{"id":4260,"date":"2016-03-30T14:48:43","date_gmt":"2016-03-30T13:48:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/legacy.dgtl.agency\/?p=4260"},"modified":"2023-04-20T10:51:52","modified_gmt":"2023-04-20T09:51:52","slug":"digital-marketing-the-power-images-rise-visual-marketing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dgtl.uk\/digital-marketing-the-power-images-rise-visual-marketing\/","title":{"rendered":"The Power of Images and the Rise of Visual Marketing"},"content":{"rendered":"
There\u2019s plenty of truth in the saying \u2018a picture is worth a thousand words\u2019. There\u2019s a fundamental difference in the way our brains process images and words. Our visual system has evolved to process images essentially in parallel, whereas text, which only appeared a few thousands ago, must be processed one character at a time. The result is that our brains process images <\/span>60,000 times faster than words<\/span><\/a>, conveying complex ideas and emotions that stay with us for longer than words on a page. This is great for digital marketing purposes.<\/span><\/p>\n This biological leaning towards images is a prominent factor in the rise of the Facebook-owned photo sharing platform, Instagram. From January 2013 to September 2015, the number of Instagram <\/span>users quadrupled<\/span><\/a>, from 90 million to more than 400 million. At the end of 2015, there were 14 million active Instagram users in the UK, and this meteoric rise looks set to continue. <\/span><\/p>\n Instagram is best suited to lifestyle brands that target younger consumers, typically the under 30s. One of the main attractions for Instagram users is the ease with which pictures can be uploaded and shared. This has helped Instagram carve out its ever expanding niche. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n While Instagram is now the biggest and arguably the best photo sharing platform, it was not the first to tread this highly visual path. The first visual marketing platform of this type was Tumblr, which was followed by Pinterest, a popular picture sharing site that allows users to \u2018pin\u2019 or \u2018re-pin\u2019 pictures of interest.<\/span><\/p>\n The intent behind the use of these platforms differs, so it\u2019s important you choose the right tool to sell your brand. While Pinterest is used by people to visually showcase their dreams and desires by creating a pictorial \u2018wish list\u2019, Instagram is predominantly a tool for users to document their lives. \u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Just a few years ago, embracing visual content simply meant putting a couple of pictures in your blog. Now, images are no longer just an afterthought. Lifestyle brands that produce a regular stream of high quality visual content are reaping the rewards, and with Instagram, Pinterest and Facebook, they have the perfect tools for the job.<\/p>\n One of the real benefits of a visual marketing campaign is the potential for user-generated content. This means your users can effectively do the job of marketing your brand for you. Until recently, very few brands understood just how powerful user-generated content could be, but now they\u2019re finally starting to embrace this customer-led digital marketing opportunity.<\/p>\n The real benefit of user-generated content (UGC) is its unmatched authenticity. According to <\/span>research from Olapic<\/span><\/a>, 66 percent of UK consumers seek out UGC when deciding which products to buy; while 39 percent of UK customers are more likely to buy clothing that\u2019s been \u2018modelled\u2019 by another customer. \u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nDigital Marketing: The rise of visual marketing online<\/b><\/h3>\n
The power of visual content<\/b><\/h3>\n
Authenticity above all else<\/b><\/h3>\n