My business has been on low vibe for the past three years now. As I dive back in and reassess some of my previous business strategies, not everything fits. So I've let them go.
In the 20+ years I've been in business (co-owning a health club and my own online business), I've experienced time and again that if it's not in alignment it's not for me. No matter how brilliant the marketing strategy, if it's not my vibe (and that doesn't mean there's anything wrong with it) I won't get any results.
One of the marketing tools that I've used before that still sings to me are quote graphics. As I dug into the research on images, graphics and visual content I wasn't surprised to discover why it's so powerful and why it works.
Visual content is all the rage in marketing. Whether it's quote graphics, infographics or high-resolution stock photography for your blog, pictures help you share your business story and solutions.
You Are Hard-Wired For Images
In today's world of information overload, you have to decide what content will attract your market most. Notice your behavior in sifting through your own favorite newsletters and social media content, you can't possibly engage it all even though you want to.
Ever found yourself reading and had to go back and re-read? We all skim content or lose ourselves in it. Words run together on the screen.
Pictures, on the other hand, draw the eye. Ever get lost inside an image? Me too. We are most pulled in by pictures that pique our interest. Our brains are hard-wired to process visual data. We're all born that way!
Why Visual Content Works Best to Market Your Message
Human communication has existed for over 30,000 years. For most of it, pictures were the universal language. Word based communication has only been around for 3,700 years. Guess which is our primary mode of communication? (It's also why a visualization practice is so powerful. That's a story for another post.)
Images tap into your emotional being. Brain scans have shown that the emotional region of your brain is hyperactive during decision making. Emotions engage and photos are a great way to tap into them. It's why stories are so powerful.
Visual content is one of the best ways to grab your audience’s attention and interaction. Use visual content in your marketing because it works. Here is why:
- Images stick in long term memory.
- Images transmit messages faster.
- Images improve comprehension.
- Images trigger emotions.
According to Jeff Bullas, a leading digital marketing blogger, “Articles with images get 94% more total views, and including a photo or video in a press release increases views by over 45%.” And a post on social media accompanied by an image is 10 times more likely to receive engagement.
We process images 60,000 times faster than words.
Dr. Lynell Burmark, Visual Literacy Proponent
Visual content reaches the brain in a faster and more understandable way than just plain text. Make sure to incorporate the power of images in all your communication so that you can share your message in the most effective way.
3 Things to Consider Before You Create Your Visual Content
Any post on marketing is founded on your deep understanding of your why, your who and your what. These are essential concepts that need to be addressed in your business on an ongoing basis.
Simon Sinek outlines these principals in the video below. It is worth viewing and re-viewing.
Now consider your why, who and what when selecting visual content for your blog and quote graphics:
- WHY are you sharing this message? What is the bigger and deeper cause or movement that this supports? What images capture this message?
- WHO are you sharing this message with? Know your audience, your community, your people, your tribe (whatever you call them). What kinds of images will appeal to them?
- WHAT is your message? What are your solutions to the specific problems your community wants to solve? What should your audience learn from your graphic? What is the benefit to your tribe? What kinds of images convey this?
When you start to create visual content your unique why, who and what will color the kind of visual content that you create.
Take a moment to revisit your why, who and what and post it below. In my next post, we'll explore the 3 Steps To Create Viral Quote Graphics (one of my favorite marketing tools).
