Could visual marketing dramatically improve your social media and overall marketing performance? According to one study, visuals outperform text updates on networks such as Facebook. Visual content also enables your trade organization to share more meaningful insights and tell a more complex story. Having a visual content strategy opens the door to repurposing powerful written content, allows you to participate in a wider range of social media networks and potentially capture the value of social sharing. Here’s a closer look at how great visual content can increase your audience engagement.
Slides for Sharing Information
One of the greatest benefits of a trade organization is the ability to share up to the minute research and industry best practices. But 140 character limit is a challenging format to do that in, regardless of the industry. Chances are your organization has a detailed repository of presentations, webinars and other slides that have been used in meetings throughout the years. Sharing slides on networks such as Slideshare or on internal social networking sites is a great way to help members find meaningful information when they need it. Audience engagement increases when organizations make it easy for members to access the latest information in their space.
Inside Jokes Play Well to Targeted Audience
From accountants to lawyers to nurses, every profession has its own inside jokes and types of content that only other professionals in the field would understand. Inside jokes – as long as they are tasteful and inoffensive – can be a great way to build comradery and a sense of community among people with shared professional experience. Visual content in the form of short, funny videos or moving gifs can often be a powerful way to do that. People tend to share things they find entertaining with family, friends, and colleagues which further expands the impact of this kind of visual content. The more you’re able to share, the more engaged your audience will be overall.
SEE ALSO: Capture Attention With Infographics
Smart Videos and Infographics Help You Repurpose Content
The latest studies show that video is quickly becoming the most important content format available online. Yet many trade organizations are unsure of how to transform written content into audio. There are numerous ways to get this done. One simple approach is to tie together audio tracks and presentations or link important reports with imagery. Other organizations have found great success creating short videos that address some of the most common questions members have. They don’t have to be fancy. Videos can be filmed in high definition with almost any camera, and can simply be in the format of an ongoing conversation between interviewer and expert.
Understand the Power of the Meme
Have you ever opened a social media account only to see a flood of images that are overlaid with quotes? These are memes. Memes can be funny, they can be inspiring, or they can even contain an industry insight or powerful statistic. Whatever format you choose, using memes in your marketing should enable you to quickly increase audience engagement with minimal investment of time or design expertise.
Social media has been a huge boon to the trade industry, helping organizations build more regular ongoing relationships with members. But for true audience engagement, explore the power of a visual content strategy.