Visual Content Marketing: Conquering the Online Rodeo

Saddle up, and hold on. You have eight seconds to make a lasting impression in front of millions. Do you have what it takes? No, we’re not talking about professional bull riding. We’re referring to the average attention span of digital users in 2016. Just short of a goldfish’s attention span by .75 seconds, the average human attention span is 8.25 seconds, according to Harald Weinreich [1]. This leaves marketers with a challenge to capture users attention and communicate a message with less than nine ticks of a watch. Internet browsers are constantly scrolling through information looking for engaging media at rapid rates, making first impressions of content within 50 milliseconds. It is more important than ever for marketers to create unique content that captures digital user’s attention.

While online browsers quickly scroll through social, email and web feeds, they are constantly bombarded with loads of text, blue underlined links, and monotonous information. In fact, the average user sifts through over 100,500 digital words every day, leaving information comprehension rates very low. One way to differentiate your content in a social feed is the use of visuals, such as emojis, photos, videos, and GIFs. The human brain processes image 60 times quicker than words, making visual content very efficient in communicating a message. Here are four ways marketers can capitalize on using visuals for social media marketing.

Infographics – Infographics come from an adaptation to growth in digital usage and a demand for visual content. The human brain can register 600 visual messages per minute, making infographics an efficient communication tool. They are used to tell a story and present information in a visually appealing design, which allows readers to quickly scan the graphic. Infographics use simple images and paraphrased information in creative designs that follow a relevant theme such as graphs, charts or brochure-style layouts.

Photos – “A picture can tell a thousand words”, and a thousand words create a story. Photographs create a visual connection to compliment the text and can even tell a story on their own. It is important to use high-quality photographs that appeal to an audience in order to capture viewers attention. Twitter reported, Tweets that include photos receive 313 percent more engagement than those that do not. By using original photos rather than generic stock photos, marketers are able to control every aspect of the design to maximize branding, product placement, and storytelling.

GIFs – This evolutionary element between videos and photos were created in 1987, but are recently becoming popular in content creation. Within the past year, Facebook and Twitter have integrated the ability to use GIFs in their social feeds. These short-looping media clips use quick video sections with no sound. GIFs are often used in a humorous tone to imply reaction, showcase entertaining action or offer a preview of longer content on social feeds.

Video – Video is quickly becoming the dominant form of social media content with large expectations for the coming years. Reports expect 74 percent of all Internet traffic in 2017 to be video and will increase to 84 percent by 2018. With advancements in mobile video capabilities and growing interest in virtual reality, social media feeds are adapting their algorithms to be more video friendly. Facebook recently reported [2] that in just one year, the number of video posts per person has increased 75 percent globally and 94 percent in the US. When consumers act, brands are soon to follow their social media trends. Animoto’s research [3] says that 96 percent of online buyers find videos helpful while shopping. The same report also states 58 percent of online shoppers are more likely to trust a brand that uses video to showcase their products and create content.

Keeping your information visual increases entertainment and engages the audience. If you are looking to bring your brand to life, contact us at Different Perspective to find out how we can help you optimize your digital marketing strategy!

[1] Harald Weinreich
[2] Facebook recently reported
[3] Animoto’s research