They’ve Got to See It To Believe It: Why Images Are Critical for Marketers

Although a goldfish may have a longer attention span than the average Millennial, researchers at MIT discovered that the human brain can process entire images in as little as 13 milliseconds. Not only do consumers see the images they scroll past, they have the capacity to understand and connect them nearly instantaneously to their personal experiences. As social media is increasingly the place where brands and consumers connect, it’s essential that marketers create visual content that attracts consumers and keeps them engaged with the brand.

Pics or It Didn’t Happen

Product reviews and ratings are invaluable for marketers—nothing beats good word-of-mouth for your brand. But research shows that brand trust increases when brands post visual content from users. Sixty-six percent of consumers say they are more likely to purchase a product if the website has social media posts that include pictures or videos from real customers and 65% trust a brand more if they feature social media posts from customers. Today, visual user-generated content is just as critical in driving consumer confidence as written reviews and star ratings.

Images Boost Awareness and Engagement

Consumers are likely to remember only about 10% of information they take in through hearing three days later. However, if a relevant image is paired with that same information, consumers retained an average of 65% of the info three days later. Facebook posts that include images see 2.3 times more engagement than those without and visual content is 40 times more likely to get shared on social than other types of content.

Visual Search Helps Consumers Find Your Brand

Pinterest was designed for discovery. Consumers engage with the platform to look for ideas and products, not to socialize. In fact, 93% of users say Pinterest helps them to plan for purchases and 87% bought something they discovered on the platform. Last year, Pinterest introduced responsive visual search that allows users to zoom in on any object within a pin to automatically start a visual search and discover similar pins. Additionally, Pinterest offers other visual search tools such as Lens Your Look to identify new outfit ideas inspired by your own wardrobe, and Pincodes that allow users to scan images in other media (such as magazines) to see curated ideas inspired by what users see in the real world. Visual search is still in its infancy and marketers can expect more exciting ways to use this technology in the future.

A picture may be worth a thousand words, but for marketers, a smart visual marketing strategy is priceless. Consumers communicate in ways that’s constantly changing and the tools we use to reach them must keep up. Women’s Marketing offers a suite of marketing services including social media and content strategy, SEM and SEO. Contact us today to learn how we can help your brand grow.

Sources: Sysomos Uncovering Your Brand in Social Media Images 2018, Bazaarvoice Content Strategy for the Visual Consumer, Pinterest Newsroom Introducing the Next Wave of Visual Search and Shopping 2017