We are living in a world where we are constantly exposed to vast amounts of information. Though it has enabled us to improve our lives in many ways, it has also brought some negative side-effects as well.
With almost 4.57 billion active internet users, we consume a lot of content every day. There is a lot of online noise, and often we are found stuck, not being able to recognise true from false.
Knowing that, it’s no surprise that our average span of attention is shrinking every year. According to the latest research, our average attention span is 8.25 seconds, and it is expected to keep shrinking.
When you are creating content to promote your brand and business, you have to keep in mind that we, your audience, have a shorter attention span than that of a goldfish. So your content has to be relevant, appealing, valuable. It has to instantly feel different and unique or it will get lost in the noise.
I know it can sometimes feel hard to find inspiration. That’s why I’m sharing a list of visual content ideas that can help you to completely level up your content.
Keep reading and by the end of this article, I’m sure you will have at least one lightbulb moment.
Visual Content Ideas: Illustrations
Illustrations are one for the best ways to stand out online and be a little bit different while staying true to your brand identity.
Do something a little different by turning photos into illustrations, or bringing original concepts and ideas into life. Whatever you opt for, make sure the illustrations fit your brand.
Illustrations are becoming more and more popular on social media, but their use is not only limited to that. There are many ways you can use illustrations besides social media: on your website, in email marketing, in ads, and so on.
You can use them also as a design element and integrate them in other material. Here are just some ideas:
- City Maps
- Travel Lifestyle Illustrations
- WiFi Signs
- Welcome Signs
- Wall Art
- Logos
- Website Artwork
To take them to another level, you can bring them to life with animation, creating engaging moving content like:
- Explainer Videos
- Instructional Videos
- GIFs
- Animated Logos
Visual Content Ideas: Infographics
When you need to present some process, procedures, complex information, infographics are a great way to do it.
If designed right, they can present complex information in a form that is easy to digest. On top of that, people find them interesting and engaging – they are 30 times more likely to read them from top to the bottom than articles.
According to Hubspot, articles with infographics receive up to 70% more views than the ones without. The fact they are also widely shared on social media is just a bonus.
Effective infographics are simple, knowledgeable and visually pleasing. They contain the following essential elements:
- HEADLINES AND SUBHEADINGS: they are clear, precise and descriptive so the reader can know straight away the topic,
- GRAPHICS: striking graphic elements catch the attention of the audience and turn them into readers,
- KNOWLEDGE: a good infographic needs relevant ‘info’. Whether it’s statistical data, explanation, or some other type of information, make sure it’s relevant to the topic, important for the reader and of course, accurate and up to date,
- DESIGN: this element works together with the graphics to capture the attention of the audience. It’s very important that the infographic’s design is aligned with your brand identity. Each colour can evoke a certain feeling, so make sure you are using the right combination of colours to set the right mood of the infographic,
- STORY: this is the element that prevents infographic from looking like a cluttered poster. Telling a clear, focussed story is what ultimately makes infographics successful.
Now that you know a bit more about infographics, you can come up with better ideas on how to take advantage of them. To get the creative juices going, here are just some examples:
- Precaution measures for keeping guests safe from the virus,
- Founding story/timeline of your travel business,
- A weekly menu,
- Local Food Guide/Interesting facts about local cuisine,
- A local city guide,
- Your list of excursions…
Visual Content Ideas: Stop Motion Videos
The best way to understand what stop motion is, is to think of the earliest Disney movies. They were made by drawing each scene, one frame at a time to bring the movement of the characters to life.
Stop motions are similar to that, except that you are taking photos instead of drawing and you are moving physical objects between the frames.
You start by setting the scene and taking a photo of it. Then move the objects slightly, take another photo and repeat this until you have taken the photos of all the scenes. When you play all the photos one after the other at a higher speed, they create an illusion of fluid movement.
Before you start making the stop motion, it’s very important that you have defined a storyboard. That will help you tremendously during the process, as sometimes it is easier to take photos backwards. You should also define how many frames you need to take. The more frames per second you have, the smoother the video will be.
Similarly, the fewer frames you take, the more choppy the video will be. Sometimes this style can work, but be careful or it can look awkward.
A rule of thumb is that 15 frames per second are just about right for marketing videos. But the final number of frames per second will of course depend on the entire creative idea and storyboard.
Another important aspect of stop motions is that all the conditions have to be the same throughout the whole photo shooting – lighting, shadows, the position of the camera.
So a tripod is an absolute necessity here. Even though I am a fan of natural lighting, stop motions are a type of content that is best produced with artificial lights, because they will be consistent no matter how long the photo shoot takes.
Stop motions are perfect content for social media. They are fun, engaging, and you can make them even more unique by adding illustrated animations to it. Some ideas to get you started:
Visual Content Ideas: Cinemagraphs
Cinemagraphs are a combination of a photograph and a video. They are unique for having a subtle motion that plays in a never-ending loop, while the rest of the image is still.
They are a perfect blend of photo and a video with a stunning final result.
To create a cinemagraph, you need to record a video on a stable surface, preferably tripod.
When recording the video, have in mind that the moving part of the cinemagraph will have to be edited in an endless loop. Composing the video shot and deciding which part will be in the loop is the trickiest part, as it can affect you later in the editing process. So make sure you plan every aspect of the cinemagraph you want to create thoroughly.
Once you have the video, the rest of the work is editing.
When done right, the subtle motion of the cinemagraphs surprises and intrigues the viewer, who expects to see just a photograph. That “surprise factor” is the reason why they are such a high-performing type of content.
So, whenever in doubt, cinemagraphs are always a good content idea, especially for travel and food themed content. To inspire you for your next cinemagraph, please take a look at the following video with some great cinemagraph examples:
Related articles:
Introduction to Visual Marketing for Travel Businesses
Five Reasons to use Illustrations in your Marketing
I hope this will help you start getting our of your comfort zone when it comes to content creation. Don’t be afraid to experiment and push your creative boundaries. Start by re-creating at least one of the visual content ideas from above. That will help you get the creative juices flowing. Once you are in momentum, new ideas will just keep popping!
If you need more insights and advice about how to take advantage of visual marketing, we’d love to help you even more! Don’t hesitate to leave us a comment below or contact us directly. Or even better, book a free 1-hour consultation call with us and let’s chat!
Stay safe and stay healthy,
Until next time,
