Make it Visual and Bring Your Stories to Life to Drive Site Traffic and Improve the Quality of Your Brand’s Content.

There are many nuances that drive success and engagement when it comes to content marketing – one of these is a strong visual language and brand aesthetic. When it comes to the web, people lean heavily on visual stimulation. People – which is to say, readers, prospective customers & conversions, users, etc. – need clearly communicated visual signs to familiarize themselves with your brand, to get motivated, and to engage to the point that they want to act and purchase something. When it comes to your brand, it is helpful on many levels to establish a memorable, unique visual language to convey who you are, what you offer, what you stand for and how users can get involved.

I have written about the value of a style guide in the past. Taking the time to establish key fonts, colors, verbal styles and tones, and channel applications is a crucial step for any brand. Don’t miss the opportunity to also get crisp on how you are using imagery to supplement the content you put out. There are an unfortunate overuse of parody-worthy, poorly integrated stock images plastered across the blogosphere. With the pervasive visual punch of Instagram in the user’s back pocket, today’s consumer is outright too visually experienced to buy schlocky stock pictures. And going without imagery is simply not an option – after all, articles that contain images receive 94 percent more views than those without.

If shooting in-house is too expensive an option for your brand (and it’s a costly project), there are a variety of cheap and low-cost photography repositories online to help you curate content. As you get familiar with the available options, particularly when it comes to free images, be conscious of overplayed imagery. Try not to use the same imagery that other brands are leaning on, and don’t worry if your visual expression is less obvious or literal. Chances are, you’ll intrigue users and pique their interest. Storytelling works best when the approach is layered.

If you’re a small or local business looking for ways to boost SEO through curated imagery, ASTRALCOM can help with comprehensive content marketing services. Get in touch today.