Visual Content Marketing: How it works, why it works and how to make it work for you

Visual Content:How it works, why it works,

and how to make it work for you.

Danny BlackburnContent Director, Stickyeyes

@danny_blackburn

Anyone know what this is?

It’s this…

The Charge Of the Light Brigade, 1854

Consider the circle…

A curved line with every

point an equal distance

from the centre

Visual content is powerful,

impactful and persuasive.

Sources: Nilsson & Pelger, 1994; Merieb & Hoehn, 2007

It works cognitively, emotionally

and incredibly quickly.

Sources: Levie & Lentz, 1982; Preece & Arnold, 1999; Potter et al, 2014 (Image: FourSquare, 2011)

It’s no secret what people

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

Keep meinformed

Improvemy

knowledge

Entertainme

Talk to melike a real

person

Give me apersonalservice

Give merelevantcontent

Inspire mewith new

ideas

Be part ofmy dailyroutine

Help meorganizemy life

Perc

enta

ge

Source: Global Web Index UK baseline data

want from brands.

Source: Global Web Index UK baseline data

So all you have to do is give ‘em

some of that, right?

Everyone’s doing it.

You HAVE to cut through.

When it’s good, visual content

is really powerful.

And when it’s bad…

So how do you make

it work for you?

Start by not using crap stock pics…

Develop a process. Follow it.

Strategic

Planning

Deployment

Preparation

Content

Delivery

Marketing

Communications

Measurement

& Valuation

1

2

3

4

5

1. Strategy: What are you trying

to achieve here?

Get people talking?

Communicate personality?

Boost search rankings?

Or just make a point?

2. Deployment preparation:

Do your research.

Understand your audience.

Who are they?

Where are they active?

Why are they interested?

When are they online?

What do they want from you?

What are people doing online?

Paid channels.

Source: Global Web Index; UK base

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100

Research/find products

Research how to do things

Stay up-to-date

Stay in touch with friends

Inspiration/ideas

Entertainment

Education

Fill up spare time

Research for work

Update my friends

Organize my life

Share my opinion

Percentage

Where is your audience?

Paid channels.

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

% m

on

thly

act

ive

usa

ge

Source: Global Web Index; UK base

Awareness

Consideration

Conversion

Loyalty

Advocacy

Reach people & grab them:

Off-site video, image-led social, PR-able visuals

Understand their journey.

Reasons to believe

On-site videos, infographics, visual tools

Turn interest into action

Amplified UGC, Slideshares, benefits videos, infographics

Reinforce and reward

Visual storytelling, image-led blogs, visual games, useful video

Encourage word-of-mouth recommendation

Image-led social, curated UGC, visual storytelling, fun video

Understand your site.

3. Content deployment:

Ideation for visual content.

Steal like an artist.*

*HT to @AustinKleon for this nugget – read his book cos it’s awesome

What works in your industry?

What works in other industries?

What works beyond marketing?

4. Marketing communications:

Visual content only works if it moves.

Bloggers / Vloggers

Journalists

Influencer Outreach

Media Relations

Bylined Articles

Syndication

Earned Paid

Owned

Biddable Media

Content Networks

Advertorials

Affiliates

Retargeting Networks

Display Network

Website

Organic Social

Email

Paid social media

ATL

Know and use the right channels.

and aim for the sweet spot!

Maximuscle: The Protein Project.

Owned channel: Website.

Howies: Bank Holiday email.

Owned channel: Email.

Howies: Bank Holiday emailDenny’s Diner: Tumblr.

Owned channel: Organic social.

Gala: Ice Casino.

Earned channel: Media.

Asda: Mum’s Eye View.

Earned channel: Influencers.

The rise and rise of Facebook

Paid channel: Facebook.

video.

Rules change. A lot. And often.

Paid channel: Facebook.

Photos are now officially the WORST way to engage people organically on Facebook

Choose your weapon wisely.

Paid channel: Facebook.

Facebook video is not

Paid channel: Facebook.

a silver bullet.

Source: Mixpo

Mixpo Case Study, 2014

Sometimes ads can just be ads.

Paid channel: Facebook.

Pics still rule the roost.

Paid channel: Twitter.

With 35% more engagement.

Paid channel: Twitter.

Source: Buffer, March 2015

But native video has landed.

Paid channel: Twitter.

And livestreaming is here too.

Paid channel: Twitter.

The top platform for referrals.

Paid channel: Pinterest.

How do people use it for real?

Paid channel: Pinterest.

Buy it.

Paid channel: Pinterest

Go native.

Paid channel: Instagram.

Aspire to inspire.

Paid channel: Instagram.

Generate word-of-mouth.

Paid channel: Instagram.

Instagram’s buy button.

Paid channel: Instagram.

5. Measurement & valuation:

Did it do what you wanted it do?

Measure the right things

5 top takeaways

Humans are wired

for visual content.

You have to be

different and

awesome.

Use data, insight

and creativity to

cut through.

Be specific:

right content,

right channel,

right platform.

Measure, learn

and iterate.

stickyeyes.com/cmabreakfast

Thank you

Danny BlackburnContent Director