Using Visual Content to Enhance Your Brand's Social Media Marketing

Think about the last time you had a dull, disappointing meal. Did it seem like something was missing? Perhaps it wasn’t spicy enough, or maybe it could have used dash more garlic? The point is, if the proper seasoning had been added, the meal might have been better.

The same goes for the use of visuals in social media. A brand can easily come across as boring or dull without the use of consistent imagery and video. But with a dash of visual appeal and a touch of excitement, a brand’s social media marketing effectiveness can skyrocket.

There are many ways to add the right visual flavor to your brand’s social media personality. And, with a variety of social media platforms available, you can “season” your posts on each one in just the right way to engage with your target audience.

Why Visual Content Works

If you’ve been paying attention to social media marketing strategy over the past few years, you’ve probably noticed the recent boom in visual content used on the various platforms. People engage with — and understand — imagery much easier than they do text. The use of visuals also enhances brand and message recall. That's why we've included room for images in our social media planning template.

Here are some numbers on visuals:

• 90% of information processed by the brain is visual
• On average, visual content has 94% more views than content that is text only
• Posts with photos have twice as many “likes” compared to text-only posts
• Facebook posts with photos show a 37% increase in engagement
• Video posts are shared 12 times more often than text posts
• 67% of consumers surveyed believe that clear, detailed images are very important in social media

Important points to understand for enhanced engagement on every social media platform:

1. A thoughtful process integrates all visuals

A deliberate and well thought out image choice for each post can enhance your entire social media presence. When targeted correctly to your audience, the message your image or video conveys creates an alignment between your social media and your brand.

2. Visuals can help tie in core values and mission

Social media should be used to personalize and personify your brand. Proper visuals on social platforms convey your company’s personality and culture.Tying your culture in through visuals on social makes it easy to tell your brand story.

3. A variety of visual appeal grows engagement

Visuals are very “snackable,” or easy to consume and process, so they have a higher rate of brand recall than other content. Companies that use visuals regularly in their social media management have seen a 180% increase in consumer engagement (see how to measure social media engagement in this blog).

4. Constant identities across platforms is key

Just like any other branding, it is important to keep your images consistent in terms of image (or video) theme, font style, and type of graphics or effects used. Incorporating the same imagery across Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, etc.creates a compelling brand identity that becomes more easily recognizable.

5. Images can be the message itself

As social media increasing becomes the medium where people are ingesting content, an image is no longer a support asset, but often the core message itself. Launching visual-specific campaigns can say more about your brand than text-heavy posts.

So, when it comes to social media marketing, add that “dash of visual spice” that your customers are craving. You’ll be serving up content that the public will connect to your brand — and be growing and enhancing your social media menu.