24 Sep It’s All About the Visual

First there were Blog posts. Then our ADD minds shortened them to Facebook updates and tweets. Now we seem to prefer to receive and share our information visually, using sites like Instagram and Pinterest. How do brands keep up and find their way amid the visual social media revolution?

Content has always been important, but we are circling back to a desire for stunning photography and sensational design.

How does this work for businesses? They had better learn to show, not tell. It’s time to find images that really tell your story and make people want to click through to learn more.

Why have we gone from long blogs to skipping words altogether?

Part of the shift is due to the technology we employ for our social networking. Smartphones are used when people are on the go. Taking a photo and uploading it is much easier than typing out a creative status.

This shouldn’t be a surprise, seeing that pictures seem to be viewed and shared the most over social media. It makes sense that people are more likely to engage with brands if they post pictures more than articles. With the vast amounts of information we receive daily, pictures can offer a snipped of a brand or site so that users can quickly decide if they want to click further. Our time has become precious.

If you have no products to show (if you are in a service-based industry), then finding ways to encourage users to generate their own images and videos on your social networks are key to cultivating engagement.

Search engines now rank content based on social conversations and sharing, not just keywords alone. Brands can use visual content on their social media to increase engagement and inspire sharing and viral marketing.

How do you use visual content for your business?