Content Ideas: Tools and tips to create great visual content [Infographic included]

As most of you might already know, visual content can really spruce up content and help it go viral.

The infographic below gives the full facts and figures of the power of visual content.Research shows that 90% of info transmitted to the brain is visual, and visuals are processed 60,000 times faster in the brain than text. And according to social media guru Jeff Bullas, articles with images get 94% more total views and 60% of consumers are more likely to contact or consider working with a business when an image shows up in local search results.

Even I have taken into included infographics into my own social content, cataloguing every ‘Infographic’ I come across on my pinterest boards.  I like to repurpose those infographics into my blogs (like this one), as a source of inspiration to write new blogs and share on my Facebook page or Twitter.

Do you want to create your own visual content?

Check out the tools below to help you create your own visual content.

• Infogr.am:  This is free webapp that ingests spreadsheets and .csv files, and spits out gorgeous, interactive infographics.
• Tableau: This one is great for data visualisations. If you love open data, big data or any data, this one’s for you. You can create a variety of interactive data visualizations types, including heat maps showing density of an activity by location, Venn diagrams to show associations, bar charts, line graphs, and others.
• Visual.ly: This offers a gallery of themes for you to choose from. Once you’re done, you can share them on your social media accounts with hashtags and keywords for that extra boost to your online content.
• OmniGraffle: This is really useful if you want to share a diagram, process chart, quick page-layout, website wireframe or graphic design for your blog or website. It also has free downloadable stencils to help you get started. Good one for website wireframes in my mind.
• Piktochart: This is great if you want to create a simple visualisation. It’s a DIY infographic application to transform boring data into memorable stories.
• Balsamiq: This is also a wireframing tool that you could use for creating simple web and mobile interfaces. There’s a free demo too.
• Easel.ly: This is another free tool for creating infographics and represent data in a clear and creative way.

Here are some good articles to get you going on creating fabulous visual content!

• Exploring the Visual Side of Digital Marketing
• Keys to Great Infographics
• Simple and Effective Tips for Creating Great Social Content
• Why Marketers Should Invest in Visual Content Creation
• Why You Should Be Focusing On Visual Content Marketing

Visual content has been on a rapid upward trajectory over the last 12 months. Social media platforms such as Pinterest and Instagram have taken the social media world by storm. Instagram announced in July that it had acquired 80 million users. To put some further perspective on its adoption and growth, the visual social media network is now being used by 40% of the worlds top 100 brands. See full story on jeffbullas.com

Hope this helps!