You don’t need statistical evidence in order to concur with the fact that humans are visually oriented.
For the sake of it though here is one stat that will not only confirm man’s innate visual nature but also form the basis of why undertaking a visual marketing campaign is a no-brainer for the success of your business:
93% of all human communication is nonverbal.
How about we throw in a couple more of these?
From a marketing perspective:
- Visual content is among today’s top marketing trends
- Visuals help potential customers remember and engage with more of a company’s surrounding content
- 94% – the percentage of more views that content with relevant images gets over content without
Having confirmed the obvious – that your business needs a visual marketing campaign that’ll resonate with high-value customers – it’s only right that we know how to make this effort successful. Here are nine tips to ensure that you’ll achieve visual influence:
1. Ensure that your visuals satisfy three crucial requirements
To effectively influence potential customers the visuals you intend to employ must be capable of emotionally engaging the target audience. Only then can you hope to generate the response you need. Well, there are three requirements your visual content must live up to:
- Authenticity – The content must communicate the values of your brand, whether this is for products or services you currently offer, or for purposes of creating a desired sentiment in the audience’s mind
- Targeting – The content must not only reach the desired target audience but do so via platforms the audience connects with. This is particularly crucial for social media platforms whereby each has its own established practices, norms and culture; any sort of mismatch can spell doom for your effort
- Tonality – Your brand’s visual content must strike the right chord in as far as the audience’s emotions and expectations are concerned; the more aligned it is the better your prospects for success will be. Here you have no choice but to get first-hand information about your audience’s preferences and then do your best to craft a message that resonates with that
2. Create an effective logo
A logo is often the first visual contact people have with a company; this is the reason you have to get it right. A well-executed logo design is both comprehensible and memorable for anyone who sees it; the last thing you want is to find out that people have no idea what your logo is supposed to read and/or communicate. This color emotion guide infographic shows the various emotions the logos of different companies elicit in us.
Working with a designer should help you come up with several options from which to choose. All the designs should basically be themed on what your business is all about. The theme is what will help you determine the best colors, fonts, and images for the most appealing logo.
3. Make your visual campaign fun
While relevancy and providing value should be your main priority it is undeniable that your content won’t tick all the boxes if it’s not fun. The trick is to find the perfect mix of information and entertainment so well that members of your target audience feel compelled to pass the word around. This will happen if your content is both humorous and inspirational.
4. You got to have video
The video is the huge impact on the customers thinking. In fact, 4 times as many consumers prefer watching a video about a product than reading about it.
That being said, your video content must engage your target audience deeply. Use video to tell stories about your brand, stuff that’ll allow them to know what your company is like behind the scenes.
Of course, your videos need to be of top-notch quality; outsourcing this to the pros may be worthwhile.
5. You need excellent infographics
Relevant infographics get more eyeballs than text on a page. Also, infographics get 3 times more likes and shares than other content types on social media.
With infographics you get the opportunity to share typically dreary information in a much more visually appealing manner; an appreciative audience will hardly resist the urge to share. There are more options in addition to infographics. We are talking about screenshots, memes, presentations, GIFs and visual instructions.
6. Don’t go generic – create an original visual identity
Because it takes time to create something one of a kind, coupled with the fact that there’s plenty of free stuff online at your disposal, you might be tempted to take the shortcut.
Don’t be.
There’s too much good to be had if you create your own theme and identity.
Thinking about it, it doesn’t have to be complicated. You can start by adopting a color that best communicates your company’s values. Your chosen color should then be the primary hue used for all communications. Alongside the color chose a suitable font and consistently use it.
Originality is not just confined to the online space; it applies to the physical world as well. Perhaps you want to maximize your mobile marketing with car design. You’ll certainly have your work cut out for you; the perfect mix of strong branding, standing out, non-complexity, legibility and customer appeal has to be attained.
Eventually, your audience will learn to expect this from you; you want that.
7. Repurpose your visuals
It’s vital to squeeze out all the juice you can from your visuals. Make the most of everything you create. For example, the infographics on your blog can be shared on social media, as can the videos.
Make sure your audience is optimally targeted; you want to be the first name that comes to their mind when they think about the product or service you offer.
8. Caution! Substance over style!
Inasmuch as the need to create optimal visual appeal is vital to your campaign’s success, the risk of losing your message in your visuals is all too real. All through, from brainstorming to implementation, you should never lose sight of your campaign’s objectives.
Your campaign will be ineffective if the details don’t blend perfectly. You must, therefore, do your best to not succumb to common obstacles to success including:
- obsession with visuals
- overstuffing your designs
- adopting a one-size-fits-all approach for different platforms
- going for overly entertaining content but little relevance
- opting for borrowed themes instead of being original
- getting started without sufficient information about your target audience
- overlooking the importance of consistency, relevance, and timeliness
