The world is visual. People are visual, and today, the internet is visual. As more websites shift to an image-first design strategy, brands are discovering that they need to be visual, too.
Of course, words are essential, too. Words combined with images have an even more powerful effect than either words or images can have on their own. Words add context to images and vice versa.
Most brand marketers understand the importance of brand communications via words, but they don’t give brand visuals the importance that they deserve in the marketing plan.
Following are five reasons you need to develop a visual brand to stay competitive.
1. Visual brands stand out and get noticed.
Images and colors stand out and get noticed. When people visit web pages, the images are the first thing eyes are attracted to. What visuals do you use to represent your brand and make sure it gets noticed? You need a visual brand to stand out not just from text but also from all of the other imagery that consumers are bombarded with each day.
2. Visual brands are shareable.
Research shows that people like to share images, particularly via social media. Sharing is a critical part of word-of-mouth marketing for brands, so get visual and get shared!
3. Visual brands evoke emotions.
If a picture paints a thousand words as the saying goes, then a brand that isn’t visual is missing huge opportunities to communicate with consumers. Images can be universal and are capable of evoking emotions without any words at all. Since the most powerful brands are typically well-connected to consumers’ emotions, it makes sense that a visual brand has a better chance of success than a non-visual brand.
4. Visual brands are influential.
Since images can evoke emotions, then it shouldn’t be surprising to learn that images can also influence people’s behaviors. The same holds true for visual brands. Let visuals do the talking for your brand and you’ll see their influence as people react to them.
5. Visual brands are memorable.
Images are easier for most people to remember than text. To build awareness and recall of your brand, create relevant and effective brand visuals.
Image: Kristian Rasmussen
Susan Gunelius is the author of 10 marketing, social media, branding, copywriting, and technology books, and she is President & CEO of KeySplash Creative, Inc., a marketing communications company. She also owns Women on Business, an award-wining blog for business women. She is a featured columnist for Entrepreneur.com and Forbes.com, and her marketing-related articles have appeared on websites such as MSNBC.com, BusinessWeek.com, TodayShow.com, and more.
She has over 20 years of experience in the marketing field having spent the first decade of her career directing marketing programs for some of the largest companies in the world, including divisions of AT&T and HSBC. Today, her clients include large and small companies around the world and household brands like Citigroup, Cox Communications, Intuit, and more. Susan is frequently interviewed about marketing and branding by television, radio, print, and online media organizations, and she speaks about these topics at events around the world. You can connect with her on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, or Google+.
