We’ve all been there: when it comes to clicking and sharing posts online, we interact more with visual than written content. Why? Compared to text alone, visual content engages more people, and “humans are capable of getting the sense of a visual scene in less than 1/10th of a second”.
Research has told us that the brain has the ability to process visual information faster, hence promoting better retention. Because of this, marketers use visual content creation as a part of their marketing strategy because they know social media users are far more likely to share it. More shares mean more engagement and clicks.
So, how can you take advantage of this too? In this post, we will share some ways you can better engage your audience through visual content.
How to Use Visual Content to Drive More Clicks and Engagement
#1: Leverage Infographics
An infographic is a picture that conveys knowledge, data, or information intended to present complicated concepts and large amounts of data in a simple, efficient manner. They’re easy to digest and allow you to convey complex information engagingly.
They are a great way to share your knowledge with others without writing an entire book or article about it. So, in a nutshell, infographics tell stories in pictures instead of words. Some topics where they are commonly used include:
- A company’s history or timeline of events
- How a product or service works
- An explanation of an industry or event
- A comparison between two or more things
#2: Charts and Graphs
When presenting data, charts, and graphs are a great way to do so. They can help you to illustrate numerical data and make it easier to understand and interpret. Graphs and charts are used by businesses to show sales figures, profits and losses, market share, and other financials.
Graphs can also show things like customer satisfaction ratings or employee performance reviews. Individuals may use graphs to keep track of their budgets or compare the prices of different products.
There are many different types of charts, and they all have different purposes and applications. Think of pie charts, which are usually used to illustrate numerical proportions; scatter plot, which are a graph that helps you visualize how two variable relate; bar graphs; bubble charts; line graphs, etc.
If you don’t know how to use any of these, there are simple tools that can help you out. For instance, you can use a scatter plot maker to illustrate your data even when you don’t have much background knowledge about it.
#3: Use Video to Drive Engagement
Videos can be created in various formats, but they all have one thing in common: the ability to explain something simply and visually. They can be pretty powerful as they engage your audience on an emotional level.
Most videos work, too, because the characters can be anything from an animal to a human being. Let’s see some types of videos you can use to boost engagement with your audience.
- Explainer Videos
Explainer videos are a fantastic way to inform potential customers about the goods, services, or industry you are in. If you have a unique product that requires some extra explanation, then users can better grasp how it can help them by watching instructional videos.
- Animated Videos
Animated explainer videos are short and sweet and typically run between 30 seconds and 2 minutes. They’re usually humorous or cute, which makes them great for getting people’s attention. These types of videos work well for brands that want to use humor or show off their personality to connect with their audience emotionally.
- Infomercial Videos
Informercials are a great way to showcase your products and services in an informative and entertaining way. They’re great for showing off the benefits of your products and highlighting their features, and they can also be used as part of an ongoing process to keep customers up-to-date with new developments in your industry.
#4: Create More Impressions Using Images, Memes, and GIFs
Images, memes, and gifs that add humor or commentary to a topic are another great way to get people to engage with your content. Let’s take a closer look at how each of them works.
- Images
Images present themselves as perhaps the simplest way to add context to your content. They can be helpful in blog posts, social media, or email newsletters. You can use it to communicate with your audience in a variety of ways effectively. Images help explain an idea or reinforce a point about a topic. They can also add visual interest to your content, which keeps people engaged. It can create interest, spark conversations, and influence people’s buying decisions.
- Memes
Memes are a form of visual content that is popular and widely shared on the internet. They are images with text overlaid on them, usually with a humorous message. Memes are typically funny, but they can also be used to share important information.
For example, if you want to raise awareness about mental health or suicide prevention, you could create a meme that includes information about how people can get help.
- GIFs
This is another fun and easy way to add life to your content. They can be used as a simple call-to-action, to illustrate an idea or concept, or simply as an entertaining content piece. They’re also great at grabbing attention – especially when they’re animated and eye-catching. GIFs can be used in many contexts: to express emotions (happy, sad, frustrated) and to show action (walking, running).
How Do You Make Your Content Stand Out?
The type of content you share on social media can make or break your brand. It is important to use visual content to make yourself stand out among your competitors. It’s also a great way to engage your audience and increase clicks.
So, the question is, how do you go about this? Let’s show you some tips that can help.
Make your visual content easy to consume, quick to understand, and digest
Visuals tend to be more engaging than text-only posts because they require more effort from the user to interpret what they’re seeing. This makes them perfect for sharing via social media platforms like Pinterest or Instagram, where users expect visual content rather than text-heavy posts.
Create your visual brand identity
You should have a visual brand identity that includes logos, colors, and fonts that represent your business. This helps customers identify your business easily. Customers can see your brand identity in every piece of content you publish, including images, videos, and text-based posts.
Create an emotional response
Emotional responses are key when it comes to creating engaging content because they keep people engaged longer and draw them back for more in future interactions with your brand or business.
Final Note
If you want to build an audience on social media, nothing is as effective as sharing visual content. Whether it’s a picture, a video, or even just an infographic, chances are good that your post will attract a lot of clicks and eye-catching attention.
Following our tips above will help you improve your social media strategy by captivating imaginations the way they already work: visually.