Images have a crucial role to play in content marketing. Not only can they act as standalone visual content on their own, but they can (and should) also be used to break the monotony of text-based content and make it more interesting.
Just using any and all images isn’t going to cut it, however – which is why you should try the following tips for better content marketing images:
1. Use bright and colorful images
When choosing which images you should use for content marketing, try to go for bright and colorful options. In general images with vivid colors tend to be able to grab attention and engage the audience far more effectively.
That doesn’t mean that the entire image needs to be a mix of different bright colors (which would be garish). Instead you should ensure that the image has at least one significant splash of bright color in it.
Learning more about color psychology can help as well in determining the exact colors that you should try to use.
2. Stock photos are fine – but add a twist
Contrary to popular belief there is nothing wrong with using stock photos. In fact it can be very useful for content marketing as you’re going to need lots of images and manually capturing each one by yourself will be very time-consuming.
However if you do use stock photos, you should try to make it look unique. Giving it a one over with a desktop photo editor to crop, remove elements, touch it up, or even adjust its colors could make a world of difference.
Try to avoid stock photos that look too generic, unless you feel you can edit it in a way that makes it look unique.
3. Don’t limit yourself to being literal
The way in which you connect images to your content or the topic it is about is important, but all too often people tend to be very literal about it. Instead, you should find other connections that allow you to stand out and use creative and unique images.
For example in content related to work, employment, or business there is very often images of people working on their computer. Instead of that you should look at other angles, such as an image that portrays the emotion they may be feeling, whether it is stress, accomplishment, motivation, or boredom.
In some cases it can help to inject some humor into the images that you use, even in content that has a more serious tone.
Always remember that content marketing images need to do more than just look good – they need to help engage the audience and keep them interested. That is why it is important that you take steps to better the images that you put in front of your target audience.
Keep in mind the tips listed above are just a start – but they should put you on the right track. From there you’ll need to try to evaluate and determine what type of content your target audience responds to – and what images seem to draw them in most.
