If you have browsed social media lately (whether for business or personal use), you have seen how visual this platform has become. Gone are the days of text-only posts. The way to command attention now is to use visuals. Here are 9 effective, easy-to-implement ways to improve your visual content.
Stay consistent with your brand.
Put simply, customers should be able to tell that visual content is yours. Create a consistent look for your visual content, whether they are images, videos, quotes, memes, etc. If possible, make this branding consistent throughout your office as well. Something as simple as using the same background color can go a long way in creating a brand identity that customers will recognize as familiar.
Tell a story.
If you are posting several images together, consider the story they tell. Avoid the tendency to look at each visual independently, and instead, consider the overall story first. Develop the storyline and then bring in the visuals. On a bigger scale, consider the story your visuals tell across all of your posts and all of your channels. Make the story consistent and compelling.
Represent your audience.
Make sure that your visuals accurately represent your audience. For example, if 75 percent of your customer base is over the age of 50, don’t exclusively post images of 20-year-old women. Your visuals should reflect your audience’s age, sex, and race. Be diverse and inclusive.
Consider your overall marketing strategy.
Visual content is part of content marketing. Rather than blindly posting visual content and hoping to go viral or expecting the phone to start ringing off the hook, align your content with your marketing strategy. Consider questions like:
- What are you trying to accomplish with your visual content?
- Who are your audience members? What kind of content are they interested in?
- What makes your business unique? How can you convey that in visual content?
- How will you measure the success of your visual content?
Use your patients’ content.
If your patients create visual content relating to your business—such as taking a selfie at your office, posting an unboxing video of their new hearing aids, or sharing their review of your practice—use it! Of course, get your patients’ permission to share any content they create. If patients are not creating this type of content on their own, consider asking them to do so while they are at your office. Happy customers are often willing to smile for a photo or shoot a 30-second video at the end of their visit.
Keep the platform in mind.
Different types of visual content work better for different platforms. There is, of course, some overlap, but be sure to consider the platform when you create and share your visual content. For example, short videos are perfect for Tik Tok. Slightly longer videos might work well on Instagram Reels. Images and memes can be shared on Facebook or Instagram, and so on.
Share insights and information in visual formats.
Visual content does not need to be restricted to photos of happy patients or videos of how hearing aids work. Share information and insights about hearing, hearing loss, and other relevant topics—repurposed as visual content. This can be a simple and attention-grabbing way to share information that might be passed over if shared in a text format.
Tap into the power of emotion.
Let’s be frank: health can be an emotional topic. Do not be afraid to tap into emotion in your visual content. This might be the joy on a patient’s face when they receive their hearing aids and can hear normally again. On the other end of the spectrum, it might be the grief that can come with hearing loss. Whatever the emotion is, don’t be afraid to share it with your audience. Emotions resonate with all of us.
Don’t forget the basics of effective design.
While online tools make it simple for just about anyone to design just about anything, do not neglect the basics of design. If possible, have someone with design experience help create your visual content. Consider using templates to ensure that your content follows good design principles.
Implementing these nine tips can help bring your visual content to the next level. To learn more about the power of visual content, we invite you to contact us today at AudiologyPlus.
