Boost your Content Marketing strategy with visual storytelling

Content Marketing is a powerful strategy to attract traffic and generate engagement. 

Among its possibilities, visual content is one of the most interesting to the audience. Because of this, choose visual storytelling as a tool is becoming more important.

Statistics help understand the impact of visual content: the brain processes images 60 thousand times faster than any text.

Thus, if a brand offers good storytelling in a visual format, there is much more chance that the receiver of this message will engage.

More than just telling a story, this strategy aims to do this using emotional triggers.

A marketing team that knows how to use visual storytelling can achieve impressive results as long as they learn how to use this tool.

This post will cover the following topics:

• What visual storytelling is?
• What are the benefits of this strategy?
• How can a company use visual storytelling?
• What brands are using this strategy?

Keep reading and learn!

What visual storytelling is?

Visual Storytelling is a strategy that aims to create narratives able to engage the public using visual media from the most diverse.

The concept is to make the brand’s persona attracted by content that addresses problems they have in common with this narrative’s character.

The main differential of the format that we deal with in this post is that it is done based on visual content. We are talking about several media types, such as:

• videos;
• GIFs;
• images;
• illustrations;
• graphics;
• motion graphics;
• memes.

You can find examples of visual storytelling with different approaches. The tone of voice of the company is a factor that directly influences how to build this narrative and which media format chooses.

For example, if we are talking about a company that uses a relaxed and fun approach, you can perfectly use a meme. 

To have value in the storytelling concept, it is indispensable that it reports a fact that generates identification in the target audience.

Video is the most powerful format

Videos have never been stronger than they are today. With the appeal of being visual content, they are in themselves more able to catch the audience’s attention and engage.

Some data help to understand how powerful videos are. These are some of the main ones:

• 100 million web users watch at least one video a day;
• by 2022, video will be 82% of all internet traffic;
• 85% of businesses use video as part of their marketing strategy.

Video is a rich format in which it is possible to create visual productions with more features.

In videos, it is possible to insert testimonials, real images of consumers. Besides, this format has a greater capacity for engagement, as shown in the statistics presented above.

What are the benefits of this strategy?

Visual storytelling is a strategy capable of bringing many earnings in terms of engagement. Besides this achievement, high-quality visual content can generate a greater brand perception in the consumer.

A picture of a product, when well-produced, generates an idea that the brand sells something of quality. 

When this image is part of a narrative that highlights the product and creates an idea of buying needs, the consumer is achieved much more easily.

There are some concrete benefits to adopting a visual storytelling strategy. Get to know the main ones below!

Greater engagement

The role of storytelling is to illustrate the audience’s expectations. That’s why visual storytelling creates campaigns that attractively show the benefits of the products.

For example, if we are talking about a service, a campaign can show in visual content how beneficial its use is.

Engagement is achieved when the central character of this campaign reaches some goal using that service. The way the story is told is always designed to show the audience’s problems and the solution they seek.

If the consumer was searching for something that could satisfy him somehow, he has the answer that it is possible in the storytelling. Engagement is quick in a straightforward process.

Ability to create an emotional connection

Storytelling has as part of its concept the creation of an emotional connection with the receiver. For this, the story must always bring:

• campaigns that tell stories of regular people, as well as the consumer;
• in these stories, it is necessary to reach some goal;
• it is always essential to connect the product in question with the added value it brings.

A campaign can show someone happy because they got a new car, satisfied to acquire a property, or confident because a new medicine brought a quality of life.

All these moments involve emotions of the most varied, linked to achievements.

These feelings will be shared by the receiver, which is the consumer. They are in search of reaching these goals, and the way the story is told shows that they can too.

The visual resources used are the greatest additional in this emotional connection generated. With images, videos, and other content, it is much easier to transmit the desired feelings.

Generates more sharing

Sharing is essential for content to reach more people, especially within its target audience.

When a visual storytelling campaign leads to an emotional connection, it generates the desire for consumption and, in general, sharing can happen.

Images and videos are self-explanatory content. If a user sends it to another person, that recipient needs to visualize to understand the contained message.

Videos, for example, generate much more motivation to share. A survey showed that users are twice as likely to share videos as any other type of content.

Therefore, a visual storytelling campaign can reach even more people than planned.

The more we share, the greater the engagement. In addition to reaching more people, there are also greater chances of generating conversions and greater brand acceptance.

How can a company use visual storytelling?

Do you want to know how to use visual storytelling in your campaigns?

With it, you can create narratives that engage, use them in strategic moments, and create awesome content. 

We show you how your Digital Marketing team will do it and the results that will be obtained!

To grab more attention

Do you feel that your campaigns have not generated traffic and engagement? Maybe the format used is not the most appropriate.

Visual storytelling has great chances of attracting attention and generating more actions from the public.

Besides a consistent narrative, this model relies on visual appeal since 40% of people are more likely to respond to visual stimuli than text.

To launch a product

Visual storytelling can be a solid strategy to launch a new product.

In this case, the campaign’s idea is to generate the desire to buy, so the storytelling should be focused on what advantages and added value the product will have.

A high-quality production generates the idea that there is a really qualified product. Naturally, they will engage with the idea and be closer to the conversion.

In seasonal campaigns

Holidays, Black Friday, and several other seasons are exciting for consumers to buy more.

Your brand can boost the desire for consumption if you use visual storytelling. Great campaigns are extra motivators for your audience to be encouraged to convert. You can use a brand tracking tool to measure your campaign’s success and conversion rate. 

Campaigns need to be appropriate for the season. This adequacy will serve to bring a context that explains the reasons why the public should buy.

To create epic ads

Brands can create epic ads using visual storytelling concepts. Some of the main ones already produced today use narratives that involve, emote, and engage.

Besides the high quality of the visual productions, there is also the acceptance factor by the public. A survey pointed out that 92% of consumers prefer ads in a storytelling format.

A well-told story, with visual elements that help to portray the narrative, besides being attractive, can generate the results that your business seeks.

What brands are using this strategy?

Many brands are using visual storytelling right now. The most exciting thing about this strategy is that it doesn’t impose restrictions.

No matter the company’s segment, not even its tone of voice, it is possible to create a narrative capable of engaging with the image’s help.

Check out some examples and cases below!

HubSpot

That’s a good example of how a simple meme can generate identification in the receiver, tell a story, and achieve engagement.

HubSpot has created a simple social media post that shows how a salesman faces the often wrong perception people have about their job.

Burberry

In celebration of its 160th anniversary, the brand has produced an epic video in a format similar to movie trailers.

Burberry tells its history since its foundation, showing the journey of its creator. In this example, the great highlight is the fact that they create a portrait of a story in a movie format.

Gillette

The brand decided to approach the theme of masculinity behaviors, showing its impacts.

The campaign shows how it is possible, in everyday life, to deconstruct stigmas of harmful behavior to other people.

The engagement that can be achieved is related to the fact that, more and more, the subject is debated, and men have been interested in abandoning old habits.

Visual storytelling can reach any audience on different platforms and using different media formats. With quality storytelling, portraying characters as regular people, and addressing issues pertinent to the consumer, it is possible to engage.

Text content can also bring great results, mainly if well produced and segmented. Learn more about long-form storytelling and how to use it in your business!