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by Karl

7 Visual Content Tools to Boost Engagement

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7 Visual Content Tools to Boost Engagement

Home / Content Marketing / 7 Visual Content Tools to Boost Engagement
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You might have heard that visual resources boost the engagement of your target audience. That content that goes well in the eyes keeps your visitors reading and coming back for more. But do you know why?

Eyes and Ears Have Kept Us Alive

Around 65% of the population are visual learners, and 93% of human communication is nonverbal. There is a reason for that. At early ages, we needed to rely on our eyes and ears to survive in a dangerous environment.

There were no books to tell us which fruits were poisonous and which animals were trying to eat us alive. For this reason, both senses became highly developed to guarantee our survival.

And They Are Still Our Main Resource

It is true that we left the caves a long time ago, but evolution walks much slower than technology. So when we watch a video online, it still triggers our brains much more efficiently than any writing can do.

Here are other stats that you should know:

  • 90% of all information transmitted to our brains is visual
  • People remember 80% of what they see and only 20% of what they read
  • Consumers are 30 times more likely to read an infographic than a text-based content
  • Videos increase the probability that your customer will buy your product by 64%
  • The use of colours boost the chances that your content will be read by 80%

Below I've listed six great tools to improve your visual content. Using these will increase your conversions and your traffic in no time.

1. Canva

canva-visual-tool

Canva has made possible for anyone to design several types of images. It's easy-to-use. Because intuitive dashboard let you drag and drop the elements you want to add to your creation. You can do it without the need of understanding any complex process so common to the Adobe suite, for instance.

If a blank canvas looks intimidating to you, use one of the several templates for business cards, infographics, and banners. There are photo editing tools available, plus a library full of icons, shapes, and fonts. And if you have no clue of how to get it started, you can follow their tutorials and improve your skills.

Canva is available on the web, and there is an app for iPad and a plugin for WordPress. It is free of charge to use its basic features, or you can subscribe to one of their monthly plans to get even more. Not a big fan of canva? Here's a bunch of alternatives.

2. Magisto

magisto-visual-tool

If you want to create short movies and don’t know how you should have a look at Magisto. It makes the process so simple that you won’t believe when you see it done. This app, available on Google Play and App Store. It will transform any set of photos or any footage that you recorded into a nicely edited movie.

All you have to do is:

  • select a style,
  • name your movie,
  • define the length,
  • and decide if you want to add any filters or special effects to it.

With all this information, Magisto will be able to put a movie together for you by automatically editing your footage or photos. When it is done and approved by you, you can share it on social media for free, or download it for $0.99.

But, if you take it really seriously, you should get a Business membership for only $9,99 per month. It will allow you to add your logo and captions, manually edit and reorder the scenes, and create longer and HD movies. A Business account will also give you access to unique styles and licensed music.

3. PikToChart

piktochart-visual-tool

Infographics are one of the visual resources that people most like to see and share. They can boost the engagement of your audience. And make a complex subject becomes much easier to understand. So you definitely should consider creating some infographics for your website or blog.

But, it can be time-consuming if you don’t have the right skill set. And here is where a tool like PikToChart can help you. It will make the process much easier and straightforward from the very beginning.

You will start by choosing one of their templates – they update the collection every week. Then you will customize it to your needs by add elements from their library.

There's a variety of texts, fonts, colors, charts, maps, icons, photos, or videos to choose from. You can mess around with it for as long as you want. And you feel like it is ready, you will be able to get the HTML code and add it to your blog post.

PickToChart offers a free lifetime account. But you can pay for a subscription to have access to more templates. Paid version increases your upload limit and removes PikToChart watermark, among other features. The Lite plan is only $15 per month, and you Pro can be yours for $29 per month.

4. Tableau Public

tableau-public-visual-tool

But if you want to take your infographics to the next level, it is time for you to start using Tableau Public. It is a free version of the powerful Tableau Software. It will help you to create stunning professional infographics. In fact, infographics so perfect that you can publish them in any publication.

You can use Tableau Public on your desktop, and there are also apps for Android and iOS. And despite its impressive number of features, it is very easy to use. The tool is all based on drag and drop functions, like most of the apps nowadays.

By creating a profile, you will be able to use up to 10GB of storage and connect to other authors. One of the best features of Tableau is its highly productive community where all infographics are visible to anyone.

When your infographic is ready, you will be able to embed your creation on your site or blog. And share it on social media.

5. SlideBot

slidebot-visual-tool

Last but not least – slides. They're a crucial part of any engaging content strategy. Marketers refer to SlideShare as the ‘quiet giant of content marketing' for a reason. In 2015, the platform had around 70 million users with 18 million pieces of content shared.

As Neil Patel puts it:

The best presentations are those that tell a story in visual form.

Thus, the best tool for making beautiful slides is SlideBot. The tool promises to create powerful slides in SECONDS. And it delivers on the promise. Time saved in designing presentations is its biggest benefit.

SlideBot also has an awesome Image Library with over 25 million images to choose from. Plus it’s easy to change the images. That leaves more time to work on the content itself.

What's more, you can whether type your content into SlideBot, or import an existing Powerpoint or Word file. You can also export the presentation back to Powerpoint and continue editing there. The exported presentation looks identical to the original one. SlideBot has a 10-day free trial. After it’s $19 per month.

6. Design Wizard

design wizard visual content tools

Design Wizard will take the time and effort out of creating visual content. The website has a database of thousands of templates and over 1 million images that can be edited for your needs.

The company assists people in achieving their goals through visual content. This will give you the confidence to produce professional level images that will capture the audience's attention, impress their followers and build a brand.

Design Wizard’s unique selling point is the approach it takes to its content and the simple pricing and licensing plans. The design is made accessible for all, and this is why they offer all features and integrations free to every user.

7. Free Images

free image sites

To get visual, you need an unending stream of images. The need for images can dig deep into your pocket when using stock photography.

So, what to do when you need images all the time but their marketing lifespan can be measured only in days, maybe hours? Images for Facebook posts, email newsletters, individual slides in presentations that you use only once… Paying 10 or 20 dollars per image for these will add up.

I have collected a bunch of sites that give you free images for commercial use: Free Images for Blogs and Marketing (41 sites).

Avoid This

Now you know what tools you can use. As a final notice, let’s have a look at a couple of things that you shouldn’t do when you are creating visual content strategy:

  • Always check the specs on your website or blog for visual content. There is right size, format, and way to upload images and videos without compromising the load speed and the navigation. If you aren’t sure about them, consult a web designer or developer before doing anything.
  • Never upload the same content to all social media accounts. Each network is different, and what works for Instagram might look awful on Pinterest or Twitter.
  • Consider your audience first. You might think that infographics are really cool but what if your visitors disagree with you? Only create visual content that matches what they want and enjoys, or you will be wasting your time.
  • Remember your goal. Yes, it is nice, you love it, your audience loves it, but then what? Is it increasing your traffic? Is it helping you to sell anything?

Your Turn

The five visual content tools above can provide you with what you need so to increase the engagement of your visitors.

They will let you get things done, even if don’t have much design experience. This way, you can save your money and hire web designers only for the most relevant pieces of your online business.

So start testing and learning how to use them right now. You will easily find tutorials on their websites, plus plenty more on the web, as they some of the favorites for visual content at the moment. So, no excuses.

Now check out 35 Content Writing Tools to Take You from Good to Great.

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Photo credit: Visual Hunt

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