There’s a reason that popularity of social sites like Instagram and Pinterest have skyrocketed recently.  It is the same reason that you used to be drawn to the stories in the newspaper that had images associated with them (hey! remember when you actually held a newspaper in your hand and read it?).  By design, we’re visual beings.  We’re built to see a wide spectrum of colors, depth and texture.

But the reason we’re drawn to imagery goes beyond that – when we view imagery, we each see something unique and we connect emotionally to the visual by creating our meaning for it.  Visuals make more lasting impressions because we process them differently than we do text.  According to a recent LinkedIn blog post, when we process imagery we are using 75% of our sensory neurons.  Imagery has become the new headline.  In this new fast-paced world where we’re dealing with a barrage of messages and continuous noise via every social channel, imagery is what we (marketers) need to use to capture the attention of our audience.

OK. That’s all well and good, but now the challenge for many marketers is to create visuals where none currently exist.  How? Try taking existing content and repurposing, retooling and reimagining it.  As you read your organization’s whitepapers, close your eyes.  What do you see?  Can you turn what you see into a compelling visual for that whitepaper?  Take your products or services. What imagery do they conjure up in your mind?  How can you translate that into visuals that can build the emotion connection between your brand and your audience?

This quick video from LinkedIn’s Senior Manager of Content Marketing Jason Miller spells it out perfectly:

Video Igniter

So, let’s get visual, visual. I wanna get visual. Let’s get into visual! Let me see your content talk, your content talk. Let me see your content talk…

(Isn’t it fun when I digress into strange morphed ’80s song lyrics? You’re picturing Olivia Newton John in a leotard now, aren’t you? Told you visuals are strong.  You’re welcome.)