In today’s day and age, every brand needs to create high-quality content as a way of engaging with their target audience and showing their expertise. Creating a constant stream of high-quality content can help to increase your presence and visibility online as well as connect with your audience and provide more than just a product/service, but it is also an area that many companies struggle with. Having to create high-quality content on a regular basis is a challenge, especially when you consider that every competitor is creating content too. This is why you need to utilize visual storytelling techniques in your content which will help your content to shine and engage your target customer.
What Is Visual Storytelling?
So, what exactly is visual storytelling and why is it of value to businesses? Essentially, this is a story that makes use of visual media, such as photos, videos, drawings and animations. These can bring otherwise bland content to life and make your content much more engaging and hard to ignore, whether this is static web content, blog posts, guest posts, email marketing or any other type of content that your business is creating. With this in mind, here are the top 10 visual storytelling techniques that you should be using in your content:
1. Show Instead Of Tell
They say a picture is worth a thousand words so you will want to use visuals to communicate your message where possible. This should not be combined with lengthy text descriptions, which will be unnecessary and create a cluttered feel to the page, so try to avoid explaining the images where possible and allow the reader to make the connection.
2. Use Movement
Static images can add visual appeal, but it will not be as engaging or eye-catching as any kind of movement. This is why content should always have video, GIFs or an animation, but be sure not to overdo it as this can be distracting and create a chaotic feel on the page which can lead visitors to leave.
3. Keep It Relevant
One of the biggest mistakes that businesses make when creating content is using too many visual elements that are not important to the story. This is why you need to make sure that every piece of media serves a purpose as otherwise it will distract and also slow down the loading speed.
4. Use People
It is important to create a human connection in your content to build relationships with the reader and this is made much easier when you use visual media that has people in. As an example, including photos of your team members when creating content for the website will help to create a human connection and allow you to build a personality for the company. Media is always more interesting when it has images of people, so use this to your advantage where possible.
5. Inverted Pyramid
One of the most important techniques in any kind of content creation is the inverted pyramid. Simply, this is the key information at the top as to captivate the reader from the start – this can also be applied to visual storytelling where you need the best and most informative visuals at the beginning.
6. Light Color Palette
Using a light, soft color palette with any visual content is an effective way to calm the reader which will be important for keeping them on the page. It may seem obvious but it is remarkably effective as you would find that darker, more intense colors can be distracting and signify negative emotions.
7. Keep It Current
Modern-day consumers will see an enormous amount of content on a daily basis. One of the best ways to make your content stand out and to connect with the modern audience is to make sure that it is current, such as by using a popular and current meme or by referencing something that is happening in the world right now. People want their content to be modern, fresh and relevant; otherwise, it is likely to be ignored (this is also why you need to create a constant stream of content).
8. Keep Your Target Customer In Mind
Following this, you also need to make sure that the content and visual storytelling is tailored to your target customer because otherwise it will be ignored, so think about who you are creating the content for and what they would like to see. As an example, a growing business that is opening a new office will be interested in Gerald Eve’s services. The visual content should engage business owners and show them how this company can help them through every stage.
9. Use High-Quality Images
Nothing will put off a reader quicker than low-quality, blurred images. This is why you need to make sure that every type of media on your content is of the highest-quality, even if this means hiring a professional photographer. This can make a huge difference to the entire piece while helping you to maintain a professional reputation.
10. Source User-Generated Content
One of the smartest ways to make your content more engaging and valuable to your target customer is to source user-generated content. Using media that your customers have shared (be sure to get their permission first) helps to build authenticity, helps you to create a connection with your customer base and adds social proof to your content. As an example, you could create a hashtag on Instagram for your customers and encourage them to use this on their photos, which will help you to collect lots of user-generated content and show your audience different perspectives.
Try incorporating these visual storytelling techniques into your business content and you should notice an immediate improvement. Visual storytelling is an excellent way to make your content shine and to engage your target customer, but you must also know how to use it effectively and avoid techniques that will put off the reader.
