As posted on The SCORE Blog:
Visual content will be a major drive in social media engagement 2014. With 90 percent of information transmitted to the brain being visual…is it any wonder! Today’s marketers are jumping on the visual bandwagon with engaging elements that reflect a company’s branding, personality, products, services and history.
It’s called visual content marketing and it is a creative approach to creating social media engagement that is memorable – even viral – in the quest to boost your brand.
Visual content is everything from creative quotations that speak to your company’s missions and goals, to dynamic infographics, slideshares and uniquely branded social media visuals.
Visual content allows companies to expand their messaging beyond textual outreach to a captivating platform that solicits a more visceral, intriguing, bewitching, even enticingly enchanting connection with viewers of social media platforms today.
Visual content is fetching, entrancing, even glamorous, when executed with a sense of humor and a creative eye. Why not mesmerize a potential client with an inviting visual content piece that they are charmed enough to share on their own social media platforms.
Creating a bit of social media buzz with an amusing, boisterous or even inspirational visual can be a great move in a company’s push to dominate social platforms.
What’s more, visual content – displayed on Facebook, Pinterest, Google+ and other social platforms – can help with search engine optimization (SEO) as it gains traction, shares and views. It is also a smart way to build brand awareness and create a social buzz that establishes a business as an industry leader.
Think visual content marketing is a loosely effective social media draw?
- Did you know that, as a Google search term, the word ‘infographic’ has increased nearly twenty fold in the last five years?
- Did you know leaders in all industries are leveraging infographics to tell stories, inspire potential clients and drive home their brand’s personality traits, as well as services and expertise?
- Did you know that visual content, whether an infographic or other visual content, has proved itself as an engagement tool that succeeds on social media?
Face it, visual content marketing will be a jumbo drive throughout 2014. Here are some effective visual content marketing approaches to help boost your social media creativity.
- Pin It! If your business does not have a Pinterest account, get one. Pinterest offers public and private pinboards, delivering a bigtime presence to your company’s visual marketing. Pinterest can be used for media pitching, business branding and even to recruit opportunities for CEOs and SMEs to be regarded as industry experts. Pinterest allows you to visually promote your company’s value – in simple, clear graphic displays branded with your theme, colors and voice. Right now, Pinterest is enticing huge brands to promote their messaging and, with a jump from 48 million users in February 2013 to 70 million in July 2013, the numbers of eyes viewing branded materials on Pinterest is growing.
- Tweet It! Don’t underestimate the branding and networking reach of that cute little blue bird. Twitter is growing in popularity in the B2B space, with many marketing teams viewing it as a vital engine in campaign outreach. Timely tweets with relevant, clever hashtags help develop a social content consistency to your messaging – giving your messaging a serious online voice. Companies that leverage twitter are wisely using the platform to promote blogs, guest blogs, press release and more – turning Twitter into a public relations advocate for company news, views and more. Tweeting engaging infographics and branded visuals can give the average Twitter viewer – potentially your next possible client, alliance or top employee – a split-second look at your company’s most inspirational message.
- Video It! What would visual content marketing be without video? As more companies are more professionally engaging YouTube, videos are growing in popularity for social media content sharing. Look at the versatility videos present, allowing a business to offer tutorials, webinars, project reviews, client testimonials, and glimpses of company culture – even Instagram videos! Videos are a major social media content drive that more B2B companies need to engage.
With so many social media platforms to optimize, keep in mind the power of visual content marketing. If a prospective client gets a fantastic impression of your business from quickly viewing an infographic, video and inspirational overlay, you are on your way to being a social media superstar.
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Chris Miles – Founder & CEO, Miles Technologies Chris is Founder and CEO of Miles Technologies, an award-winning IT, business software, web design/development and online marketing firm with the mission of providing highly customized, groundbreaking technology solutions that further businesses’ goals and objectives. MilesTechnologies.com | Facebook | @MilesTech | Google+ | More from Chris |