Whilst you’ve no doubt heard that “a picture speaks a thousand words”, there’s a reason that this adage is so often used: it’s true – especially when it comes to content. Images are more important than you might think; not only within blogs but also within your website, social media channels and email campaigns.
So, given the presence of images can be a powerful element if utilised sparingly in supporting content, how can you make the best use of images in your marketing efforts?
Social Media Images
Through sharing relevant imagery within your messages, your audience becomes more likely to engage, respond or share your content. In fact, according to a test conducted by Marketing Experiments, it was found that real imagery outperformed the stock photos by 95%.
Even if you opt to reach your audience via emails, you can still optimise your images to suit an increasingly mobile-driven market. Imagery can be extremely useful in supporting email content as it acts as another way of both capturing the audience’s attention and reinforcing your messages and brand. Remember, images are all about grabbing your audience’s attention.
Be Creative
Don’t be worried if your website isn’t specifically orientated towards images or videos, after all, images are designed to supplement your content – use them as scarcely or as often as you need to; you can be creative. Sometimes imagery can be just the thing to support insightful, yet otherwise somewhat bland content – why not replace your whitepapers with infographics or spice up your company’s communications with videos and animated slides?
Be Selective
Your brand is a window into your business, encapsulating all the messages and values that it represents. As a result, bespoke, real images are a must. Given images convey subconscious messages about your business, the chances of mass-produced, impersonal images accurately reflecting the very specific messages underpinning your brand are very slim – therefore, as a general rule of thumb, try to steer clear of stock images: you can do better!
Whilst the well-considered use of images is undoubtedly an important aspect of what is needed to attract unique visitors and ultimately convert them into loyal customers, it is just one of many factors that contribute to an awesome, information-led and search-engine optimised website.
As a full-serviced agency, we’re no stranger to creating outstanding responsive websites for our clients – this is a service we’re excited to extend to you in the form of a two-part guide, covering everything you could possibly need to get started in developing a more effective website.