This blog post was co-authored with our NEXUS partner, CrowdRiff, a social marketing, analytics and insights platform.
When it boils down to it, users are visual.
According to Zabisco, 40% of people respond better to visual information than plain text. That’s probably because 90% of information transmitted to the brain is visual, and our brains process visuals 60,000 times faster than text.
Looking at the numbers alone, there’s a strong case to be made for visual content. To steer you in the right direction, this blog post goes over three tips for strengthening your visual strategy to nurture customer engagement and generate more on-site conversions.
Tip #1: Inspire Purchases with Visual Tutorials
E-tailer StacksAndStacks.com reported that visitors were 144% more likely to make a purchase after seeing a product video versus those who did not.
On this note, businesses striving to move customers along the path to purchase should look into developing video tutorials for educating users on best practices for using your products. This type of how-to content works really well in a dedicated video resource page, or content hub. A video resource page compiles all of your content and invites your audience to become involved in not just a potential purchase, but an immersive, educational experience.
Use Case: Lancome Commissions Famous YouTube Makeup Artist Michelle Phan
Beauty product retailer Lancome works with YouTube makeup artist Michelle Phan to co-produce makeup tutorial videos that feature their products. These tutorials are housed on Lancome’s site in its own dedicated Videos section. To make it easy for viewers to find and purchase the products used in each tutorial, Lancome displays each item Phan uses next to the corresponding video, thereby bringing awareness to its product lines and streamlining the purchasing process.
Ultimately, a visually rich video collection in one central location on your website helps prospects engage with and learn about your offering in a short period of time while encouraging prospects to eventually make a purchase.
Tip #2: Encourage More User-Generated Content
User-generated content (UGC) in the form of ratings and reviews, comments, photo streams, and more, gives users an opportunity to creatively engage and contribute to your business by providing unique content and feedback on your products.
Not only is UGC less expensive to produce than content created by your brand, it also enables you to connect more closely to your audience by responding to feedback and building direct relationships with customers.
The voice of your audience is a powerful vehicle for brand engagement. Often, UGC is more trusted by consumers than messages from the brand because of its authenticity. For instance, research shows that enabling UGC through implementing a ratings and reviews platform increases conversion rates by 105%.
Use Case: The Calgary Stampede Lets Fans Share Their Favorite Stampede Moments
Through Stampede Lens, a fan-powered photo platform that captures content from across social networks, The Calgary Stampede created a social hub where fans can celebrate their signature spirit of western hospitality. By signing in with their social identities, users can explore the curated photo streams, as well as upvote and share their favorite Stampede moments. In addition to bringing its fans high quality content and generating engagement for the brand, the platform gives the the Stampede a wellspring of earned media that can be used to fuel tweets, Facebook albums, photo blog posts and other content for use across its digital channels.
Tip #3: Draw Attention to Your Written Content
Visual content is powerful: Research shows that articles that contain images get 94% more views than articles without. Furthermore, 44% of users are more likely to engage with brands if they post pictures.
Brands have a unique opportunity to inspire more views and deeper engagement with their content by incorporating strong supporting visuals. When using visuals to supplement your written content, considering mixing it up with a variety of imagery, such as photographs, infographics, memes, videos, and more.
Use Case: Everyday Health Puts Visuals at the Center of Content
Everyday Health puts photographs front and center of their content with visual slideshows that are easy to share across social networks. By connecting vibrant visuals with a social strategy that helps widen the reach of its content, Everyday Health makes it easy and fun for customers to engage with its brand.
Getting Visual with Customers
In a marketplace that’s crowded with conflicting messages and advertisements, your brand needs to stand out from the pack. As you hone your marketing strategy, consider the different ways visuals can be incorporated to bolster brand awareness and on-site engagement, whether it’s through user-generated content, video tutorials, or images.