The Most Effective Types of Visual Content
If you’ve been doing your blog for a while, then you’ve no doubt wondered which images to use, as well as where, and how often they should break up the text. This isn’t all, though; you also need to use different types of visual to really make your blog work harder.
Here’s the six best types of visual content.
Data-driven images
Data-driven images are more familiarly known as charts and graphs. They look good and they convey your message much more rapidly than mere words. If your posts have some chart and graph action going on, you’ll get up to three times as many shares as you would from just photos.
Infographics
Infographics are very powerful, as they raise site traffic, as well as garner more backlinks and encouraging social media shares. Your infographic should look good, as well as have all the right data (of course). If the infographic is easy to interpret, it can really help to raise awareness of your brand. People are also more likely to share a post – and on different platforms – if your infographics are good to look at, which can help you to reach a wider audience.
Using infographics also means that you don’t have to write a long post; a well-crafted, succinct paragraph or two will do the trick nicely, as long as you’ve got your keywords pinned down.
GIFs
GIFs have yet to become an indispensable tool in the average marketer’s box, but if you’re comfortable with them, you’ll be ahead of the curve. It’s worth making the effort with GIFs as they look professional and up-to-date; you look like you know what you’re doing. They’re also eminently consumable and shareable, showing the human side of your company or brand.
Memes
Memes can be funny, even if your industry isn’t known for its fast-paced humour. A blog about plastic extrusion can be leavened somewhat by a few funny images and phrases. Memes are also very shareable.
Videos
Videos are still big, just make sure you have a range of different lengths and people have the option to turn the volume on, rather than just going straight to blaring noise as soon as they press play.
Photos
Whether you use stock images, your own or a combination, use them very wisely. Make sure they’re relevant to the subject of the post and that the file sizes aren’t too big as this can slow down site loading. You should also use the best-quality images you can afford.
