When I say ‘online marketing’, what is the first thing that comes to your mind? Most people immediately start to think about text heavy pieces, like product descriptions for items on a website, social media status updates, blog entries about a new initiative, or an e-mail blast that is sent out to a list of potential clients. The common perception of online marketing is mostly centered around text first, and other forms of expression coming as a distant second. Writing is certainly an important part of marketing and it has its uses, but we can see it increasingly moving out of the spotlight in favour of other forms. This begs the question: What types of media are taking over? It’s easy to see if you just use your eyes! There’s been a big shift towards visual kinds of marketing and interaction. Comics, infographics, cartoons, and other visual forms have strengths over text that make them ideal for today’s Internet. They say a picture is worth a thousand words, and no one knows that better than a marketing company. Images and videos have a big impact on viewers without offering a wall of text for readers to sift through. There’s also a high ‘economy of information’, wherein a visual form of media can get more across with less time than a text heavy alternative. If you’re interested in finding how your business can harness this wave of online marketing to get more clicks and interest from clients, here’s the inside scoop.
Why the Internet has Evolved into a Visual Media Utopia
When the Internet first came to inception, people communicated through text heavy mediums for a variety of reasons. Part of this was the lack of technology available at the time; it would be impossible to share videos and image heavy posts without taking eons to load. Secondly, only a certain ‘elite’ of people willing to put the time and effort into obtaining and setting up a rare Internet connection were communicating on platforms like a BBS. As the Internet became more prevalent and widespread in society, you no longer needed to sit at a blocky computer and wait hours for images to load. Now, you could browse on a laptop or a phone and watch a full length video while you waited for the bus or browse through a gallery of images with no delay. Visual media becoming easily accessible happened in parallel with the rise of social media platforms. Early on we had MySpace and Fark, and now we use Facebook and Reddit. Each successive platform is streamlined to require less clicks and allow access to more content. A marketing company has been watching and adapting to this evolution in real time, giving them a unique perspective on the matter.
The Rise of the “Quick Scan” and How it Affects a Marketing Company
Along with streamlined media came the rise of user agency. People using the platforms are encouraged to give a ‘thumbs up’ to content they like in the form of a like or an upvote. This means that users curate communities and can offer their opinion on every piece. Something on Reddit that’s been upvoted will show up above less popular pieces of content, and get more views, whereas something on Facebook that gets many likes is more likely to go viral. The huge user base of these platforms means content comes flooding in from all corners, all competing for likes and upvotes. If you take the time to write three thoughtful paragraphs of beautiful prose about a product, you’ve made an error. It will take ten minutes to read that content. Meanwhile, infographics, comics, and screenshots take ten seconds to process. Your written content sinks while competitors’ visual content rises.
How a Marketing Company Harnesses the Power of Visual Content
Of course, not all visual content is created equal. There are many different ways to show information, and you want to choose the best ones. Two examples of tepid ways to share visual content with clients and customers are rage comics and memes. Rage comics and memes have their roots in obscure online communities but have become increasingly mainstream. They both involve pulling from a shared database of pictures and images, then adding your own captions to make a joke. Some companies have tried to show that they’re ‘with it’ by using them, but this content is designed to be disposable and forgettable. A marketer worth their salt will prefer to use polished content that is designed to draw eyes and catch attention. Infographics, for instance, are a popular way to show information in a quick, easy to read, and easily understandable form. You want to choose a method of displaying information that makes you look professional, polished, and trustworthy.
More Clicks, More Customers, More Income!
Having more eyes on content means that you have a higher chance of click throughs and potential customers. When you have something that gets buried beneath other content, then your product or service will get less attention. When you have a marketer with a firm grasp of visual media on social platforms, then your business will garner far more attention and praise from your target demographic.
The digital landscape is evolving, and right now visual communication is en vogue. This kind of marketing shows huge results, especially in ‘quick scan’ social media platforms like Facebook and Reddit. If your business is ready to launch a new initiative, you should contact a qualified marketing company with experience in visual media. Well crafted visual images garner more page views, more clicks, and get you more interested customers and clients. By contrast, wordy and text heavy content tends to sink out of sight. Make a smart choice and join the future of social media and visual sharing. You’ll notice results in customer interest and clicks that you wouldn’t have garnered otherwise!