Boost Your Content Strategy - Using Images Effectively
Stock Photography by Kerrin Smith
Images are easily absorbed and allow people to make decisions quickly. They create an edge for written content, making posts far more interesting at a glance. Images can go as far as being inspirational, compelling people to share them online to their own networks. They can double reader interaction in social media feeds and encourage their audience into action. But if you are adding visuals to your content marketing strategy for the first time figuring out how to do it effectively can be tricky.
Who are you speaking to?
Get to know your target market and define your audience. You want to build relationships and brand awareness, and create leads. With that in mind think about what imagery would be relevant to them. If the images do not reflect or enhance your message than they will only create confusion with readers. As a basic guide people love beautiful shots, yummy food photos, original and quirky ideas, inspiring images, authentic personal branding (so they can get to know the real you) and of course, anything funny. But make sure what you use is relevant to the content.
Become a hoarder
Create a storage system on your computer with any images you can get your hands on. Be sure to have your smart phone at the ready to capture interesting shots on the go - gorgeous food, sunsets and landscapes, colourful lifestyle shots and photos of you, doing things relevant to your business and brand. You can also start collecting stock images for your file. But beware, you cannot just use images you find and download from the internet. All images carry a copyright and unless you have asked for permission to use the image or have paid for it, it cannot be used by you. It is better to just head to a stock image online store or enlist the services of a professional photographer so that you avoid breaching any copyrights.
Get creative
Once you have some images in your library you can start pairing them with your written content. As mentioned before, relevance is key so make sure you find an image that supports your content. To give your images more impact there are a number of little tricks you can use.
Firstly, why not create a collage? You will get more bang for your buck here by making a range of complimentary shots into one very cool graphic. Another hot tip is to add some text. Put together some sharp and catchy headlines and splash them over your image for some extra punch. You can even make your images interactive. Add some embedded links to drive your audience to a whole range of content. This will allow them to essentially discover more about your business without even leaving the page. Perhaps the most important addition to your image is to add your branding; you do not want your photo going viral without any reference to you on it.
While these suggestions may sound tricky there are websites that will allow you to start creating easily. And even better, their basic editing tools are free to use.
Does it really make a difference?
Make sure you gauge the level of interaction from your audience. Easy ways to measure the success of adding an image to your written content is to simply post it with and without the added visuals. This will quickly show you the benefits of using a visual marketing strategy. To go one step further, test the type of images you are using. Again with the same piece of content but using two different visual images, post the content online. You will then be able to see which image works better and tailor your future posts to reflect this.
Using visual images in your content marketing strategy can be rewarding once you get a feel for what your audience wants to see. The main objectives are to create engagement, be relevant, convey information and to build your brand. So start adding images to your written content today and measure the success for yourself.