Visual Communication — Why You Need It For Your Brand?

In recent years, the use of visual communication has growen quite exponentially. It is estimated that by 2021, videos will represent 80% of the total content generated on the internet.

Currently, 84% of all content marketing is done through the use of images, gifs, videos, info-graphics, and animations. Posts with images produce 650% more engagement and that’s a fact. 

The data speaks for itself: visual content has a brutal impact and should be the primary pillar of any content marketing strategy.

Why does your brain love visuals

As humans, we are biologically programmed to process the world visually. We can go as far as to say that our brain processes visual messages 60,000 times faster than any written text. We understand images instantly, long before the language that describes them. In a digital reality with an overabundance of information, gaining a user’s attention is increasingly difficult. Every day we receive a constant bombardment of impactful information, and the challenge is to stand out above all of them.

The human brain quickly recognizes, stores and unconsciously generates ideas through the use of its memory. Throughout our evolution, this cognitive function has helped us remember vital information for survival: "fire is heat," "the lion is dangerous," or "mangoes are delicious."

Today, we live submerged in an ocean saturated with information. Visual content helps us synthesize more user-friendly ideas, making them a perfect type of communication for our brain. We immediately forget what we hear or read; however, we can retain images for much longer.

An effective content marketing strategy can bring all the difference to your business, this is why it is recommended that you contact a digital advertising agency that focuses on getting the right message out to the right people.

Challenges for Marketing and Communication in the Age of Social Networks

Social networks have now become more intelligent especially when it comes to catering individuals, from recording their interaction in the cyber space to showing them advertisement specifically for their needs. This is all thanks to marketing which has now become a more precise, focused, and specific science.

Now, digital marketing agencies or individual marketers can take advantage of tools to learn more about their consumers before developing the perfect strategy. However, along with the knowledge and applications that allow us to do more, the field of marketing has become more competitive than ever.

We no longer only compete for consumers; we compete for their attention.

Connecting with your audience means that you must capture their attention, but today, it is more difficult than ever.

According to various studies, 75% to 80% attention of an average person on any given day is distributed among Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Netflix, Spotify, Twitter, and WhatsApp, to say the most popular.

The reason behind this fact is that these networks are saturated with information and content that is becoming more and more complete, dynamic, and captivating every day.

With the attention of scattered people and saturated networks, your content should stand out - be unique, authentic, and visual.

Excessive content is now causing difficulty in concentration thus the demands and requirements for new information are changing radically. On the one hand, striking and compressed presentation models, such as memes, infographics, short videos and GIFs are changing how we view, read and analyze visual information. These new visual design ideas are breaking down content into easier-to-digest pieces using shortlists and paragraphs.

It is no longer enough to saturate the networks with content; What’s important is that the content should be of quality so that it connects with your audience.

As our way of consuming information changes with time, so does our way of creating new content . Being at the forefront of these rapid and constant changes, which today are more common than ever, its is extremely crucial that the content we create successfully reaches our audience, rather than getting lost in the digital stratosphere.

Today it is more important to connect deeply with the most faithful niche of your audience than to be seen by millions who will forget you in seconds.

The value of visual communication

As indicated by Column Five, the effectiveness of visual communication can be divided mainly into 3 areas: attraction, understanding, and retention.

1. Attraction. Well-designed information is stimulating and attractive. These qualities capture our attention even before the information is processed.
2. Understanding. Our brain is pre-configured to automatically interpret relationships between objects, allowing instant understanding with minimal effort. Representing these connections visually, not just textually, means that your message will be understood quickly and clearly.
3. Retention. The images activate our memory by facilitating fast connections with previously stored memories, which helps us to assimilate concepts.

Try to tell a story with your visual elements

One of the most important things in visual communication is the use of representative icons or elements to replace words. As the saying goes, a picture is worth a thousand words.

When you add visual elements to your design, let the reader decipher what you mean by interpreting these elements. You always have to be consistent about the use of these elements, but it is okay to leave certain things to the interpretation of each reader. That will make your design connect more with your audience.

A picture is worth a thousand words

To create visual pieces, we must search through the data for opportunities to transform textual contents. Isn’t it true that some concepts can be explained much more easily and clearly through visualization? Why do we easily remember traffic signs? Because they are simple symbols. 

Remember, less is more: the simpler you can tell a story, the more impact it will have. The audience's attention is brief, and we have a few seconds to convince you. In addition, visuals stimulate emotions generating a rapid reaction from the user. In short, visual content has become a fundamental pillar of any marketing strategy and creativity in a decisive differential factor.

Start implementing these tips and improve your visual communication!

I hope these tips help you connect more with your audience and improve your digital marketing strategy by increasing your conversions.

Remember, the future of communication is increasingly visual and interactive, do not spare time or resources in creating content for your website, the results will speak for themselves!