Whether for website design, social media marketing, or any other form of online content, you’ll be sure to need some visual content design work done.

A business could hire an in-house designer if the workload calls for it.

They could also outsource the design job to a freelancer or an agency if it’s only a short-term arrangement.

You should do so now if you haven’t already started adding visual elements to your content marketing.

So, what are those 8 Reasons why visual marketing is so important?

1. Because First Impressions Matter

Visual content grabs interest much faster than text alone.

You may also notice this when you’re scrolling on social media.

You would likely pause and read a social media post’s content when the accompanying header image first captures your attention.

Similarly, any form of visuals can easily enhance your blog articles, press releases, and other written media.

They will grab your potential readers’ attention before getting interested in your content.

Think of your accompanying graphics as the tool to improve your written media’s first impression to the public.

2. Visual Content Caters to Skimmers

Visuals are easier to process than text, and we live in a digital world where everything is moving quickly.

Many readers click on your website to find the information they want.

You may need to show your most crucial information or data within graphics.

These graphics can include infographics, fact sheets, videos, and more.

You capture your audience’s attention with visual content between paragraphs on your website.

Especially when they are only skimming through your site to get the information they want.

You can place these visual elements right below an article’s relevant header.

If your readers are interested in the information you have presented in your visuals, they will continue reading.

3. Visual Content Appeals to Readers’ Emotions

Images can appeal to your readers’ emotions better than text can.

When you’re presenting an article that needs to relay a feeling to your readers, having the right image showing the mood you want to portray can help.

One of the clearest examples of this is in music videos, where the music selection suits the intended mood and vibe.

Songs about breakups are often accompanied by scenes showing the aftermath of a relationship ending.

Meanwhile, pop songs often include active and lively party scenes.

Visual content marketing is a compelling way to tell a story to your readers.

4. Crucial for Company Branding

Your visuals are so important for your company image and branding.

First, you’ll need to decide on the colors and tones that best reflect your business’s character and personality.

You can have primary and secondary brand colors to ensure that your images are not limited to the same duotone every time.

Once you’ve decided on the colors you want to use, you can then use these tones to create consistency.

Eventually, leading to people associating specific colors with your brand.

One prime example of using colors in images for company branding is Google.

The company’s branding is so strong that you often would easily recognize the brand just by the colors in its logo.

5. Gains More Views

We’ve been saying embedding images and graphic design into your articles is a great way to improve your content marketing.

But did you know that there is some data that we can use to back up our statement?

According to MDG Advertising, compelling visuals and images can increase the number of views on your post by up to 94%.

Most, if not all, businesses are already integrating visuals into their blog posts, websites, and social media pages.

So, if you have yet to start putting visual content onto your site, you can expect your site visitors to drop off and exit your site after one simple glance.

6. Improves Site SEO

Did you know that you can include an alt attribute to the images you put on your website?

An alt attribute is also known as image alt text or alternative text.

Think of an image alt attribute as a brief description of what your image is about in case the visual content is not displayed.

For example, an image of a basket of fruits could be something like “A woven basket filled with apples, oranges, and other tropical fruits.”

Now, imagine you’re applying alt texts to accompanying images on the informative articles you’re sharing.

Your pictures could turn up in a Google image search when someone looks up a query containing terms you use in your alt text.

In short, your visual marketing could boost your site’s SEO, helping your website rank higher in search queries.

7. Visualizes Important Data

It’s much easier to understand data presented in a pie chart, a line graph, or any other form of visual representation than seeing it all squeezed up into a text paragraph.

If you’re writing an informative article containing various data points, consider adding an accompanying chart to make the data more understandable.

Be sure to include some charts to visualize the data you’re sharing.

It can be in a simple blog post, a press release, an academic paper, or any other written media.

8. Visual Content Increases Social Media Reach

Social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter rely heavily on machine learning and artificial intelligence to show you suggested content.

Various algorithms are running behind the scenes to suggest new content on your social media feed.

Posts with visual content are much more likely to be shared than text-based content.

The accompanying visuals could be a simple picture to depict an emotion relevant to the post, a GIF, or even a video.

As long as you use some form of visual content, you’re already increasing the reach of your social media posts.

Image source

Originally published December 29, 2021; re-published December 1, 2023, to update content, add images, and add a video.