7 Secrets to Effective Visual Marketing on Social Media

Over the last couple of blog posts, we’ve talked about visual marketing and why it’s important to incorporate it in your social media management strategy.

However, just because you have the right tools on hand and an eagerness to start developing your visual content, doesn’t mean you’re guaranteed to have a successful campaign.

It’s a valid question – what does it take to, er, see success in your visual marketing campaign?

Speaking from experience, I can tell you that the tips I’ve listed below have proven to be quite helpful to me. While they may seem quite simple (and even no-brainers, in the case of some of the items), they contributed significantly to the effectiveness of my visual marketing strategy. Why don’t you give the following tips a shot?

1. Before attempting to attract your audience, understand how you should go about it.

What does your audience like? More importantly, what is your audience like?

By understanding your followers’ demographics, needs, and preferences, you can come up with more effective ways of using visual content to attract your audience. Figure out what they’re into, so that you can come up with the best messaging for your brand. Your visual marketing and social media strategy should revolve around the characteristics of your audience.

2. Make use of the different types of visual content.

While well-written copy is definitely a must when it comes to your social media updates, a bit of visual flair doesn’t hurt. In fact, statistics show that 40% of people tend to respond better to visual information than just ordinary text. Being on social media platforms presents the unique advantage of having the option to include engaging visuals in your content.

Don’t be shy to admit it: we human beings are attracted to pretty things. That’s why adding pictures, graphs, or videos will definitely boost your chances of attracting more followers – and, more importantly, keeping their attention – whether you’re writing a press release or a blog post.

3. Take the time to create original visual content.

If there’s one thing that I can say with confidence about reading reports filled to the brim with percentages and decimals, it’s that, well, nobody really enjoys reading them. It takes extra effort for you to fully get the gist of what the report is saying (and number after number after number can be quite dizzying, too!), and it would take more time for you to process exactly what those numbers mean instead of, say, just looking at an infographic or pie chart.

That’s why it’s a good idea to take that long, boring report, turn those intimidating numbers into friendly-looking pie charts and visuals, and let your audience appreciate your creative way of presenting data. Slap your logo on it, and boom, instant brand-building content! Sharing funny pictures of cats is entertaining, but you’ll definitely want to make the most out of your visual content. Remember: When it comes to visual marketing, a little effort goes a long way.

4. Stick to a theme or “feel” – build your visual identity.

The beauty of using visual content for your social media updates is that you can imbue them with your unique brand identity. Use consistent fonts, adhere to a specific color theme, or add your logo to your image – these are all simple but effective ways to build a certain style that your audience will eventually learn to associate with you immediately.

Furthermore, by sticking to a specific theme or exuding a certain “feel,” you can elicit the right emotions that you want to see you’re your target market, and even influence their decision-making process. Sometimes, it’s as simple as the type of filter you use on Instagram; if you’ve been consistently posting images with muted colors, for example, you will eventually reach the point where your audience will associate that filter with your brand. This is called your visual identity, and it’s important to keep it consistent.

Your visual identity encompasses all your visual content – from your logo, to your typical design templates, to your chosen font style, and even the colors you use most often. Establishing these design conventions will help you build a cohesive brand identity, helping with your recognizability in the long run.

5. Your content (and your efforts) should be on the right social media channels.

Even if you have the best visual content or the most skilled designers working on your infographics, it wouldn’t mean a thing for you if you’re on the wrong social media channel.

Pick social media platforms that would best help you achieve your business goals, and don’t be pressured into signing up for as many social media platforms as you can. One or two should be enough, depending on your target demographic. Trust me, it’s better for you to pool your time and resources into a couple of really effective channels than to try and catch everyone and end up with a very flimsy strategy that doesn’t yield the results you were hoping for.

6. When you create visual content, think about how easily you can use or repurpose it for different social media platforms.

Naturally, you’d want to make the most out of the visual content you’ll be producing. Videos and infographics should be shared on all the social media platforms that you’re active on – you can even link to them via emails to clients or your online newsletters.

7. Don’t lose your messaging in the sea of your visually striking content.

Focusing on keeping things pretty is one thing, but don’t make the mistake of forgetting to put substance over style. Remember not to lose track of your goals, and that the primary objective in running a visual marketing campaign is to take you closer to them.

Thus, every aspect of your visual marketing campaign – from materials to management – needs to be well-planned and carefully executed. This is why it’s important for you to remain consistent with regard to your visual content; your output should be geared towards getting people to sign up for your services, visit your website, or whatever your end goal is.

If you’re still unsure about how you should approach creating and sharing your visual content, you might find this infographic about the components of a successful visual marketing campaign to be helpful.