Some people habitually argue that words make bigger, bolder statements than visuals. Others dismiss turn of vernacular as a bit-part player in the overall aesthetical impact. In reality, both words and visuals play integral and complimentary roles in making marketing that works.
Why Visual Over the Power of The Written Word?
It’s long been considered – and latterly proven – that our brains conceive a visual quicker than any other type of content our eyes are privy to the existence of. Experts in their field tell us that the human brain has the ability to process imagery it’s confronted with in just a few milliseconds. Effective use of visual representation will therefore not only instigate a consumer journey, but subsequently increase customer engagement.
Other interesting research has found that our eyes can recognize more than 36,000 visual messages per hour (or, to put it another way, 10 visuals per second), and that in excess of 90% of information we transmit to our brains are of the visual variety. Tellingly, processing of information is much more effective from a visual perspective, as it happens 60,000 times faster than interpreting text.
But How Does Visual Content Relate to Marketing Theories and Practices?
As you might expect then, there’s an almost infinite list of ways in which the more graphic of content elements can make or break online marketing campaigns. But were you also aware that many visual content ideas can work just as effectively in an offline marketing context as well?
Far from acting as separate entities within the expansive contemporary marketing mix, both online and offline campaigns can substantially benefit from the introduction of well thought-out and executed visual content.
What Constitutes Visual Marketing?
Again, spanning the worlds of both online and offline marketing, there’s numerous types of visual marketing tools which make it something of a broad church. Everything and anything from images, presentations, video content and infographics/datagraphics, through to animated GIFs, comics, illustrations, screenshots and memes. Obviously, some of the above work better in an online context, while others can be easily transposed to an offline capacity.
What Visual Content Ideas Can Gulf the Divide Between the Two Formats?
The type of visual content that can be harnessed for both online and offline marketing purposes are more commonplace than you might otherwise think. Perceivably old school products can just as easily make the leap from traditional offline surround to a more contemporary online home.
Look no further than printed guides, glossy brochures, magazines/publications, infographics, product catalogues, corporate photography and instruction manuals. All of the aforementioned can cohabite real and virtual worlds, be they tactile and discovered in the palm of your hands, or swipe-able and instantly clickable.
Print Finishing Technology Sees Visual Content Become Physical Reality
What’s more, there are any number of digital print finishing companies out there that offer professional equipment which is designed and manufactured to create full printed documents. One such company, Duplo International, prides itself on its range of booklet makers.
At the end of the day, visual content is the winner either way. As visual assets grab readers’ attention, providing additional context and clarifying concepts. Plus, visuals have a better chance to provoke a reaction, and it’s a lot easier to condense a lot of information in a visual.
