how to use visual content to drive more traffic
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How to Use Visual Content toDrive More TrafficBy Donna Moritz
Published March 26, 2015
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Do they inspire your readers to takeaction?
When used strategically images, slidedecks and infographics can drive traffic toyour business. They also offer theopportunity to provide further value throughyour content.
In this article I’ll share three creative examples from businesses that usedvisual content to drive traffic and get results.
Discover how to use visual content to drive more traff ic.
Why Images MatterImages are not just separate pieces of content. They are doorways to more valuableinformation. Use visuals to drive traffic to your website, blog, products and services.
The key is to design each visual in a way that asks your fans or followers take somesort of action.
Would you like visitors to engage with it (like and comment)?Would you like them to share it?Would you like them to click through on a visual to arrive at your blog post or
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podcast show notes?Would you like them to go from one social media platform to another?Would you like them to click through from a social media platform back to your
website?
Use your image to drive specif ic action. Image:
Shutterstock.
Identify the end point, and then craft the appropriate call to action.
Here are three ways to use visual content to drive traffic to your website or blog.
#1: Integrate Images Across PlatformsAmanda Smyth from the blog Cooker and a Looker featured a blog post about how tocreate the Perfect Pavlova dessert in celebration of Australia Day.
It was a perfect example of how to drive traffic back to a website from multiple socialplatforms using visuals.
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Create visuals on various social platforms to drive traff ic to your blog post.
Here is what Amanda did that was so cool.
First, she created a series of six images with “Tips for the Perfect Pavlova.”
The images to promote the blog article were posted as a set on Facebook andindividually on other platforms like Instagram. Additional descriptions on each imageprovided a clear call to action so followers could click back through to the original blogpost.
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A series of tip images is helpful and engaging visual content.
Amanda also embedded a portrait-sized, Pinterest-optimized image with additional textin the blog post. That way, when the image was separated from the blog post andpinned to Pinterest, users could see immediately what they were clicking through to.
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A Pinterest image w ith text embedded in a blog post gives readers information regarding w hat the
post is about w hen they see it independently on Pinterest.
Additional details on a pin could be enough to entice someone to click through back tothe blog post for more information.
Finally, Amanda squared the images, so they were ready to post on Instagram andFacebook.
Look back up to the Pinterest image. Can you see what Amanda did with the image?She included a square-shaped image as part of the overall design. She was then ableto separate the square image from the Pinterest image above. Here it is below, pulleddirectly from the Pinterest image, and ready for posting on Instagram and Facebook.
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A square image looks great on platforms like Facebook and Instagram.
Traffic-Driving Tips: Post your most important content on your blog, since allroads lead from social platforms back to your website. When planning traffic-drivingimages, try to incorporate at least two image shapes: square, landscape and/orportrait will cover most of the major sites. Remember to create images in batches ifpossible; a series of tip images is almost as easy to create as just one tip image.
#2: Drive Traffic From SlideShareTo help new readers discover my blog, I created a SlideShare presentation around analready popular blog post called 36 Visual Content Tools the Pros Can’t Live Without.It was content-rich and featured 36 tools loved by experts in visual social media.
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I used quotes from the blog post for the SlideShare presentation. I uploaded it toSlideShare and then embedded the presentation back into the blog post. That way,readers could view the slide deck within the post, without leaving the website.
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Upload a presentation to SlideShare and then embed it into a blog post.
The presentation was awarded SlideShare of the day and retweeted by SlideShare ona number of occasions. In just a few weeks it attracted over 100,000 views onSlideShare and the blog post was shared more than 4,500 times.
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A w ell-crafted presentation may receive the distinction SlideShare of the Day.
To drive traffic, the SlideShare presentation included a call to action for users to clickthrough to the original blog post to download a handy cheat sheet of the top 5 toolsout of the 36 tools mentioned.
The combination of the blog post, cheat sheet and SlideShare presentation attractedalmost 600 new subscribers (and counting).
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The SlideShare ends w ith a call to action.
Traffic-Driving Tips: Add SlideShare to your marketing mix. Create a well-designed helpful or inspiring presentation and you may attract the attention of theSlideShare team. If you follow a few key actions, your SlideShare can make it to theSlideShare home page or, even better, SlideShare of the Day. It might also befeatured in the Trending in Your Network section. Any of these opportunities wouldgive your traffic a huge boost.
#3: Create Helpful InfographicsInfographics are traditionally data-filled and statistic-heavy. While they can be madeattractive with an attention-grabbing, creative design, the reality is that after an initial
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view, pin or share, they are rarely viewed again. In many cases they are repinnedeven without any click-through back to websites.
Create a super-useful infographic, and it is more likely to be bookmarked, kept,referred to and used by Pinterest users.
Outrigger Resorts in Hawaii achieved this with their series of Beach Infographics,showcasing activities on the major islands in Hawaii. I randomly found one of theseinfographics on Pinterest when searching for visual content examples for apresentation.
If you’re going to create an infographic, make sure it’s attractive and useful.
When I clicked through from the infographic, I found a series of four infographics, aswell as a convenient booking form.
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Outrigger’s infographic led to four more infographics, as w ell as a booking form.
Outrigger Resort’s infographics are designed to help guests plan their holiday, andgive them a memorable experience in the process.
If you look closely at the landing page for these infographics, you can see that,although it is designed to drive potential guests to the accommodation website, it alsoprovides visitors with more great value and content when they arrive.
To get an idea of how often these four infographics are being shared, do a Pinterestsource check on the visual content being shared from the Outrigger website. Visitorsare continually pinning the four infographics. Once pinned, others find theinfographics and click back through to Outrigger. It is a perfect example of organicsharing, leading to free marketing for Outrigger.
In addition to the infographics, there is a Beach Quest Chart, which allows a potentialguest to search for the right type of beach on the right island. This takes theinfographic content even further.
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Outrigger’s Beach Quest Chart is another bit of added value for potential visitors and guests.
Traffic-Driving Tips: Create an infographic that not only drives traffic, but alsocreates an emotional connection with your readers. This type of content is perfect forthe tourism industry, since they can do more than just showcase aproduct, attraction, accommodation or venue . They can showcase a regionand the experience . It’s the experience that wins the hearts and minds of customers.
Conclusion
If you’re going to invest time and/or money in creating great visual content, alwaysensure you know:
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What you want people to do with your content (like, comment, share or clickthrough to your website)
What awesome content you will provide (a content-rich blog post, free download,podcast show notes)
What you want your audience to do at the destination (subscribe, download,purchase)
Once you have all of the details figured out, you can skyrocket your results by usingvisual marketing.
What do you think? What visual content do you create? Have you usedimages to drive traffic to your website, blog, event or podcast? What types ofvisual content provide value to your readers while guiding them back to yourbusiness? Please share your thoughts in the comments below.
Blackboard call to action photo from Shutterstock.
Related Posts
Tags: create social media image, donna moritz, inf ographic, inf ographic content, sharable blog image, slideshare content, social
media image, v isual content
ABOUT THE AUTHOR, Donna Mor itz
Donna Mor itz is the f ounder of Soc ially Sor ted. She helps small
bus inesses , bloggers and entrepreneurs use v isual soc ial media
s trategies to get more reach, ref er rals and results in their
bus iness . Othe r pos ts by Donna Mor itz »
26 Tips for Improving YourSocial Media Marketing
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18 Comments Social Media Examiner
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• Reply •
Craig Butler • 2 days ago
Great article Donna.
Would you advise putting a watermark on everything you create? △ ▽
• Reply •
Donna Moritz • 2 days ago> Craig Butler
Yes definitely you can include branding but make it about the content helping your audience - the brandingshould be tehre but not too over the top!
2△ ▽
Akash Yadav • 18 hours ago> Donna Moritz
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• Reply •
I do agree with your statement. Also thanks to social media examiner for this great post. △ ▽
• Reply •
Guest • 15 hours ago> Akash Yadav
Try freelancing from your home office and get paid weekly... By completing basic computer-based jobs on your PC... I work 3hours daily, 5 days in week and I earn an extra 1000 bucks e-ach week...>>>>>>> <job-reviews.com>
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• Reply •
Gary Trotman - Steelasophical • 2 days ago
Great tips .. I guess watermark will also help with visual branding as well as copywrite?! △ ▽
• Reply •
Donna Moritz • 2 days ago> Gary Trotman - Steelasophical
Hey Gary - certainly copywriting is a huge part of a great piece of visual content - especially infographics andslide decks where you are drawing people in and helping them to click through to your website or take somesort of call to action. On Slideshare, snackable, short pieces of copy help tease the person to click through tothe next slide.
1△ ▽
• Reply •
Celeste Mitchell • a day ago
Awesome article, Donna! So many valuable tips in here – especially love the series of images being formatted forInsta and Pinterest in a really smart way. Lots to plan now! haha
△ ▽
• Reply •
Donna Moritz • a day ago> Celeste Mitchell
Thanks so much Celeste - Amanda definitely did a good job with her image sizes - very smart! it! :o)
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• Reply •
Mr. F • a day ago
This is some great stuff. Images help increase visibility no doubt, and a "how-to" guide surely helps. Thanks. △ ▽
• Reply •
Donna Moritz • 12 hours ago> Mr. F
Awesome - glad it helps. Thanks for stopping by Mr. F! △ ▽
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• Reply •
IGWY Education and Resources • a day ago
Thank you for sharing! This is very helpful. △ ▽
• Reply •
Donna Moritz • 12 hours ago> IGWY Education and Resources
You are very welcome - so glad to hear you found the case examples to be useful! △ ▽
• Reply •
Steve Hedstrom • 18 hours ago
Good post Donna! Visuals are so important. Great examples and have a fun Friday! :) △ ▽
• Reply •
Donna Moritz • 12 hours ago> Steve Hedstrom
Thanks Steve - glad you found it useful! △ ▽
• Reply •
treb072410 • 18 hours ago
Thanks for sharing a very informative post Donna, very helpful.. △ ▽
• Reply •
Donna Moritz • 12 hours ago> treb072410
You are very welcome! △ ▽
• Reply •
Lance Rohde • 16 hours ago
Awesome actionable tips Donna. Amanda is a rockstar. △ ▽
• Reply •
Donna Moritz • 12 hours ago> Lance Rohde
Thanks Lance - Amanda did a great job, hey? Very smart use of visuals! 1△ ▽
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