Content marketing is fundamental to the marketing strategies of companies of all sizes. If you don’t know what content marketing is, in a nutshell it’s publishing content of entertainment and/or educational value to attract and acquire a defined audience – with the aim of driving action. Our minds are simply so effective at blocking out advertisements that we need our interaction with brands to be relevant and of value to us, and this is what content marketing achieves. But with so many people investing in content marketing, how can you maximise your ROI?
It differentiates your brand
One key to successful content marketing is having a distinctive visual brand. This means having a well-considered template for your content marketing in terms of its design layout, typography and colour. The visual qualities of your content should be relevant to the content itself and must enhance the user’s experience.
Well designed visuals have the ability to differentiate your company from the swarms of others publishing content, build trust and ultimately grow your business. Maximising the usability and visual appeal of a website is common practice. But this same attention to detail is needed for every piece of content your company publishes.
It helps build relationships with customers
Content that is visually engaging and cohesive demonstrates to an audience that a company has invested in maximising their experience and has shown consideration for their time and needs. It’s a little bit like wiping your feet on the mat before walking through the door! It is by making what may appear to be small gestures of goodwill, that relationships can be formed and later flourish.
On the other hand, paying little or no attention in this area can be severely detrimental to the success of content marketing. Even if the content itself is fantastic, if it is not packaged properly, it faces an uphill struggle to cut through the competition.
Summary
A well-considered and consistent visual design to your content also captures the attention of skim readers. So much content is skim read nowadays; having an identifiable visual brand will increase the chances of your audience paying a little more attention to your content. Creating a visual brand takes time and effort, but the returns could be huge.
