Visuals are becoming more important than ever in relation to creating compelling content on the internet. Compared to 2014, use of visuals has shot up more than 400%, with video on the rise.
It is easy to see why. Sites like YouTube are hugely popular, and it is amongst the top five sites in the world. Facebook has in recent months made a huge push towards video, by making their interface more user-friendly and introducing live video. In fact, Facebook’s CEO Mark Zuckerberg predicts that Facebook will be predominantly video by 2020.
In addition to their emphasis on video, they also launched a meme creator. Now if you type in a brief status update, you can choose colors and patterns, and this forms a card that is highly visual and attractive.
However, it is important to note that by doing this, there are no words on the page, and therefore nothing searchable. A better strategy is to create fun and interesting memes, like the Grumpy Cat ones, and put a description or comment above the meme when you post it.
In this way, your content will be searchable, and you can use keywords related to your niche to help your target audience find you. The important thing is to use images that accurately represent your niche but are also funny, interesting or useful.
Visual Learning
Another reason images, memes and video are important is because around 70% of the population are visual learners. Studies have shown that people who listen to information retain only a small fraction of the knowledge they have supposedly gained, as compared with those who were given images as well as facts.
If a picture is worth a thousand words, as the old saying goes, videos can be worth tens or even hundreds of thousands. Online education is booming, both formal and informal. Consumers are eager to gain the skills and knowledge they need to succeed, and are willing to spend the time and money to get them.
Using visuals positions you ahead of your competition. Each visual you choose should support the information in the article, post, or other form of content. Studies have shown that press releases with at least one image are picked up four times more often by journalists than those which do not. Just think of all the free traffic a few good media pickups could bring to your business.
Infographics
Infographics are also becoming a must for top websites. They are a quick visual of facts, figures and statistics. They do take time in terms of gathering the information and rendering it into an attractive visual form. The main benefit is they are highly shareable and can therefore serve to impress readers and drive traffic at the same time.
Slideshows
Slideshows create with programs like PowerPoint have also become a must. The best ones have charts, diagrams and supporting visuals that make them attractive and informative. Supporting images ensure your decks are not just an endless series of bullet points. Create your decks, upload them to SlideShare.net, and embed them in your posts. SlideShare will make them more visible, for more traffic.
YouTube
Every video you create should be on Facebook and YouTube so they can be seen and shared by everyone who likes your content. YouTube will allow you to embed the video in your page, a much better solution than trying to upload it to your server and play it through there. YouTube is a top search engine in its own right, and a social media site as well. If you are not already posting videos on YouTube, now is the time to start getting organized.
