Experts know that visual content like videos are vital for making an impact on social media. But does this mean you can ignore the written word?
Not at all!
There’s a need for visual content to draw attention. But you can’t truly engage with individuals without using text. Understand these two aspects better so you can utilize them more efficiently and get – and keep – the followers you want.
The Case for Visual Content
Data has shown messages and posts that contain visuals get shared more frequently. To be clear, visuals can be any of the following:
- GIFs
- Infographics
- Video
- Images
- Charts and diagrams
- Memes
What Does Visual Content Do?
Visual content easily attracts people’s attention. And because people are more likely to share a video than text, it helps you reach a wider audience and therefore engage with more individuals. Additionally, people are more likely to watch a video – especially short ones – than read a lengthy written explanation. Watching your footage is the start of your followers engaging with you.
Visual content like videos can very easily bring across your message accurately. Think of showcasing how a product operates or what your new store looks like. Within 30 seconds, your audience will see and grasp your important information.
Furthermore, compared to text, the brain actually finds it easier to process images, especially when paired with sound. It’s retained easier and even recalled faster than something one of your followers has read. Therefore, followers are more likely to remember you for future interactions.
Characteristics of Quality Visual Content
With visual content being so popular, many people are using it, resulting in an overload of information. You need yours to stand out from the rest by ensuring your visual social media content has these characteristics:
- When using videos, deliver a message quickly
- Use quality images or footage
- Attract attention to the important aspects of your message thanks to smart design
How to Create Valuable Visual Content
Luckily, it doesn’t have to be expensive to create impressive visual content. From using your mobile phone to trying handy online tools and even templates like the DaVinci Resolve collection, resources are easily accessible.
Within minutes you can have a quality intro to a video showcasing a new product. Or turn ordinary photographs into attention-grabbing posts on Instagram with filters or funky transitions. Although having a professional marketing team is money well spent, you can do so much on your own as well.
This being said, it’s vital you also understand the power of written content.
The Case for Written Content
The visual elements on your social media profiles will attract an individual’s attention. That’s a start, but for optimal engagement, you need a long-term plan for which written content is very effective.
Why Your Social Media Still Needs the Right Words
For any marketing campaign to work, you need to meet your audience’s needs and speak to their pain points. Many social media users respond well to stories. While a colorful image is effective for a sales message, words are a more dynamic tool for sharing stories.
Stories can be customers’ feedback and reviews or a story about you or an employee. With effective storytelling, you can build trust between you and your followers, which turns into more engagement and loyalty from your audience.
By using the same style, tone, and words across all platforms, you also confirm your brand identity and values. This is essential in proving to followers who you are so they trust you enough to start engaging more.
Finally, to engage, you need people to find your content first. You make it much easier for search engines to discover you if you have enough written content that’s also search engine optimized.
How to Use Written Content Efficiently on Social Media
Here are some examples that prove the value of written social media content and showcase how you can get it right:
- On Twitter, you have a limited number of characters to communicate a message. What you say matters, even when accompanied by a video or image, especially to create context and connect with a reader. It takes skill to say a lot with minimal words, which is why it’s worth paying experts to create online written content on your behalf. When done correctly, it can spark retweets or conversations.
- Experts have tested different types of Instagram posts, and often, the longer ones containing more words result in more engagement.
- The written word is also the foundation of your visual content. You need a good script to make a video that’s worth sharing.
- Show you care for your audience by answering each message and review. Not only will you engage with the person sending the message, but others will read it and can join the conversation.
Characteristics of Good Written Content
It’s clear why companies pay experts like digital marketers and copywriters for their skills. They know how to provide content with these features:
- Concise but clear in the message it communicates
- A consistent theme throughout all written content
- Adjusting content to suit a social media platform and audience in order to draw the most engagement
Final Thoughts
Is visual content negotiable? No. You need it to get noticed and to get your content shared. But you want your followers to trust you and keep coming back for more engagement. And that’s where written text comes in.
Do you have experts to help you create all this content? Learn how to use online tools or plan your marketing budget to hire some professionals. It’s worth it in the long run.