Using the right language and long-tail search terms in your content is critical for SEO purposes, but are you paying enough attention to the visual aspects? Your readers want to engage with content that’s not only informative, but also aesthetically pleasing.
Social media has changed content marketing in many ways. One of the more significant developments has been a demand for content that’s both functional and visually stimulating. Here are some tips to get your content on the right track so you not only generate clicks, but also boost conversions.
1. Think strategically about color selection
Color scheme matters more than you may know. Many marketers arbitrarily choose a color scheme that looks good to them, or default to company colors, but more attention should be given to the color facet.
“Recent studies indicate that certain colors can trigger a whole spectrum of emotions and behaviors associated with purchasing,” explains Skilled.co content development manager Kintan Ayunda. “Having an understanding of the role that colours can play in creating harmonious visual presentations on a website can increase conversion rates.”
For example, did you know that women tend to prefer blue, purple, and green, but dislike gray, orange, and brown? Men, on the other hand, prefer blue, green, and black, but show a disdain for purple, orange, and brown. Blue is often used to cultivate trust, while orange encourages impulse decisions.
If you aren’t giving color selection enough focus, you could miss one of these important details and do your content a disservice.
2. Balance between visuals and information
Balance is huge when you’re creating engaging content. You want the content to be informative and persuasive, but you also need it to be visually pleasing and easy to consume.
This is easier said than done. Sometimes content is rendered ineffective because it moves too far toward one extreme.
This page from RISE, an online lending platform, is a sterling example of how to do it right. Notice how there’s plenty of textual content and valuable tidbits packed inside, but the color, imagery, and charts provide enough visual relief to keep you engaged.
That’s exactly the sort of balance you should aim for.
3. Image selection matters
Images are often an afterthought for content marketers. They spend all their time coming up with content ideas, fleshing them out, and selecting headlines. When it comes time to publish, they realize they could use some images, so they run a quick search for stock photos and paste in a few convenient shots. Such images clearly fill space, but they don’t necessarily add any value.
You have to be more conscientious about the images you choose, down to the last detail. Two images with people, for example, can produce very different emotions in readers, even though they look very similar.
RELATED: A Simple Guide to Finding and Optimizing Website Images
Ellen Desmarais, former VP and head of marketing at photo marketplace 500px, says, We did some research on this at 500px, and the data was surprising: 60 percent of our best-selling images with people had a single subject, while only 20 percent contained two or more subjects. Candid photos sold nearly twice as much as posed images. And 85 percent of the sold photos we analyzed featured a subject looking away from the camera.”