Visual Content: Marketing Insights for 2020
70% of companies invest in content marketing, which could include visual marketing strategies (Hubspot)
Marketers, content producers, brands, and consumers have come a long way since 2000 — the year blogging started gaining popularity. One can say blogs were the starting point of the content marketing revolution and, in 2020, this kind of marketing effort evolved to be much more than just blogging.
Nowadays content is more than just filling web pages. Content marketing has moved past blogs and now encompasses so much more as a valuable asset and a necessity to every brand that wants to successfully reach its audience effectively.
“Content Marketing is all the Marketing that’s left” — Seth Godin
Why is content marketing at the heart of the most successful digital campaigns? Because great content:
- Improves brand reputation and builds trust;
- Helps influence conversions;
- Helps improve SEO efforts;
- Is a cost-effective way to bring in new leads.
Besides, according to Keran Smith, content marketing is important during each step of the marketing funnel:
- Content at the top of the funnel facilitates AWARENESS;
- Content in the middle of the funnel facilitates EVALUATION;
- Content at the bottom of the funnel facilitates CONVERSION.
From image to video, content is being produced on masse as a vital tactic for bringing in traffic and encouraging conversions. In turn, this creates a more competitive industry in which is increasingly harder to stand out among the competition.
This battle for consumer’s attention has led to rapid changes in visual content and increased levels of innovation. With this in mind, we’ve compiled essential content marketing insights that show how visual content impacts marketing metrics — from engagement to sales.
1. THE POWER OF IMAGE
Posts that use images attract 94% more views compared to those without images.
Due to the oversaturation of digital content, attention spans are shorter than ever, which makes content presented in the form of big blocks of text very off-putting.
Use original images whenever possible — this adds a personal touch to your brand’s content. Alternatively, you can use quality photos from photo-sharing sites like Unsplash, Flickr, Pixabay or Reshot for free. Just keep in mind it’s unlikely that other businesses within your niche will have used them already.
2. KEEP THAT IN MIND
After around three days, people can recall 65% of the visual content that they encounter, but can only recall 10% of textual content they read.
We are incredible at remembering pictures. According to John Medina, pictures beat text as well, in part because reading is so inefficient for us. Our brain sees words as lots of tiny pictures, and we have to identify certain features in the letters to be able to read them. That takes time.
3. PRESS PLAY
People would watch a video review four times more than read a written review
Viewers claim they retain 95% of a message when obtained via video, with 30% of mobile shoppers saying video is the best medium for discovering new products.
According to Hubspot, the four most common video types are explainers, product demos, how-tos, and testimonials, and stats from CMO Council show that 48% of customers want to watch videos from products or services they own or are interested in.
Plus, when you’re watching a real human review something, it feels a lot more genuine on the whole.
4. SOUND OFF
85% of Facebook and Instagram users watch video on the platforms with the sound off.
“From day one, there pretty much has been the psychology that you have to catch their attention immediately. But while the first three seconds are critical, the video also has to be designed to capture attention without needing sound”. — Gretchen Tibbits, chief operating officer for LittleThings.
Encouraging a soundless-first approach to sponsored videos aligns with the tried-and-true mission among content marketers to let the consumer take control of their experience.
Silent video allows your brand to smoothly join in their ongoing media experience — without having to pause their music stream, voice call, or even Netflix binge.
“Sound is still an option [on Facebook], but it’s not required. If you can make something compelling without needing people to turn the audio on, you’re ahead of people who are not thinking that way”. — Clifton, director of experience at GSD&M
5. SCROLL, STOP, SCROLL
The presence of visuals in any content drives up the viewer’s desire to engage by 80%.
One of the ways you can contribute to encouraging more customers to share more content is by creating content that is easy to read and understand.
Also, don’t forget we’re living in the age of the goldfish attention span. This means you’ve only got eight seconds to make a connection and draw attention.
6. SHARING KNOWLEDGE
People share infographics 3x more than any other type of content and using illustrations and graphics helps increase people’s capacity to learn by up to 323%.
By analysing data, Ballatine was able to develop six key characteristics of content that has a high probability of being shared and even become viral. Two of them are particularly important in this context since they can explain the popularity of this content format:
- Social currency — if a reader believes that sharing a particular piece of information will make them look smarter or more unique, they’re more likely to do so;
- Practical value — simply put, if people believe something will be useful to their followers, they’ll be eager to repost it.
Now that you’re aware of these important content marketing trends for 2020, you can start coming up with a plan for how to implement them into your content marketing strategy. Start planning for these trends ahead of time, and you’ll be leaps and bounds ahead of the competition.
To know more about the latest Digital Marketing trends reach us at whitekube.com!
