Images are one of the most important components of marketing. Between 65 to 85 percent of people identify as visual learners, according to Trend Report, and platforms like Instagram and Pinterest are daily must-visits for many. Images can hook consumers immediately or turn them away just as quickly. Visuals affect consumers’ perceptions of the company’s success, legitimacy and brand prestige. Here are some easily implementable ideas of how to use images in your digital marketing beyond the typical stock photography.
1. Make a graphic out of simple text
Just as ‘show, don’t tell’ is fundamental wisdom for writing stories, it also applies to other forms of communication. People engage more with text when it is presented in a style that is different to its surrounding words.
2. Graph numbers, don’t describe them
Graphs are a much better gateway to absorbing numerical information than paragraphs (which, ironically enough, contains the word graph…).
“According to IDC, in the 2010 mobile ad market in the U.S., Google had 21 percent of the share, Apple had 21 percent, Jumptap had 13 percent, Millennial Media had 11 percent, Yahoo had nine percent, Microsoft had seven percent, Nokia had two percent, and others had the remaining 16 percent.”
Which one is more readable?
3. Embed Tweets
Twitter provides an embed code for every Tweet to insert the Tweet into your content and make it interactive – links, hashtags and Retweet and favorite buttons all remain clickable with embedding.
Apple Watch reminded me it was time to stand. So, I stood up, got Cool Ranch Doritos from kitchen, and crawled back in bed. Feel healthier!
— Brianna Wu (@Spacekatgal) May 27, 2015
This breaks up text for visual appeal and is also an easy way to source things directly from Twitter; no additional linking required. Just copy the embed code and paste it into the content’s HTML (not rich text). If the platform does not support Twitter’s embed code, it sometimes can also be helpful to insert an image of the screenshot of the Tweet, for the visual effect. A link to the Tweet’s URL can be added in text, such as “Tweet is from here.”
4. Insert gifs
Whether it’s because they tend to be made from funny scenes from movies or show or because humans are just naturally transfixed by moving images, gifs just seem more appealing and fun than still images. Even when they are of mundane things.
Seriously, why is this so much more interesting than a still photo?
Always check if the intended medium supports gifs, and if so, how they are played. On Twitter, for example, gifs behave like videos and need to be prompted to play instead of looping automatically and infinitely. The type of playback should inform how the gif is introduced with text. On Twitter, for example, the Tweet accompanying the gif should intrigue the audience enough to click the gif. Edit: Twitter announced on June 16, 2015 it will begin automatic playback for videos, gifs and Vines.
As scared as I would be if I saw a robot chasing after me pic.twitter.com/Bzxbqtne76 — Funny GIFs (@ItsFunnyGIFs) July 1, 2014
Context and tone should always be considered when using gifs too. Not every company’s content will or should be like a Buzzfeed article. It is generally acceptable to use gifs on social media like Twitter and Tumblr, but for websites, for example a personalized landing page made with Easypurl, and longer, more formal writing, gifs should be used sparingly. These are not rules set in stone, of course, and every case should be considered on its own. Gif responsibly.
5. Optimize your images
An easy way to boost SEO is to include captions and metadata using relevant keywords for your images. Also, optimize images for social media. Consider how the main image of the article will look when linked on social media. Is the image blurry or partially cut off? Is it generic and easy to scroll past?
6. Make everything as accessible as possible
It is important to prevent images – or any design aspect or content – from turning away potential customers when they see your business’s online presence. For email marketing, make sure image sizes are small enough to load easily in an inbox, especially on mobile email. With landing pages, make sure they are lightweight – no large files that will take long to load, no images (or fonts) that are hosted from a different site and need to be loaded from there. Contact Easypurl if you have any questions about how to use our platform to build landing pages or email campaigns for your business.
It is not just vital to use images in marketing, but to use good ones in the best way. Thankfully, it is not necessary to keep professional photographers or advanced graphic designers on retainer to succeed.
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