16
Aug 2011
The Marketing Value of Images
By Bob Speyer and Alison Brown, Web Success Team
Graphics have been a method of communication since the Stone Age. In our newly minted Digital Age, imagery has taken on a whole new dimension. Because search engines are more sophisticated in reading images, we are seeing more graphics on the web. This adds a unique dimension to a marketing strategy. There is now an opportunity for online marketers to promote their business through imagery.
Using graphics is a great way to gain increased visibility for your website. Creative graphics can catch people’s attention easily and they are a great way to get a point across swiftly and precisely. By promoting your graphics and images by sharing links with influential online connections, you will drive more website traffic.
Drawing Eyeballs with Facebook Graphics
Facebook has become a dominant social media platform over the last several years. As it has expanded, so has its potential for online marketing opportunities. It has a huge potential for marketing via imagery by also sharing your photos, tagging other people’s photos, designing imagery specifically for Facebook with your branding on profiles, rotating wall images, and iFrame pages.
For example: You can create ads and target them to select audiences based on various geographic regions. If you have a page on Facebook for your business, people who see your ad can click the “like” button and they are instantly connected to your page. By creating an eye-catching graphic for your Facebook page, the more people you will “like” your page and the greater your online presence will become.
Image Searches on Google
Being able to search for your graphic on Google is another great way to enhance search visibility. By embedding your graphic or image on your blog and website, the more exposure it will get. Thousands of people search Google for various images everyday, however, you must use “alt tags” in order for your image to by found by a search engine. An alt tag is embedded into HTML coding and contains words or phrases that you want to be linked to your image. If your image is for an online marketing campaign, your alt tag will contain keywords that you want connected to your campaign and that will draw people to your website. For example, if your image displays a newly remodeled kitchen and you own a home improvement company, you will want to use as keywords such as “kitchen remodeling” or “home improvement.” That way, when people search for those particular phrases your image will have a greater likelihood to be found on Google.
Infographics: Visual Marketing
Information graphics, or infographics, have opened a new creative outlet in the marketing world. Being able to assimilate information in an innovative and visually appealing way is considered to be a modern form of art in the technology world. Infographics are a great way to share information about your website because they are easier to circulate and gain attention on the web compared to just pure content. You can get your point across and successfully market your brand by creating a small advertisement and circulating it through your online connections.
Since humans are predominately visual creatures, it’s a great way to take advantage of showing people your vision and creative edge. The more creative and visually appealing your images or graphics are, the more likely it will be that potential customers will want to work with you.
Have you had web success with marketing by using images? We’d love to hear from you!
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August 16th, 2011 23:49 /
Images and or graphics are a definite must on just about any blog or site more particularly if your trying to sell something. A poignant image or graphic is worth a thousand words.
August 17th, 2011 13:10 /
Great piece!
I’ve been speaking on image marketing for a long time. Of all the modes of leaning, visual is arguably the most powerful. The transmission of message through the optic pathway is quick, efficient, and readily processable. Until, of course, our maculas start to degenerate.