Visual narratives suit our busy lifestyles. Faced with a constant state of information overload, we’ve learned to digest information quickly, so brands are increasingly turning to infographics, videos and slideshows to help rise above the noise and offer their audience a richer media experience.
The shift from ‘read-write web’ to ‘visual web’ was confirmed this month when Facebook announced its News Feed redesign and revealed that images make up almost 50 per cent of its total News Feed content.
Furthermore, Pinterest and Instagram were hailed as the fastest growing niche networks of 2012, and have significantly raised the bar for creative content marketing. It’s fair to say that we’re seeing the mantras of ‘content is king’ and a ‘picture is worth a thousand words’ collide.
Certainly, a shift in marketing budgets is underway, and we expect to see even more emphasis on content, mobile and social media marketing moving forward.
Much of this shift is being driven by the explosion in mobile web use. According to Adobe, smartphones and tablets now generate 15% of all internet traffic, and the UK and US have been the key forces behind this change. Since handheld devices are ideally suited to image browsing, this is encouraging brands to produce more creative output.
Consumer brands have been the quickest to adopt visual storytelling techniques. But with Pinterest now generating more referral traffic for businesses than Google+, YouTube, and LinkedIn combined, it’s time for B2B firms to respond. Not only can the use of visuals help breathe new life into your marketing strategy, it can also:
- Drive engagement – visuals are concise, informative, and shareable. On Facebook, visual content saw a 65% increase in engagement after its timeline was introduced.
- Leverage SEO – alt tags, captions and descriptions can enhance visual content and improve discoverability, whilst backlinks can help to drive traffic back to your website.
- Promote thought leadership – by capturing the attention of your audience, infographics allow you to express your insights in an authoritative and accessible way. The desired outcome should be to inform the audience and make them want to find out more about you – clicks and leads will follow.
Visual marketing should be considered as part of any communications strategy. Media outlets have evolved into multidimensional platforms, and journalists are now looking for a wide range of content types.
At Aspectus PR, we understand how this complex media landscape demands a creative and well-planned communications strategy. We work with each of our clients to establish their core messages, so that we can ensure these are communicated effectively and in the most engaging ways across all channels.
To find out how we can help you enhance your social media and visual communications strategy, why not get in touch?
