How to use infographics, photos, videos and gifs to tell your brand's story
This is brand storytelling 101. A well-branded story will convey emotion, connect your customers to a unique point-of-view and ultimately result in a long term business relationship. A great brand story will set you apart from competitors, produce deep and rich experiences, leave a lasting impression and inspire your readers to share your story with their fellow communities. Brand storytelling is one of the best ways to connect with your target audience and thanks to the power of visual imagery, there are many ways your business can tell a story relying heavily on the written word. The stories your organization chooses to tell are what make your business unique and at the heart of your story, is your brand.
Here are some ways to visually share your brand story:
An infographic combines both the power of concise content with engaging imagery to send an easily digestible message. Successful infographics have the ability to compile otherwise boring data, facts, figures and numbers and turn them into digestible and visual pieces of content that resonate with your audience. A well-designed infographic requires thought to produce—they must be thoroughly researched, fact-checked, designed and redesigned. Focus on building content that tells a story. A great infographic defines the who, what, why and how of your business objectives with just one glance, with the goal of connecting your audience to both the emotional and business side of your brand.
If you’re looking to tell a story with a single piece of imagery, use a photograph. One single photo can be incredibly powerful for a brand and can speak volumes with minimal writing to provide context. A meaningful photo will convey emotion, one of the basic elements of storytelling. A photo gives life to an otherwise obsolete product and highlights an additional, much-needed sense for the viewer and customer. Sharing images of people, co-workers and members of your business team is a powerful way to humanize your brand. Posting these images on social media platforms gives your audience a chance to interact with the photos, which over time, fosters a community and brand loyalty.
Videos are unlike any other piece of content on the web, bringing your brand to life with rich visuals, sound and words. They transport audiences to the frontlines of the company, giving them a front-row seat to your story. They can be completely customized with as much creativity as possible. However, with creativity comes competition. Over 100 hours of video are uploaded to YouTube each minute. When creating a video for your business, think about what makes a story great and apply that to your video. Keep them short, concise, unique and always provide some sort of action. The most successful videos convince the audience that they are a part of your brand. When fans can identify with your videos, and share them with their own audience, you know they are a success.
One of the most unique opportunities for brands to tell a story is to use a GIF. While not often associated with brands or business, gifs are a fantastic way to show the human and playful side of your company. They’re short - usually just under ten seconds - but can convey a message and make a lasting impression with your target audience. They’re great for showcasing a new product or giving new personality to your brand. Seeing as the majority of internet users play with gif’s on a personal level, fans can identify with brands using them because it brings them both to the same level. The best part about using gifs to tell a story? They’re easily sharable, particularly on Twitter. Expanding your reach and increasing virality thanks to a single, short and sweet gif is perhaps the best present a marketer can receive.
However you tell your story, whether through photo albums on Facebook, infographics in newsletters or gifs on Twitter, make sure your story is true to the tenants of your business. Stay honest, vibrant and up-to-date. When one customer comments on your story or begins to engage with your content, that’s when your story truly begins.
About Yakkety Yak:
Yakkety Yak is a full-service content marketing company that produces custom written content for businesses, including blogs, website copy, case studies, newsletters, social media marketing, public relations and more. We want to be an extension of your marketing team to help you connect to end users and decision influencers, based on the principle of one common voice, for one target audience. Yakkety Yak helps you find the words you were looking for —so let’s YAK.