and other visual effects to increase brand awareness on multiple platforms such as social media and other blogs.

2. Types of visual content that can be used

1. Infographics

From marketers to consumers, everyone loves infographics.

So why not make them look easier to understand, share, and pack a lot of information in a single graph without making them look complicated or ugly.

Infographics are also an excellent tool to drive website traffic, increase brand awareness, build thought leadership and improve SEO. You can use them as part of the article to increase engagement, or you can share them on social media to make the content attract more attention.

2. Video

Video is one of the most popular content types. On YouTube alone, people watch more than one billion hours of video every day. But is video marketing effective for businesses? Let's take a look at some statistics from Hubspot's recent report:

• 92% of video marketers said that video plays a key role in their marketing strategy.
• 88% of video marketers claim to get a positive return on investment from video content.
• 99% of video marketers who currently use video will continue to use video in the future.

There are many ways to use video content for brands. You can create speaker videos, explainer videos, screen sharing videos, and short videos to showcase company culture. Look for opportunities to re-adapt existing content into short videos.

For example, you can convert a blog post into a video and post it on YouTube to attract a larger audience, increase brand awareness and attract more website traffic. You can even add these videos to blog posts to attract visual learners who like to watch instead of read.

First understand the type of content that your audience likes to consume, and then create similar content. Is the customer interested in tutorials and explanatory videos? Or does the compelling product promotion make them more willing to buy? You can do some experiments to find out, such as posting various types of videos and analyzing the content that maximizes engagement.

3. Photos

For various brands and companies, photos are one of the most popular visual content. Easy to get started, and can help add personal style to blogs and content.

Below are some types of photos you can use for content marketing purposes.

• Product photos: Show readers the appearance of the product with the help of high-quality photos from various angles.
• Company photos: Use other photos of company activities, team work and behind-the-scenes content to show company culture.
• Team avatar: Use smiling avatars of team members and employees on blogs or on the "About" page to add a human touch to the brand.
• Testimonials: Use customer photos to create brand testimonial images to increase positive word-of-mouth on blog posts and websites.
• Stock Images: Free stock images can be found on various sites. Carefully select photos that match the brand and are related to the content to add value.

Doing what other people are doing will not help you stand out and attract attention. Instead, find ways to use photos in unique ways, such as hiring a photographer and taking photos yourself, or editing photos in creative ways, using filters, text overlays, effects and cropping techniques, or combining photos with shapes and other visual elements Combine them together to make them more creative and unique.

4、GIF

Going beyond static images does not always mean creating a complete video. If you want to add more visual content to the content, but not heavy files like videos, GIF can provide an excellent choice.

For example, SaaS brands can use GIFs to show how their services work. Compared with images, this presentation will provide readers with more value. In addition, GIFs are easy to find and organize posts, which can be dragged and dropped into the design. You can also create an animation effect and download it as a GIF (not an MP4 video), and then upload it to a blog or share it on social media.

5. Screenshot

If you want to make screenshots more operable and credible, it is one of the easiest visual effects to use in the content.

SaaS and other companies that sell digital products can use screenshots to show how their products or services work.

For example, in our social media, screenshots are used to introduce readers to the drag-and-drop interface and other great features that they can use. Similarly, if you want to market your own digital product, you can use screenshots when talking about its features to support your claim with intuitive evidence, which helps build trust with your audience.

If you are talking about other tools and products, such as in software reviews or how-tos, you can use screenshots of the product to demonstrate how to use it. You can even use arrows and boxes to annotate screenshots to highlight specific parts of the screenshot, such as buttons or areas.

6. Illustration

In short, when you can't find the perfect visual effect for your content, you can create one yourself.

Illustrations are a great way to make visual effects stand out and attract attention. They can be as unique, imaginative and original as you want. Illustrations can be used for a variety of purposes, such as blog titles, social media posts, and even replace avatars.

You can hire an illustrator to help you create illustrations for your brand and content, or you can use DIY tools like Visme, which has hundreds of illustrations and icons built-in.

7. Data visualization

If you want to include statistics and research results in your content, consider creating a visual representation of that data.

Data visualization can take a variety of shapes and forms , such as bar charts, pie charts, line charts, area charts, histograms, and doughnut charts, which are used to visualize the most commonly used visual effects in content marketing.

For example, you can conduct any reliable research and create a mini-chart style chart to include in the article. You can also use data widgets (such as radius, pictograms, thermometers, and progress bars) to visualize percentages and smaller statistics.

8. Slides

Another great way to add value to content is to share presentations or slides with the audience.

Well-designed slides can make it easier for you to share article abstracts, a series of tips, and even steps. You can also create slides to showcase the company’s products and services and embed them in the article to let readers understand what you can do for them.

When using a slide show as part of the content, make sure to design it carefully to align it with the brand. Choose colors that might appeal to the audience, and use minimal text and a lot of visual effects to make the slideshow more attractive. You can also make the presentation interactive, allowing the audience to interact with you.