A brief dive into the importance of incorporating visual elements into your marketing strategy.
Creating a marketing strategy without visuals is like buying a car without wheels. Sure, you’ve got a car, but it isn’t going to go anywhere. Humans are visual creatures; 90% of all information transmitted daily to our brains is visual [1]. According to a study by 3M, people process visuals 60,000 times faster than text [1]. This is why, when marketing to your consumers, incorporating visuals is essential to provide them with the clearest message possible and build on your brand’s identity. In essence, using visuals helps to ensure you get the best return on investment possible.
“No marketing strategy has even the slightest chance of yielding even the most minimal ROI without having visuals taking center stage.”
-Oren Shmulevich, CEO, Cincopa [2]
Visual marketing
Marketing is all about communication. The right communication creates a perception in the minds of your target audience, enticing them to learn more about what you offer. According to multiple studies, people retain 80% of what they see, compared to only 20% of what they read [1]. Breaking up extensive descriptions and text with visual elements will help them comprehend and remember what they are reading and create a more cohesive and understandable story. Communicate more clearly and effectively by incorporating visuals into your marketing strategy.
What purpose do visuals play?
Incorporating visuals into your marketing campaign serves three main purposes:
Hooking your audience
Increasing your exposure
Reinforcing your brand’s identity
Hooking your audience:
Creating a hook for your audience can help entice them to learn more about what you offer. People are always looking for eye-catching content, things that stand out. This could be contrasting colors, interesting subjects, or relatable scenes. Research has found that including colored visuals in your content increases the willingness of people to read content by 80% [1].
Increasing your exposure:
Incorporating engaging visuals can increase the number of people who stop to view your product. The more people you hook in and are interested in your product, the more likely it will be that they will share your marketing materials with others.
Reinforcing your brand’s identity:
Over time, the inclusion of visuals relevant to your business will start reinforcing your brand’s identity. Remember, you are trying to tell a story. Incorporating these visuals will help to build associations with the product or service. This allows your product to be relatable to consumers, as they envision themselves in the same situation as your visuals portray.
“There is no better way to showcase your business than to do so in a visual way, whether it be static images, dynamic videos, or even live broadcast. Visual content gives your brand a chance to be relatable in an unparalleled way.”
-Neal Schaffer, Social Media Speaker [2]
What all is considered a visual?
There are many kinds of visuals you can include in your marketing material. Most of these, however, fit into three main categories [4]:
Photos
Videos
Infographics
Photos:
Photos showcasing your product on their own or in a composed scene can be a great visual to incorporate into your marketing. While you can use stock images, a report by Stackla found that 90% of consumers prefer authentic photographs to stock imagery. Photos can be used in print material, social media, and websites, making these very versatile visuals.
Videos:
Much like photos, including videos that showcase your product in use is another effective way to use visuals. “According to Insivia.com, ⅓ of all online activity is spent watching videos” [3]. Because of this, videos are considered almost essential to include in any marketing strategy. With the rise of social media platforms like TikTok, shorter videos are becoming more and more popular. This means you could create various videos at differing lengths, and each of them will likely lead to an increase in interest in your business. Videos can be used on social media platforms and websites.
Infographics:
Infographics are collections of graphical elements meant to communicate a message quickly. This could include graphs, charts, and minimal text that is easily digestible for viewers. Infographics are exceptionally useful for print materials, such as newsletters or other promotional material, but can also be used on social media or websites.
What visuals are right for your brand?
If you are just beginning your marketing campaign, you should start by building a brand kit. A brand kit includes your brand color palette, font(s), and then your imagery. Your brand kit is essential because it can help guide your visuals as you put them together. Your chosen colors and font(s) should always be used in your marketing materials as you build associations between your brand and those elements of your brand kit. Choosing your imagery is the next step. To help you decide whether to use pictures, infographics, or videos, ask yourself a simple question:
Are you selling a product or providing a service?
Photographs or videos are recommended to showcase your product if you are selling a physical product.
If you are providing a service, you may be able to use photos and videos of customers using the service. If you are selling a digital service that doesn’t have a physical presence, infographics can be a great way to explain your services.
After you decide what type of visuals you want to use, you need to keep a few things in mind when it comes to composition:
Do the visuals you are looking at include elements from your brand kit, such as brand colors?
Do the visuals you are looking at make you interested to learn more?
Do these visuals distract from your overall message, or do they complement it?
Ideally, you want your visuals to follow your brand colors, hook you in, and complement your overall message.
Conclusion
Incorporating visuals into your marketing strategy is vital to the success of your business. Visuals help create brand recognition with your consumers, increase the effectiveness of your communication, and can even inspire them to take action when chosen correctly [5]. When deciding what type of visual to use, ask yourself if you are selling a product, or providing a service, as different types of visuals may work better than others for your business. Lastly, keep in mind that you want your visuals to follow your brand colors, provide a good hook, and complement the message you are trying to communicate.
What are you waiting for? Put some wheels on your marketing campaign and start gaining traction with your consumers!
DDRC Marketing is a research-based, strategic marketing agency that crafts integrated marketing campaigns. We provide full-service marketing and can assist you in creating a marketing strategy that best fits your business's needs and goals.
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