You know the old saying about a picture: it’s worth a thousand words. But one minute of video? That’s worth an estimated 1.8 million words.
Visual content such as photographs, illustrations, and videos make it possible to express your brand story, value, and vision in mere seconds. Getting these assets in front of your target audience is critical throughout your customer journey, from discovery to conversion and lifetime loyalty.
Learn how to harness the power of visual content in your marketing strategy.
What is visual marketing?
Visual marketing is the parts of your content marketing strategy that are visually driven: the imagery, videos, and graphics (or a combination of all three) you use to market your goods or services. Visual content marketing is different from visual merchandising, which is the planning and design process behind product displays in physical stores. While both strategies aim to draw a customer’s attention and convince them to make a purchase, visual marketing is part of a company’s digital marketing strategy.
Why invest in visual marketing?
Visual content marketing strategies work because people experience more powerful emotional responses to images than words. Placing videos, images, and other visual content at the center of your content marketing strategy not only increases engagement but also improves sales.
A survey by an animated video production company found 82% of respondents were moved to make a purchase after watching a video. According to buyer surveys conducted by Etsy, 90% of respondents said the quality of photos in a product listing was “extremely important” or “very important” to them when deciding whether or not to make a purchase.
Types of visual marketing
You can organize the content that drives your visual content marketing plan into three categories:
Images
High-quality photographs go a long way in establishing your legitimacy, setting expectations for product quality and overall customer experience. If you can, produce your own product photography and lifestyle imagery instead of relying on stock images, which can feel overly familiar and inauthentic to viewers.
Videos
Video content is a major priority for brands and businesses, with marketers finding that Gen Z and millennial consumers are increasingly using platforms that favor short-form videos to discover new brands or products. Whether using long-form branded content videos or short clips on platforms like YouTube, TikTok, or Instagram, both live-action and animated videos engage and entertain audiences.
Graphics
Designed visual content—like illustrations, GIFs, infographics, charts, or interactive presentation decks—can simplify complex subject matter or data-dense topics for your viewers. This is especially valuable if understanding the subject matter is key to getting your brand’s mission.
For instance, if carbon offsetting is key to your brand message, a striking graphic comparing your approach to the status quo can clearly communicate your reasons.
How to craft a visual marketing strategy
- Audit your current strategy
- Research your target audience
- Standardize your visual brand identity
- Lead with stories
- Invest in creators or use design tools
- Design with multiple uses in mind
- End with a call to action
- A/B test and iterate
Building a visual marketing strategy will look and feel a lot like building a digital marketing strategy or broader content strategy. The difference will be an extra emphasis on how visual elements will help you reach your goals as a business. Here are some things to try or take into consideration:
1. Audit your current strategy
As with any new initiative, start by taking stock of your current visual content marketing strategy. Ask yourself:
- How do you currently express your brand identity or products visually?
- How active are you on various platforms?
What kinds of visual content do you wish you could do more of, or do better?
This exercise might also include conducting an up-to-date SWOT analysis (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats) to better understand your unique position in the competitive landscape. Don’t forget to attach goals to this process. Identifying what you hope to achieve through your visual marketing strategy—whether that’s improved brand awareness or increased conversion rates—will inform what you create and prioritize.
2. Research your target audience
You might think of visual marketing as half expectation and half discovery. The goal is to create visual content your unique target audience is likely to enjoy and share, but it should also spark their curiosity in a new and unexpected way. Getting this balance right requires a deep understanding of your ideal customers.
Learning which platforms they tend to use the most will tell you which formats to favor. For example, if they get much of their shopping inspiration from TikTok, prioritize posting short videos to that platform. Also, knowing what drives their decision-making will tell you how to leverage emotion, humor, or information in your visual content.
3. Standardize your visual brand identity
Once you have a sense of where you’d like to take your visual marketing strategies, spend time updating or organizing your brand kit and any visual content considerations your team or external collaborators should be aware of.
Brand guidelines are an important part of any marketing strategy since they denote the correct use of brand colors, typography, imagery, logos, and any other visual assets. Standardizing this up front creates a more cohesive experience across platforms.
4. Lead with stories
Emotions are powerful drivers of action. Did dog owners everywhere ugly-cry while watching the viral Super Bowl ad by The Farmer’s Dog? Yes. Did the company see an immediate spike in new subscriptions and earned media? Also yes. Ad Age reported that the creative team behind the marketing strategy chose a 60-second slot over a 30-second one to give the narrative—which follows a girl and her dog through key milestones in her life—more time to unfold and affect viewers’ emotions.
When conceiving your own visual content, lead with the stories behind your products, stories that inspire you behind the scenes, or stories that will resonate emotionally with your target audience.
5. Invest in creators or use design tools
If you don’t have the skills or time for high-quality visual content creation, prioritize hiring the right people or vendors as part of your overall strategy. Depending on your long-term goals and budget, you might consider hiring a dedicated content creator. Alternatively, you might contract third-party agencies or independent video editors, graphic designers, illustrators, professional photographers, or social media creators who can bring innovative ideas and industry-standard quality to your brand presence.
If you’re just starting your business and working with minimal resources, there are many cost-effective, online visual marketing tools. Use AI-powered video editing software, photo and illustration studios, and free platforms like Canva to create custom visual content and social media posts on a budget.
Remember, still images can be compelling too. Visual quotes, like your brand tagline or slogan on a bright, eye-catching backdrop, are easy to make and easy for your followers to share on social media channels. Online content creation tools are available for a wide range of budgets, making it possible to create compelling content even if you don’t have a lot of money to invest in the endeavor.
6. Design with multiple uses in mind
Your visual marketing plan should take into account the various algorithmic preferences and styles of the different social media platforms and marketing channels you plan to use. Vertically shot video, for example, is key to TikTok and Instagram. If you’re planning on releasing longer content to YouTube, you’ll need to plan for, and edit, with a horizontal aspect ratio. Meanwhile, your Pinterest page could be devoted to splashy stills from your latest marketing campaigns or behind-the-scenes footage from your latest content shoot.
Wherever possible, repurpose the multimedia content you create, whether using footage you captured for your homepage in a series of social media shorts, or incorporating product images into dynamic GIFs or collages. Repurposing content helps you get the most out of the investment you made in producing it and promotes a sense of cohesion across platforms and channels.
For example, you might make a video ad to promote your forthcoming product launch. You can edit this footage into short but compelling snippets for posting as Instagram Reels or on TikTok. Similarly, you might use video stills as Facebook banner ads or carousel posts. By strategically repurposing this content, you’re not only maximizing your return on investment (ROI) from the video’s creation but also maintaining a consistent brand image across multiple platforms.
7. End with a call to action
Make it clear, both in the conception and the execution of your content, what it is you expect the viewer to do next, whether it’s following your social media channel or clicking through to a product page. Your call to action (CTA) might be something less quantifiable, like an emotional response—for example, a holiday campaign giving users the warm fuzzies (and immediate brand affinity).
8. A/B test and iterate
When designing your visual marketing campaign, plan on A/B testing your visual content with members of your target audience. A/B tests involve presenting two more variations of a visual asset to a test group to determine which one performs better. For example, you might run a social media A/B test with two different product images—a close-up of the product and another photo showing it in use. The image that drives the most clicks is the winner.
Some images or formats may resonate with your potential and existing customers more than others, especially when you combine them with impactful written content. Fine-tune what works and discard or adapt what doesn’t.
Ideally, you can use this testing period to inform your style and direction for more expensive projects (like video content) to ensure what you release will help you achieve your goals.
Visual marketing FAQ
What is the meaning of visual marketing?
Visual marketing refers to the strategic use of visual content to market a brand and its products. Visual content can include photos, graphics, illustrations, videos, and charts.
How effective is visual marketing?
Visual marketing can be more effective than written content alone, especially on social media platforms where visual posts contribute to high engagement and shares. This is thanks to the brain’s ability to process images incredibly quickly (an MIT study placed it at about 13 milliseconds) and retain the information far better than it can with text-only marketing.
What are the disadvantages of visual advertising?
Because visual marketing techniques are so prevalent in the market, it can be difficult for brands to stand out without high-quality content, which is expensive to produce. Too many displays also bring a risk of visual fatigue that can be off-putting to your customers.
