A long text only article turns readers off. Did you know that visual content receives 94% more views than written content? If you have been neglecting visual content in your marketing strategy, whether on social media, blogs or other marketing campaigns, it’s time to get serious & take action today.
If you want people to notice you then use more visuals because they are easier to consume and they make reading more entertaining for your audience. Since you’ve taken so much time to write your articles why not maximize the results you’re after? Visuals are so critical that if you don’t have them in your blog posts readers will most likely bounce off quicker. Not good.
Nothing communicates as effectively as a picture… “a picture is worth a thousand words”. Visual content marketing has become the most powerful form of storytelling that a business can offer their target audience. How you use graphics greatly affect how you and your business are perceived. It’s kind of like meeting someone from the first time. People are judging you the first time they meet you, before you even speak. Visuals are powerful – it can make or break you.
If you’re still not convinced, here are some additional facts:
- Our brains love visuals and process images 60,000 times faster than text
- 90% of the information your brain receives is visual
- 65% of people are visual learners
If you’ve been reading my work you know I practice what I preach especially when it comes to Pinterest marketing for business and bloggers. The right images work wonders on Pinterest if you can apply the science behind it all. It certainly isn’t black and white for all businesses.
From my experience working with several types of businesses some images work better than others. It is certainly NOT a cookie cutter approach. In my Pinterest Marketing for Business online course I reveal 18 types of images that work the best for Pinterest. Yes, that many types of images ????
7 Pinterest Expert Actionable Tips for Bloggers & Writers:
1) If you’re not proficient at Photoshop I highly recommend you use a design tool like Canva. If you have zero knowledge about colors, fonts, layouts, they offer great tutorials and it’s great for a non-techie like myself! Canva also offers templates and images you can purchase for only $1.
2) Create at least one image per blog post. Better yet create five to 10 images but give them different titles when adding text overlay. This will increase your chance of getting your pins to go viral. This is also a good way to test what works and what doesn’t work. More importantly you’ll get more eyeballs on your blog posts especially if you’re not blogging on a consistent basis.
3) Looking for free stock photos? I recommend http://www.pixabay.com and http://www.pexels.com I always recommend that you give attribution (meaning photo credit) at the end of the blog post. This way you can never get into trouble with Pinterest or get suspended because you didn’t know about copyright laws, etc.
4) Revive older blog posts with new images. Check your Google analytics to see which of your blogs have performed well and give them an extra boost by inserting more visuals.
5) Make images easy to share by having the “Save” buttons alongside your content. This is especially important when you don’t have social sharing icons in the bottom of your blog posts.
6) When creating images think inspiration and information. Does your image compel them to take action on it? Are your images beautiful to look at? Is it emotive? If you do this consistently you will set yourself apart from others and people will remember you. Isn’t that what you want?
Infographic by MDG Advertising
7) Break up your text with images. A study from Buzzsumo found that articles with one image for every 75 to 100 words get the most shares. Here’s an example of that from the Shefit blog. Look at how the text is broken up frequently to give the reader a way to skim through the article and understand its flow and structure without necessarily having to reach every word.
Remember that if your words are boring to the reader you can keep them engaged with the right images. Just make sure your images are always in keeping with the theme of the blog post to avoid confusing your readers.
Scanning is an essential part of reading web content. I know I do. There’s so much stuff to read, we don’t have time to read it all. Keep this in mind when you create content. As content creators, embrace this, don’t try to change your reader’s natural behavior when it comes to their reading habits. That’s not going to happen. Instead, use this to your advantage and create content knowing they will scan through your content. By creating visual breaks in the text your work becomes more engaging. A good way of testing if your blog posts are engaging is by checking your Google analytics. Have a look at the bounce rates.
Naturally there are other things you need to consider when creating your images such as branding, user agreements when purchasing stock photos, etc. If you want to win big on Pinterest you’re going to need lots of great images, otherwise forget about Pinterest all together ????
If you’re struggling with figuring out if you do or don’t have enough images or don’t know what images to use for Pinterest, contact me at anna@whiteglovesocialmedia.com
This article was first published on Integrated Marketing Association.
Power influencer and social media strategist Anna Bennett is the owner of White Glove Social Media and co-founder of True North Marketing. As a Pinterest expert, she helps businesses supercharge traffic and sales growth with Pinterest. Anna is one of Pinterest’s Business Experts chosen by Pinterest themselves.
Her three decades of experience in retail operations and business coaching is the rock solid foundation for her dynamic marketing and training services. Anna is the author of Pinterest Marketing For Business Master Online Course and How To Become A Pinterest Account Manager and has been featured in Forbes Magazine, Investor’s Business Daily, American Marketing Association, and several other publications. She has quickly taken the lead in the competitive and rapidly changing world of social media marketing and in 2014, Sean Gardner, bestselling author and Forbes #1 Social Media Power Influencer, praised Anna as a well respected Pinterest expert and predicted that “as Pinterest grows and becomes a monster platform” audiences should “look to see her name even more.”
In 2012, Anna decided to combine her years of success as a business owner and coach with one of the fastest growing social media platforms: Pinterest. The result? White Glove Social Media Marketing. Under Anna’s scrupulous direction, business owners, marketers, bloggers, and entrepreneurs have learned to harness Pinterest’s phenomenal marketing potential. As a certified social media strategist and Pinterest Expert, Anna uses her superpowers–speed, attention to detail, delivering customer ROI, and a knack for finding humor in everything–to ensure every client receives white glove treatment.
Before bursting onto the social media scene, Anna dazzled as an international beauty pageant winner, instructed for John Casablancas International Modeling & Talent Agency, won the national retail president’s club sales award (twice!), owned and operated a best-in-class luxury day spa, offered consulting, and coaching to spa owners, and even developed her own line of cosmetics. In 2012, she obtained her certified social media marketing strategist designation through InstantETraining, based in Chicago.
It is her background as a personal development seminar leader for Brian Tracy’s network, however, that Anna credits as the secret sauce behind her energy and drive. That experience led to the development of her “white glove” business philosophy, which strives for precision, thoroughness, and attention to even the smallest detail.
In real life, Anna is a loving wife, lifelong learner, interior decorating aficionado, obsessive crafter, tennis and golf nut, unwilling angler (she will never go deep sea fishing again!), and enthusiastic NFL fan (go Seahawks!). Her goal is to help you create, improve or integrate the power of Pinterest to grow your business bigger, faster and to have some fun along the way.
