Visual content is the use of imagery to convey a brand message in an engaging visual format. They say love at first sight for a reason. Images appeal to our emotions directly and if companies can leverage on this fact, they can create quicker and deeper connections with their audience.
During a crisis like the COVID-19 pandemic we are currently experiencing, there is a lot of unease, depression, and anxiety. If your company cares about its customers and audience, it is your responsibility to step up, show empathy and care through action. One way to do this is C.S.R (Corporate Social Responsibility) projects to support the community. The other is to be a presence of solace, comic relief, or information for your audience online
Factors to Consider when creating visual content during a crisis
Content isn’t just about sales
In a crisis, it is the perfect time to build trust with your audience, so focus on caring messages rather than forcing your product or service down their throats. Focus on engagement first, instead of driving traffic, by providing extra education through videos, carousel posts, or captions instead of constantly asking to swipe up or click the link in your bio.
Community content
Find content that connects with your community. This will not only fuel engagement but also make your audience feel that you are in touch with their needs by addressing their concerns.
Find Balance
Focusing solely on content around the crisis can be overbearing. Try to find a balance between content based on the current crisis and other topics that are both relevant and connect to your brand message.
Why Visual Content is Critical
1. Visual Content is Memorable
Visual content grabs a viewer’s attention hence retained in the mind far better than text based content. By sharing visual contract during a crisis, a brand image and message remains more memorable to its customers.
2. It is Emotional
By the meticulous use of color, mood, or texture in visual content, a brand can easily appeal to the emotions of its audience hence capturing their hearts and minds. In a time of crisis, demonstrating care for your audience is vital.
3. It leads to increased screen time
During a crisis, people have more free time at home and spend more time on their phones. Attention being a currency nowadays, this is an opportunity to appear on your audience’s timeline.
4. It is measurable using data
In case you may not yet be convinced, below is data courtesy of Hubspot on why Visual content is a game-changer for your company especially during a crisis.
● 32% of marketing teams report that visual images are the single most important content asset their business creates
● 80% of marketing professionals are currently using visual assets in their social media marketing
● People only remember ten% of what they hear three days later. However, if that information is paired with a relevant image, people retain 65% of the information three days later.
● In the last two years, mobile video usage has increased by 10 million daily viewing minutes
● Simply using the word “video” in an email subject line can increase open rates by about 19% and skyrocket click-through rates by 65%
● Infographics have enjoyed the largest increase in usage among marketers over the last four years – now at 65%
● Today, tweets with images are retweeted 150% more than tweets without images
● Right now, articles with at least one image every 75-100 words earn double the social media shares as posts with fewer images
● When a Facebook post has images, it earns about 2.3x more engagement than it would if it had no images
● Every day, people watch the equivalent of 110 years of live video on Periscope
Conclusion
By going a step further and tapping into visual trends, companies can foster even deeper and quicker connections. Not only that, seeking out visual communications trends and following the data can help your brand exude empathy, display awareness, and promote trust at a time when audiences are longing for understanding. At Picha images we help companies create visual content, for more information please contact us here
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