The Visual Web is a marketing hot topic right now. Flickr and Google+ have recently launched redesigns which are extremely visual in how they organize and display information. You don’t have to look that hard to realize that the Visual Web is all around us. Sites like Tumblr and Instragram, and apps such as Flipboard and 500px put design and visual content at the center of their community growth strategies.
The Visual Web is a much deeper topic, however, than just discussing the familiar graphical tiled layouts of some of our favorite sites on the Internet. It can be a very effective way to connect with customers during different points in their customer lifecycle.
For marketers, visual content (infographics, video, maps, graphs, illustrations, etc.) is an engaging way to reach audiences, but this approach can have its challenges as it needs to be implemented strategically and in alignment with the overarching content strategy.
When considering integrating visual content into your editorial calendar, you must do so in the context of the customer lifecycle. Why? Depending on where a customer is in their lifecycle may drive the type of content to which they will respond.
- Are you trying to build awareness? Short, engaging videos placed in the social channels of your prospects may be the best piece of content for this effort.
- Do you need to develop customer acquisition? An engaging quiz or game designed to collect emails may help drive prospects into the funnel.
- Is customer engagement your key objective? An educational infographic embedded in a blog could be shared to generate activity among communities of interest.
- And last in the customer lifecycle, are you working to build customer loyalty? Videos and images that reinforce the value you place on your customers could be the hook that keeps the customer around a little longer and motivates them to advocate for the brand.
The point is, content required to reach prospects is different than the content required for new customers. Furthermore, the distribution channels for reaching prospects are also different than the ones you would use for customers. It all comes down to behavior. Your customers have different needs at every stage of the lifecycle.
Designing Effective Visual Content
Developing visual content for different types of customers requires expertise from highly specialized resources. What skill sets are required for you to really create targeted visual content? You might be surprised. An ideal team for designing effective visual content includes data visualization experts, content strategists, designers, and coders. Even with access to the best resources and skills, you will also need to consider how you will distribute your visual content programmatically and at scale.
Referring to the customer lifecycle and what you know about your audience’s behavior, you will want to assign content to specific amplification channels to ensure it reaches the right audience at the right time.
These key elements of visual content marketing—customer lifecycle, content types and distribution—could make visual content sound like a daunting endeavor. But with the right perspective, you can get started and get some wins under your belt.
Download our simple Visual Content Framework to get started. Feel free to contact r2i with any questions.
