By now, you know how important your online presence is, especially in consumer facing industry. Everything you post online contributes to your identity and establishes your firm’s reputation in the minds of consumers. This in turn can have a huge effect on driving sales, generating new business and building a loyal following.
A large part of strengthening your online presence is in the visual content you post online to places like your website or your social media accounts.
So just how important is visual content for your firm? For some consumers, it can make or break your appearance in their minds. Did you know that “90% of information transmitted to the brain” is visual? This means that a prospect can say yes or no to using your firm sometimes without even reading the content on your page or post.
At FrontRunner we want to help our clients do everything they can to grow their business. That all starts with creating great content to educate your community and show the value in your services. Here are 5 tips to ensure that the visual content you are posting online is driving traffic to your firm and working towards building a great online presence.
1. It should be personalized
Personalized content comes in many forms, and whether it’s personalized to your funeral home or to your customer, it is a key component to success. What are some ways you can ensure your visual content is personalized?
- Use real photos on your website and social media platforms.
- Showcase your facility and your team.
If you can use original images and videos, you will be able to give families a real look into your business and start establishing trust. As this trust builds and they begin to recognize your face, your firm will become top of mind among the consumer.
2. It should be high quality
These days, consumers are used to watching HD TV and seeing 4K photos everywhere they turn (including the content they consuming online). No one wants to look at blurry or pixelated images and low quality video. In addition to looking dated, it can also have a negative effect on your online reputation. In world where professional level content can be captured on a smart phone, it’s worth it to invest in having high quality visual content. Whether that means you hire a photographer or a videographer for a few hours to take photos or video of your firm or you choose to do it yourself, the extra effort will pay off in the end.
3. It should be optimized for it’s outlet
Not only should you focus on how your content looks, but it is also important how it is functioning. Consumers have grown tired of cross-promotion (using multiple social media platforms to distribute the same message) and expect content that is built specifically for the outlet they are interacting with. You always want to make sure that your images are sized correctly for your social platform or website so they are displayed properly.
4. It should be consistent
Consistency is key when attempting to build your reputation online. The only way people will begin to remember and respect your brand is to use consistent colours, fonts, symbols and imagery. Once you start using a consistent style across all of your digital channels, not only will your content look great, but it will look like you know what you’re doing – in return, building trust, driving sales, and directing traffic from platform to platform.
5. It should be relevant and not interrupt the user experience
Great visual content should be relevant to audience while not interrupting their experience. Sometimes standing out can help your firm. An image or post that captures the attention of people scrolling down their feeds can have great results, but it is important to work inside the boundaries you’ve set for your brand’s appearance online. You also have to keep in mind what platform you are using. While Facebook may be a great platform to post ads, your Instagram audience might be expecting high-quality, original content that is not focused on selling.
Great visual content will encourage consumers to learn more about your brand and to connect with your firm. If you can generate high quality visual content that resonates with your audience, your funeral homes reputation and awareness is sure to grow. On the other hand, badly designed content will end up harming your business in an age where excellent visuals are appreciated and expected.
Tommy holds a Communications degree from Laurentian University and an Integrated Marketing Communications Graduate Certificate from St. Lawrence College. He is a Content Marketing Specialist at FrontRunner and focuses on producing engaging content that funeral homes can use to connect with families. In addition, Tommy crafts SEO content for clients and specializes in helping the general public connect with the death care industry as a whole.
