Facebook posts with images see 2.3x more engagement than those without images. (Source: BuzzSumo)

A picture is worth a thousand words. This expression is widely used in the world of marketing for a reason. According to Canva, only 20% of people remember what they read, but 80% remember what they see. Images can express a complex idea the same way a large amount of text can, sometimes even better. And it’s proven to have a powerful effect on your marketing. Below are just a few examples:

• 4x as many consumers prefer to watch a video about a product than to read about it. (Source: Animoto)
• Facebook posts with images see 2.3x more engagement than those without images. (Source: BuzzSumo)
• 37% of marketers said visual marketing was the most important form of content for their business, second only to blogging (38%). (Source: Social Media Examiner)

To help you tell your story with more impact, we’ve compiled some tips below.

1. Images & Videos

As we previously mentioned, Facebook posts with images garner 2.3x more engagement than those without. Having said that, it is crucial for marketers to use visuals – be it video or images – when conveying marketing messages on social media.

Tip: Use only high quality images for your content. If you don’t have a budget for professional photoshoots, there are plenty of stock images out there where you can get for free or for a nominal fee. Also, make sure your image sizes are optimised for the respective social media platform to prevent cropping off important information. Work with us and we’ll do all the research and resizing for you.

2. Visual Charts & Diagrams

People love sharing new data and well-researched information with aesthetically pleasing visuals. A research by QuickSprout reveals that articles with data-driven visuals rank fourth in shareable formats and receive more trackbacks – 258% more than posts with other types of images.

Tip: Visualise your data with charts, graphs, and diagrams to help your audience comprehend complex information better.

3. Infographics

A well-designed infographic helps increase awareness of your brand and offers potential for several platforms beyond your blog. They can be shared on Pinterest and uploaded to SlideShare. For long form content, infographics can even be repurposed into smaller parts of snackable visual contentfor Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and even Instagram.

Tip: If you know how to explain ideas and data through infographics, think about taking it to the next level and animating it – a gifographic. It can increase the interest of your audience, better entice them to share the content, and boost your SEO through increased traffic (and you’ll stand out in SERP results).

4. Illustrations

Tell a story with a picture – if you can imagine it, we can draw it. Sometimes, stock images struggle to convey niche messages the way we want them to, as they are taken without a creative brief. In cases like this, illustrations neatly resolve representational challenges posed by stock imagery.

Tip: Make sure your illustrations reflect the tone-of-voice and messaging of your brand. Work with us, we have a professional illustrator to help you execute your ideas.

5. Animated GIFs

GIF, or graphics interchange format, is an image format that supports both static images and animation. Small bits of animation in an image such as the example below is a fun way of drawing peoples attention.

Tip: GIFs can be a way to stand out from your content competition. Start using them and see how your readers interact with them.

6. Photo Testimonials

Oftentimes, customers dont like to take our word for it. Using someone else’s words is much more effective, as they are not strong sales pitches and they come in an unbiased voice. With Instagram’s main focus being visual content, it is no doubt the best platform for the job. In fact, engagement with brands on Instagram is said to be 84x higher than Twitter and 10x higher than its parent company, Facebook (Source: Business Insider).

Tip: Incentivise your audience to posting photo testimonials on Instagram, mention or #hashtag you, and tell their circle of friends and followers why they love you.

7. SlideShare Presentation

Turbocharge your online presence with SlideShare. SlideShare presentations are a great resource to concisely convey your thoughts in an article visually. More noteworthy, it is downloadable too, thus enabling readers to keep the PDFs for their future reference.

Tip: Optimise your designs for optimal reading experience. For instance, make sure your images are of the right size to prevent overstretching (horizontally or vertically); and files are exported in the appropriate resolution before uploading, so that it doesnt appear pixelated.

Talk to Superskill about your visual storytelling strategy. We will ensure your content gets the best visual treatment for greater impact.