One of the fastest growing segments of content marketing is something called visual marketing. Essentially this involves utilizing and optimizing images within content and as content, and then making the most of the enormous reach and viral nature of social media to spread this content far and wide.
The reasons behind why this works so well are well-documented. It’s well-known that the brain processes images 60,000 times faster than text, and we retain 80 percent of visual content vs . 20 percent of textual. And for marketers, the rubber really hits the road when you discover that visual content drives 84 percent more views and 94 percent more clicks than text.
What are some best practices for visual marketing?
Utilize the social media image giants – There are several social media networks that combine the visual aspect with a thriving and vibrant social media community. The big ones that come to mind are Pinterest, Instagram, YouTube, Facebook and Twitter. All offer visual capacity that boggles the mind.
Add visual content to blog posts and articles – There is really no logical reason not to include visual content in all textual pieces you create. There are many places to get free images, and you can easily make your own with tools like Canva and PicMonkey.
Make sure you optimize your visual content – Do your very best to optimize your images and videos with keywords in the title if appropriate, and an accurate description of the image or video. This makes a large difference in their ability to rank, and also for people to find your content.
Use Slideshows and Infographics – Two super easy but extremely powerful ways to utilize visual content is through the use of slideshows and infographics. These both are search engine darlings, and get tons of direct traffic and shares as well.
Now, just in case you need one more piece of proof, chew on this for a moment: The typical user on Pinterest stays there for an average of 1 hour and 17 minutes, while the Twitter and Facebook get only 36 and 12 minutes respectively. Convinced?