Is Your Content Pretty?
No seriously, does your content look good? Even great? We’re talking about anything within the visual realm of your business that allows potential customers and existing clients say “Yes, I like how that looks”. Human beings are sensual creatures by nature; but no sense is more influencing than our sense of sight. Regardless of your industry, if your content does not maintain an attractive aesthetic, you may as well not being making content at all.
In a world where our desires are but one web search away, it is only prudent that you ensure that the first thing your target audience sees (i.e. watching, reading, viewing, etc.) reflects the credibility of your company. Clearly, providing valuable content is an important part of a successful content strategy. But if whatever you’re disseminating is not visually appealing, then you may ruin the chance of someone absorbing the value of your content from the onset. You take power away from your marketing by not grabbing their attention at a very fundamental level.
Take five! Make-up please…
If you want to make magic happen, you need to use the right magicians. No cheap card tricks, we’re talking about the Harry Potter variety. Using the right creative talent is going to be the key to creating a good look for all your content. There’s a wide variety of graphic designers, artists, producers, editors, and photographers out there; and it’s up to you to choose the right ones. You may or may not be able to afford or find agency-level creatives to work on your material, but it’s up to you to select the right creatives who can translate the appearance of your content into the quality of the information your sharing.
According to research done around appearance and consumer behaviour, 93% of consumers base their shopping habits on visual appearance and 95% of shoppers base the choice of their purchases on colours. Digital content may be a different medium, but the same rules apply. If video content is supposed to make up 80% of consumer traffic by 2018, you better make sure your latest video doesn’t look your uncles old home video shot on a handy-cam (unless you’re going for that look). Be the storyteller, but make sure the quality of the pictures match the quality of the narrative. Colours and images are tied to emotions, which evoke behaviours that you’re trying to connect with.
Please remember..clean and simple does the trick, so don’t make it too complicated. As long as visual components are kept interesting and have a professional quality, simplicity will always guarantee a more palatable way of digesting your message.
It ain’t easy lookin’ this good…all the time
Yes, your business’ rep is on the line. It may sound extreme, but ultimately your brand is very much defined by not only your offering but how you visually appeal to your audience. So once the look of your content is up to snuff, it’s important to stay consistent. From the graphic design of a white paper, to the little thumbnail on the profile for your podcasts, brand consistency is more than just using the same logo in all your content. It means the calibre of all things visual must be constant and in harmony with the message you’re trying to deliver.
On the other hand, there’s definitely a ying-and-yang aspect to all this. As much as you need to remain consistent, you also need to change things up a little every once and a while. Quality must remain unchanging, but offering different looks and imagery that is still congruent with your brand implies that your a dynamic business capable of providing a variety of flavours.
Putting it all together
