Visuals That Convert: How Design Can Speak Louder Than Words

From fonts to photos, there is a very specific way design elements can affect content marketing. When you think about content marketing, you’re probably thinking about strategic and specific keywords, SEO, and some detailed piece of content. But something that usually doesn’t get discussed about a lot is communication design elements. Let’s talk about it.
Imagine this. You’re walking in an Apple Store, with extremely bright lights and crowds of people both inside and outside the store. Instead of a neat and clean inventory and product displays, products are everywhere, music is too loud, boxes are open and the entire store looks like the beginning of a modern day horror film. Most likely, you’d turn yourself around and leave the store immediately. The same situation goes for your content. If your social media content, blog, videos, etc. looks like you just threw it together and hoped that
the glue stuck, your audience will tell… so don’t be shocked if they don’t stick around.
To get out of the “horror film content” there are usually some content design tips and some
branding design tips that could really help your business. Lets start with the content design tips.
Top Two Content Design Tips
The first tip is guiding your audiences eyes from where to start, what to look at, what to focus on
and more. This can be perfected by using different font sizes, different colors, and the specific
placement of elements or text. For example, a bolded headline that is fun, memorable, and tells
the audience exactly what they are expecting within the post grabs the readers attention. It makes
them pause, but also learn.
The second tip is color psychology. This tip is something I use on a daily basis, not just with my
clients content, but my content as well. I call it the “Color Theory”. The color theory is basically
whatever color you choose to make a post, a product, a logo, etc. will play a major role with how
customers and your audience will view your business/brand. Colors aren’t just pretty background
shades, they create deep emotions, can set a specific mood, and most importantly influence
decisions. For example, the color Yellow means positive, cheery, hopefulness, etc. Red means
excitement, power, passion, etc. Black means dramatic, sophisticated, classic, etc. A strategic use
of a simple color could turn into a committed and loyal customer.
Top Two Branding Design Tips
The first tip with branding design is your brand guidelines. This can ensure a brand’s
presentation is not only consistent throughout and across different platforms, but it’s also
attracting the attention of the right audience for each platform. This can be your visual and verbal
elements (so your logo, color palettes, imagery, tone, etc.). So if your brand is wanting to attract
a younger female audience on one platform, and a young adult audience on another; you need to
make sure your brand guidelines are communicating those strategies.
The second tip is your persona development. To build your brand, you need to understand who
you’re targeting first. Creating a detailed buyer persona (or multiple) helps brands clearly
strategize and identify different sections of a brands target audience. This can include
understanding and targeting demographics (age, geographic location, career, gender, etc.),
interests, dislikes, motivations, goals, challenges, and more.
Design elements can be more literal designs or branding guidelines. Sometimes it’s not just about
if the piece of content looks pretty or if the piece of content goes with the aesthetics. The design
elements are tools to influence behavior, emotions, and most importantly, boosting engagement.
Understanding these four tips; you aren’t just creating something pretty to look at. You are
creating an experience that grabs the attention of audience members and makes them loyal
customers. So the next time you are ready to hit “post”; take another look.