Powerful Visual Content Strategies

Author: Rick Enrico / Source: Convince and Convert: Social Media Consulting and Content Marketing Consulting

Do you remember the last time you felt the warm grip of a good book that makes you want to read on, page after page? How great writers craft their masterpieces with seemingly simple words—or even using a few uncommon ones to describe an object, like using “vast” for “big” or “numerous” for “many”—is a skill that isn’t innate; it’s studied, practiced, polished, and continuously improved upon. It’s how masters of the craft make literature memorable.

What about the shorter pieces found online? No, not fanfiction (but if you find such pieces interesting, then good for you). Think about blogs that focus on travel, business, gaming, food, what have you. What makes you read those posts time and time again? Is it the topic or how it is written? Is it the wit, the humor, the seriousness, or the passion? Whatever the reason, you keep coming back to them.

The same is true for visual content marketing. When people like how you write your pieces or how you present your data, they will be anticipating your next post. Why? Because you pique and satisfy their interest and/or because you’ve mastered how to use your posts to their fullest potential. The bottom line is that visual content is not just about the pretty pictures; it’s also about the witty words, the terrific texts, and the crafty copy.

Words hold a power different from that of images, and vice versa. The best use of both is a balance of those abilities that can provide a multitude of effects on readers. But before you strike that middle ground, focus on your text first because it will give you many ideas on what to do after writing it. When crafted from the heart, great copy can accomplish many things, including those listed below.

Communicate with Readers

• Buffer
• Facebook
• Twitter
• LinkedIn
• Pinterest

If images lack one thing, it’s words. An oft-cited cliché is that pictures are worth a thousand words, but what—and where—are the actual words? If anything, pictures bypass the text and appeal directly to a viewer, but there’s no substitute for the feeling of excitement as you go word by word, building up the tension and suspense and having that cathartic feeling when the piece is done.

The same goes for pieces that don’t fall within the categories of literature or journalism: With every bit of information you put out that readers take in, you give off the feeling that you’re talking to and with them. You’re presenting what you have in what could…

Click here to read more