3 SIGNS YOUR VISUAL CONTENT STRATEGY NEEDS AN OVERHAUL

Nearly 9 in 10 marketers are already sharing visual content. That’s because they know just how much it boosts engagement and returns. In fact, 91% of today's audiences prefer information delivered through visual content when learning about a brand or service.

But, while marketers know that they need to lead with visual content to meet today's demand, many fear that they do not have an effective visual communication strategy in place.

How can you tell whether your visual communication strategy is in need of improvement? Here are 3 signs you’re overdue for an overhaul.

1. YOU’RE NOT GETTING ENOUGH ENGAGEMENT.

If the visual content you’re sharing on social media isn’t getting significantly more engagement than your text-only content, that’s a sign that the visuals you’re sharing aren’t right for your audience.

The primary reason for this is likely that you’re not focusing on quality. For example, are you primarily sharing stock imagery, relying too heavily on typography, or delivering content with competing illustration styles? Today's audiences have highly discerning eyes. If the content looks cheap, inauthentic, or lacking in creativity it's likely to perform poorly.

Other factors may be at play, as well. So to boost social engagement with your visuals, follow these steps:

• Refocus your efforts on producing custom designs that accurately reflect your company and deliver your message in a visually engaging way.
• Clearly identify who your target audience is on each social platform, and optimize that content to appeal to them. See #2 below to learn how.
• Ensure you’re sharing visual content at high-engagement times of the day and week. Sharing on a Friday, for example, won't see the same success as a Tuesday.
• Optimize each piece of visual content for the platform where it will live. This includes adapting dimensions, style, and video length accordingly.

2. YOUR TRAFFIC ISN’T CONVERTING.

If your visual content is driving traffic to your site, great! But if that traffic is failing to convert, there are 2 potential problems to consider:

Your visual content doesn't share one unified aesthetic and/or attention to quality

OR

You are attracting the wrong audience

So what do you do in these situations? Let's first address your content's aesthetic:

Imagine if you are standing outside of a restaurant debating on whether or not to go in and order some food. The exterior of the restaurant is beautiful, the sign is inviting, the menu looks appealing, and even the door is classy. What would you do if, upon opening that door, you found a dining room of folding chairs, dirty tables, and a kitchen one jalapeno popper away from a grease fire?

If you're like me, you would likely turn around and walk out because the aesthetic of the outside promised a very different experience from what you found inside. Don't let your customers have this same experience. If you engage them with high quality content only to send them to a website that hasn't been updated since the dot com bust, you'll lose them quickly.

While this might be an extreme scenario, it's worth considering as you build your visual content strategy. Uniting your content under a single visual language will keep your audience engaged every step of the way and help to ensure you don't lose their attention midway down the funnel.

Now, let's talk about the problem of attracting the wrong audience:

To address this problem, first you’ll need to clearly define who your target audience is. This may vary by platform. Here are some key metrics you’ll want to know:

• Age range
• Gender
• Geographic location
• Education level
• Hobbies and interests

Once you know more about your audience, you can create designs and videos that are specifically appealing to them. This will prevent you from sending the wrong message, and attracting people who are ultimately not interested in your product.

When you optimize your content, you’ll want to consider:

• Design style (e.g., professional vs. fun/informal)
• Color palette (e.g., neutral vs. bright)
• Tone (e.g., serious vs. funny)
• Length (e.g., a 10-second video vs. a 90-second video)

Not sure what your audience will like? To learn more, check out our:

• Marketing guide to Generation Z
• Article on designing a visual language for millennials
• Tutorial on how visual content affects the brain

3. YOU’RE OVERSPENDING.

An investment in quality visual content is worthwhile because quality content converts. But if you’re spending a lot of time and money on every piece of visual content you produce, it’s time to rethink your long-term plan.

Two essential tools can make producing new visual content easier and less expensive:

• A visual language: Defines everything from design style to fonts to color palette so you can achieve consistent results, and so that you don’t have to reinvent the wheel every time you want a new piece of content. Learn more about creating a visual language.
• A visual workbench: A set of custom-designed assets, including icons, graphs, and illustrations, that get to the core of your business and that you can reuse again and again. Learn more about creating a visual workbench.

By combining these tools, you can create myriad pieces of visual content that share a cohesive visual aesthetic, speak to your target audiences, and allow for speed of delivery without breaking the bank!