The well-researched stats are piling up that businesses need to be more and more visual in their digital marketing efforts. While these numbers originally seemed part of a carefully designed message to market specialty social media, web design and photo/video services, behavioral studies have caught up, and show that in addition to shorter and shorter attention spans, critical reading skills are declining and visual IQ is significantly rising. This article from Inc.com lists even more data that indicates businesses need to be consistently visual in communicating with potential customers in order to be effective in digital marketing.
It’s easy for some small businesses to think visual content development is meant for bigger businesses with full-time marketing departments and deep-pocket budgets. Small business however can quickly capitalize on visual content development trends in three easy steps:
- Making use of the existing visual assets of your business.
- Maximize technology tools you have on hand.
- Adopting a storyteller’s perspective.
What visual assets does your business have to craft an ongoing business narrative?
Today’s easy-access mobile phone applications and visually-rich digital platforms allow any business owner to create AND curate lots of visual story elements by creating
- Your own content
- Shared content from customers/clients (Trip Advisor is a great example)
- Tangential content from business listing sites, business organizations, etc.
Making a habit of including fresh photography and video to your digital marketing efforts not only makes an impact on potential customer engagement, it is the best way to keep the story of your business front-and-center of your online marketing efforts.
KLCreative Media was on the road in early July at The Hummingbird Inn in Goshen, VA and we did a quick inventory of just a few visual assets Inn owners Jeff and Sandra Shaffer have at their disposal to help build a better business story and attract more visitors to their beautiful rural B&B. I posted an article on my blog Uniquely Local Virginia, as an example of how easy it is to craft a narrative with just a few words and pictures.
