Fifteen or even ten years ago, the web was a sea of text. Sure, there were photos and even some video, but bandwidth limitations kept these aspects of the web to a minimum, and if you wanted to get a message across, well-written copy was the way to do it.
Today, your content matters as much as it ever has, but the difference is that visuals are taking on a much larger role than they did in the past. In fact, many web users respond more readily to images than they do to anything written, so what does this mean in terms of your marketing strategy?
1. You need the best quality photos you can get. Don’t skimp when it comes to taking photos for your website. Instagram is fine for quick social media sharing, but when it comes to the actual product photos or official company shots, hire a professional if you can, or at least use a good quality camera and the best lighting you can afford.
2. You should start using video if you haven’t already. The explosion of YouTube over the past few years has shown us that video is the future, and if you’re not already on that bandwagon, you need to be. Even smartphones these days have video recording capabilities, and many are high definition. You might even find that your phone has a facility to upload to YouTube directly from the device. That doesn’t mean you should just be indiscriminately uploading random things, though – give some thought to what your audience would want to see, and make the kinds of videos that would interest them.
3. You should pay attention to graphic design. We’ve all seen it before – websites where the content seems okay, but the design is just so horrible or outdated that it’s a complete turn-off. Like it or not, how your website looks matters to visitors – the logo and other graphics, the layout, and all visual aspects of the site, both for desktop and mobile devices. If you don’t have any professional graphic design experience yourself, it’s wise to hire someone who does.
People are spending more and more time on their tablets and phones and reading less and less, so it’s essential that your site looks good and can attract attention even on a small screen. What ways have you tried to make your presence felt visually on the web? What sort of impact has that had on your marketing efforts?