Technology has made it very easy for us to access tools of publishing. With the press of a button or a touch on the screen, our original creations, words, images, creative imaginings instantly appear on the world wide web. We can even control, to some extent, the afterlife of our creations. We can choose to edit, revise, extend, or change these creations long after they have been sent out into the world. Let’s face it, in one way or another, all of us are publishers now. This convenience comes with a huge responsibility. And this is why we have to be very careful about what goes out on the internet for all to see.

Last week, I wrote about the rules surrounding copyright and the use of images on our self-published musings on social media. It is important to reinforce this lesson because Visual Content is king when it comes to the internet. After all, Photos are the main type of posts shared on social media with Facebook having approximately 3000 million photo uploads per day! But that’s just one type of Visual Content.

Visual Content Assets are among the most important forms of content you can publish. It is ranked as the second most important form of content second only to blogging by a very small margin. Notice that in any information you deem important enough to read, Visual Content is always present. That’s because we all know that people are likely to remember information when it is paired with an image (at 65% retention) compared to just hearing about it (at 10% retention).

If you’re looking to up your game and create amazing visual content for whatever reason (maybe to get more followers, retain customers, create a fanbase, etc.), in addition to photos or images, here are four more types of Visual Content that you should start using right now:

Videos – I’m sure you’ve seen one of those 2minute videos where they show you how to make 4 Easy Slow Cook Dinners or Rotini Pasta 4 ways. Why are these things such a hit? Well, they’re fun to watch, low commitment because they’re short, easy to remember with easy to follow instructions, and likely to go viral right away. If you can put together a video like that, you’re golden!

Inspirational Quotes – this is extremely popular and can generate tons of engagement mainly because people can easily relate to them. Another plus is that they’re very easy to create, which is why they’re a favorite tool of bloggers when they need Visual Content in a pinch.

Infographics and Graphical Data – People zone out when you explain statistics to them. People generally do that when presented with numbers. This is a huge hurdle when you’re trying to explain facts and figures. But if you make it easier for them to visualize the statistics and create an easier comparison, then you’ve won the battle. Keep in mind that a whopping 40% of people understand visual data better than data presented as just plain text.    

Screenshots – Everything we publish on the internet is archived on some server somewhere. Screenshots are great for showing archived information that used to exist. It could also be used to draw attention to a small part of a particularly long text. It can even be used to clarify text especially when coupled with a highlight or an annotation. Live capture is also a particularly great function of the screenshot and can be useful for tweets, reviews, and testimonials.

Stay tuned for five more types of Visual Content Assets that will take your published content to the next level. In the meantime, remember to stay humble and hustle hard.

Written by Jaie O.- The Help