Visual content has always been the essential ingredient of successful marketing campaigns. It’s very hard to imagine a multi-million dollar corporation who markets their products using letters and data alone, without any visual representation of what’s going on.

That being said, visual content can also dramatically influence the way people perceive our products. What are some of the ways in which visual content marketing is beneficial to our marketing strategies and should be utilized as such

Telling a story

Visual content does one thing better than any other medium – it makes people connect with your story. Every company and enterprise out there has a vision for the future. This is what separates you from the rest of the companies that sell or offer the same kind of service.

Telling a story through visual content by making a relevant statement about your identity and goals can have drastic effects on the viewers. It’s often better to tell a heartwarming story by utilizing a small slogan and accompanying image or animation than to simply sell people a product.

Multiple stimuli

One thing that visual content does better than any other medium is influencing multiple stimuli with the viewer. You can easily use web video content combined with the sales pitch and a benefits and discounts page to easily sell a product.

All it takes is some ingenuity on your marketing team’s part and creating the content for your website. This kind of content is also easily shared among your followers, making it much easier to reach wider audiences than you otherwise would.

Increased trust

Getting people to trust in your product and brand is much easier and straightforward if you opt for visual content. Showing people what you can do and what your product stands for is simpler by focusing on a visual representation than by explaining what it is you are offering.

Just imagine describing your new car to a friend as opposed to actually showing it to them – this is exactly what not using visual content feels like for your audience. You can boost your engagements and conversion rate dramatically even by using stock photos in your marketing materials. Using none will result in the opposite effect which is something no company wants to deal with.

Related: Is Your Marketing Team Making These Common Mistakes?

Viral content

Using images for content bears significant benefits to your advantage – this type of content is easily shared among friends and social media channels. Sites like Facebook, Instagram and Twitter have long since become predominant forces when it comes to sharing content. Why not focus on creating visual content that your viewers can digest in small forms and share with their friends if they like it? This way, you will not only satisfy your current fan base and customers who are active but also gain a large new following of people who have seen the shared content.

Color over information

As human beings, we are programmed to spot color and certain shapes instead of focusing on the text that comes with it. This is why many books offer small illustrations that accompany large quantities of text – it makes reading a lot more enjoyable.

The same principle applies to visual content in marketing strategies. You don’t even have to use photos or multimedia content in your marketing to gain an upper hand in pushing your product. Sometimes even blue text on a white background can make the desired effect by focusing on certain letters or sentences.

Attention grabber

Something that no content does as well as visual content is keeping the attention of its viewers. You don’t even have to understand the infographic statistics and numerous images and still get a kick out of the content you are looking at.

This is the psychological effect of shapes and colors that appear on screen and seem interesting enough to look at. As a marketing strategist, you can see why this is a good thing when it comes to visual marketing. Grabbing the attention of your viewers and stopping them in their tracks is one of the many benefits of using visuals in your content.

Memorable content

While people do tend to remember quotes or certain taglines, it’s always easier to remember a picture or a visual element. That is why companies focus on putting their logo and company colors on every piece of visual content they own and distribute. Using such materials in your marketing strategies is what separates you from the competition and makes your brand memorable. No one will ever mix up Pepsi and Coca-Cola, simply because their logos and visual content are so drastically different – seemingly, both companies sell the same product.

A larger demographic

Reaching larger audiences is easier if more people can understand what you are talking about. The good thing about using visual content marketing is the fact that even small children and elderly can get a grasp of what you are offering. This makes promoting and selling a product much easier that it otherwise would, even in international market where languages and cultures differ. However, the same can be said about the opposite – creating a negative effect towards a certain demographic is also a possibility, so a healthy balance is important.

Emotional impact

Provoking an emotional response from your audience takes some time and effort on the marketing team’s part. A new and upcoming company can rarely have the emotional impact that will make their business skyrocket. People are far more likely to impulsively respond to an established and trusted brand and buy something on faith alone. This is something that visual content can easily do with current and future buyers by showing them how they can change their lives with a certain seemingly ordinary product.

Interactivity and participation

Last but not least, implementing visual content instead of raw data can be a great way to involve your audience with the content. Interactive videos and VR simulations are nothing new in today’s day and age. Why not use this technology to your advantage and create something that your competitors can only dream of? This level of involvement on your follower’s part is unprecedented and can offer huge long-term benefits when it comes to customer loyalty and relevant feedback.