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Build a Better Blog: Vary Your Visual Content
You’ve probably heard that content is king. But, the images that complement that content rock, too!
One great reason for including images with your posts is that they tend to get more traffic and engagement than those with only text. Images can also reinforce your content and help stir up the emotions of your readers, both of which can make them get up and dance!
And, by dance, I mean help turn them into loyal subscribers. So, why not reward your loyal readers by varying your visual content?
via GIPHY
How to Vary Your Visual Content
While images can add some pop, sparkle, and wow to your posts, they’re not the only player on the block. Think about changing things up a bit once in a while and include a variety of visual content for your readers.
Check out these options and the corresponding tech tools that will make creating visual content quick and easy. Or, let your virtual assistant take over if any of these tasks take you too long to complete.
Videos
Get a great webcam and shoot some video, upload to YouTube, and embed in your blog posts. Or, check out Animoto, a video creation tool that’s easy to use and can help speed up the process (even if you’re a video newbie).
Need to edit your raw footage? Try Screencast-o-matic (free or $15/year) or Camtasia ($99 for Mac, $199 for PC). You can also embed someone else’s video in your post, too. Just look for copyright information before you do.
Here’s a video I created for an upcoming speaking gig I’ll be doing. I created the video in Animoto and made minor edits using Camtasia. This is a public video on my YouTube channel, and if I wanted to, I could craft an entire post (or series of posts) around it.
You can do something similar, so start thinking about how you can incorporate videos in your content.
Psst! Of course, if you plan on being in Atlanta in May, come join me for this workshop!
Infographics
Infographics make complicated information easier to read and understand. Your readers will love you for doing the heavy lifting for them and making complex data easier to read. Use Canva, Easel.ly, or Piktochart to make your own or commission someone on Fiverr to make one for you.
Slide decks
Like infographics, slide decks present information in a way that is easy to consume. So, avoid using a lot of text because it can be overwhelming, hard to read, and cause readers to leave your post quickly.
Get creative with your slide decks and include eye-catching images to hold the viewers’ attention and reinforce the data you’re sharing. Or, use bold images to conjure strong emotions in your readers. Apps like HaikuDeck, Powerpoint, and Google Slides can help you create amazing presentations.
Graphic quotes
Quotes are very popular on social media sites like Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and Twitter. Turning them into images can make them even more appealing.
Canva is a great tool to use here, too. It has a variety of templates to choose from and you can also start from scratch. My other favorite app is Picmonkey, and I’ve also had good success with Quozio.
Here’s one of my favorite quotes from Maya Angelou. The graphic was easy to create using Canva.
GIFs
While there may be some controversy about how to pronounce GIF, there’s no denying that they’re popular. GIFs are basically compressed image files that resemble short video clips without sound. They’re often fun and can add some interest or pack a punch!
Ready to make your own GIFs, like the ones in this post? Check out Giphy, Makeagif, and Imgflips.
So, now that you see what your options are for creating a variety of visual content, which one will you make next?
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Great ideas, Deb! I just looove giphs 🙂 they’re so interactive. That said, other forms of visual content can mean so much for a site’s engagement.
I actually prefer GIFs to all the rest. Short, interesting, and engaging. It took a lot of effort to only include two in this post! 😉
I know what you mean, I could create an entire blog post with just gifs 😉
Great tips to spice up the blog a bit! I’m for sure going to come back to this! Thanks!!!!
Glad to hear it, Allison. Let me know how you decide to spice up your posts. =) Btw, love your name! 😉
Hmmm…..not a fan of anything moving, or videos that start automatically and make noise when I am trying to read a blog post. Also can’t stand slide decks that are slow to load, or infographics that are too detailed and hard to read. But….I’m sure there are good and bad examples of each variety of visual content. I will at least consider doing something new on my blog. Thanks for the ideas, Deb!
Hi Hazel – All good points. =) That said, the stats that suggest many readers love videos. So, while you personally don’t like them, your readers likely crave them and may watch content rather than read text. As a blogger, you can control auto-play for the videos you embed and use graphics of an appropriate size so that they load quickly. A plugin like WP Smush can help reduce file size for quicker loading. Hopefully, that will satisfy both the reader and blogger in you! =)
I’ve got a few to work on, here. What do you think of iMovie?
Hi Seana – I’m a PC girl (though I have an iPhone), and I don’t have any experience with iMovie. I have heard good things about it, but you should check user forums to see what people who use it think about it.
Excellent (and just scheduled to share next week, on my “Wednesday’s Wisdom” post!).
Smart, to think about blogging in a broader sense, by integrating these other, mostly non textual pieces. You always have something that makes me think differently. Thank you.
That’s awesome, Sue! Thanks for sharing this post with your tribe. Very much appreciated. =)
I’m a HUGE fan of Animoto. I’ve been using them for years. They just launched a new product which is even better than their original one. It allows for more personalization options (colors, fonts, etc…) and still has the easy to use editing features.
I totally agree that visuals help blog posts…and variety of those visuals is also a good idea. I tend to use a lot of photos and some videos.
I love Animoto! And, I’m pretty sure I learned about it from you way back when, Linda. =) I’ll have to check out the new version.