by Erin McCoy, director of content marketing and public relations at Killer Visual Strategies
When 96 percent of people have viewed a branded explainer video, it doesn’t matter what industry you’re in — visual content is a crucial way to reach your audiences.
Videos, GIFs, and other visuals from Instagram stories to Snaps are driving the way we communicate on a daily basis. And that means that customers are demanding the same type of visual communication from brands.
What’s more, stock images and icons are no longer enough: they don’t just fail to represent your brand, they can even misrepresent it. And marketers can attest that custom-designed visual content performs better: 40.2% told Venngage that original graphics such as infographics perform best, with just 12.5% attesting that stock images were most effective.
Still, it can be hard to know what types of content to produce, and how each can help you achieve your goals. Let’s take a look at your options.
Motion Graphics & Video.
With more than four-fifths of all internet traffic driven by video, motion graphics and video content are an essential tool for any brand. In fact, 87 percent of people want to see more branded videos.
What video-based medium is right for you? If your industry lends itself naturally to live-action video, go for it! Or opt to overlay animated data visualizations, labels, illustrations, and more to help viewers understand and interpret what they’re seeing.
A fully animated motion graphic is another great option. Animation can bring any story to life, including stories that can’t always be caught on film: how you developed a new type of software, or the ways in which your company is revolutionizing medicine.
Social-Media Micronarratives.
Motion graphics and videos can be cut up or repurposed into bite-sized GIFs for sharing across social media channels. But they’re not the only type of visual content that’s right for social. Posts with visual content are proven to boost engagement and sharing for brands.
So whether you’re looking to drive traffic to a new ebook or sharing an infographic online, use mini-infographics, data visualizations, standalone illustrations, and other types of social-media micronarratives to drive success for your brand.
Visual eBooks & White Papers.
Gated content is great for building your list of potential customers. But you need to offer them something of quality. Giving them a text-heavy reading assignment will leave most people pretty disappointed — and unlikely to share and recommend that content.
That’s why all ebooks and white papers today should be visually driven. And that doesn’t mean just including data visualizations here and there — though you absolutely should. Visual ebooks and white papers can include everything from custom icons to illustrations and charts.
Visual Annual & Financial Reports.
More and more organizations are opting to make their annual reports and financial reports just as visual as their ebooks. That’s because, even if you’re only sharing that content internally, your employees are just as attracted to visual-first content as your customers!
Visualizing key data and metrics can help your organization recognize patterns and business opportunities. That’s why, for many companies, making their reports visual is no longer a choice — it’s a must.
Interactive Infographics & Sites.
Interactive sites, widgets, and infographics boast a stunning 70-percent conversion rate. That’s because they incorporate clickable and reactive elements that encourage the user to engage with the content in multiple ways. An interactive graph allows people to see precise numbers; a clickable map helps them delve deeper into the data at the state or local level. They can explore what interests them most and ignore the rest. The result is content that feels personalized to them.
These are just a few types of content that your business can use to drive content marketing success and build brand equity.
Erin McCoy is director of content marketing and public relations at Killer Visual Strategies. She holds 2 master’s degrees from the University of Washington: an MFA in creative writing and an MA in Hispanic studies. She has won nearly 2 dozen awards in photojournalism, and has dedicated those skills to boosting Killer’s brand recognition and thought leadership in visual communication.
