Why visual content is a game changer

WE cannot deny that we live in a world where information confronts us at every turn.

The human brain simply cannot cope with this amount of information and has developed a subconscious ability to filter out what is, and what is not, important.

With this amount of information being thrown at us every day, we seek content that grabs our attention and is easy to take in.

There is a strong correlation between this dynamic and the rise of visuals, in both static and video formats, and it may have something to do with the fact that 90% of information sent to the brain is visual, and it processes visuals 60 000 times faster than text.

It should, therefore, be no surprise that recent studies indicate that content with visuals receive 94% more views, and are 40% more likely to be shared on social networks.

In an age of instant gratification, and where time is a luxury, the average person reads only 20% of copy on standard web pages.

Added to this, we only retain 20% of what we read and 10% of what we hear.

In comparison, we retain 80% of what we see, and 40% of people respond to visual information better than plain text, with up to 65% of people being visual learners.

This trend is also evident on Slideshare, the world’s leading presentation sharing platform, where images in presentations increased from 53% in 2012-13 to 83% today.

The magic of motion adds even more equity to visual communication.

It is 50 times easier to get a video to rank on the first page of Google.

Video also plays a huge part in our consumption behaviour, with YouTube experiencing more than a billion unique visitors every month, and it is ranked as the second largest search engine.

Video content is also the new go-to asset on social media platforms.

This trend also extends into e-commerce, where 90% of online shoppers say they find videos helpful in making decisions, and 75% of executives claim to watch work- related videos at least once a week.

In the last few years, infographics have also been proven to be a very effective form of visual communication.

Infographics can improve website traffic by 12%, and in the past five years, Google searches for infographics have increased 25 times over.

We can put this down to the combination of visual elements and short snippets of relevant text, with information that can be quickly and easily absorbed.

So, when planning your next content strategy, be sure to include a bias towards engaging visuals, video content and infographics, as these will make your brand more memorable and engaging.

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