Content Writing Tips For Beginners: Visual Content vs Text Content Ideas

In the dynamic realm of marketing, delivering information effectively is crucial. The battle for audience attention is fierce, especially with the vast ocean of daily online content. To stand out, understanding the optimal way to present information is key. Let’s dive into the Content Writing Tips For Beginners considering the importance of Visual vs Textual content.

The Variety of Content Forms:

Content comes in diverse forms—text, images, video, or a fusion of these. The question arises: What’s the best way to showcase content on a website? This discussion delves into the comparative advantages of visual and text content.

Because about 65% of people are visual learners, a quick answer would be to go visual and use lots of images. It’s certainly a logical thing to do, knowing from our experience that images and infographics convey information well.

However, visual content is not the ultimate content form. Here we break down the comparative advantages and disadvantages of both visual and text content.

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Check out: 5 Ways Writing Is Related With Design

Visual Content Dominance:

1. Visual Processing Superiority:

Our brains process visuals 60,000 times faster than text, with 90% of information being non-verbal. This innate preference makes visuals a powerful tool for quick comprehension.

2. Memorability:

Visuals leave a lasting impression, with individuals remembering up to 80% of what they see compared to 20% of what they read. In terms of memorability, visuals are unparalleled.

3. Engagement and Attraction:

Visuals can increase web page views, attract the right audience by 67%, and garner 40% more positive responses compared to text-based content.

Additionally, statistics have shown that 40% of online users will give more positive responses to visual content than text-based content.

4. Video Power:

Video content is particularly impactful, with over 85% of people in the United States watching videos online. Experts predict videos will constitute 80% of global internet traffic by 2019.

It seems that most people enjoy watching videos and react positively to compelling video content.

Textual Strengths:

1. Loading Speed:

For fast-loading pages, text is preferable, as numerous high-quality images can slow down loading times, leading to potential visitor loss.

While most people still use multiple platforms to access websites, mobile usage has continued to increase. Mobile devices are handy and allow you to access the Internet anytime and anywhere. If you only have ten seconds to spare, visuals will help you digest information quickly.

There is a caveat to this advantage, though, which is the next thing on our list.

If speed is your concern, then the text is the way to go. Pages that have several high-quality images will take longer to load. This can decrease the number of visitors to your site.

Studies have shown that the longer it takes for a page to load, the more users abandon the site. Today, a page load time of ten seconds is considered very slow, with about 40% of visitors leaving after the tenth second. For best results, aim for a page load time of between two and five seconds.

So while images are essential to a website, saturating your pages with visuals can also backfire.

Younger people prefer visuals

If your business targets the younger crowd, you will benefit more from visuals. The digital marketing experts often use elegantly designed visuals to attract this demographic.

Young people between 18 and 24 years old are particularly attracted to videos and indicate a strong preference for it. Meanwhile, older generations prefer to get their content through news articles, emails, and reports, all text-based content.

2. Accessibility:

Text is more accessible for visually impaired users who utilize tools like screen readers. It can be resized for better readability, unlike graphics.

Visually impaired users need other tools to navigate websites. Some need to adjust the font size so they can read better. Text content can be easily enlarged for the benefit of these users, but you can’t resize graphics.

Others often use devices like screen readers to help them navigate. These text-to-speech screen readers work by translating what is on the screen into audio. If your website only contains visuals, then screen readers will not be able to ‘read’ it. Make your images more accessible by providing alt-text for each visual element.

Viral images and videos go viral partly because people tend to share more visuals than text. The average person only reads about 20% of the text on a webpage or post. If the text is not compelling or interesting enough, the person simply leaves the page.

If your goal is to go viral, it’s best to have visuals accompanying a short text. If you are creating content for your social media sites, then visuals will be your best bet. Getting a post to go viral can boost your brand awareness. Not only that, but you can increase your conversion rate as well.

Before creating an infographic or image that you want to go viral, plan carefully. You’ll want to maximize the attention that you expect the post to receive. Make sure your visuals contain your logo and website or social media information.

When a post goes viral, it would be hard to insist that every person who shares it must link back to you. By putting your brand on the visuals themselves, your information is automatically shared along with the post.

3. Search Engine Optimization:

Purely visual websites might miss out on search engine optimization opportunities. Including text descriptions and alt-texts is crucial for effective SEO.

Search engine optimization uses keywords to determine what results to show. If your website is purely visual, then you lose the chance to optimize your content for search engines.

If you present most of your information in graphics form, search engines will have no way of indexing your website. So when people search for a particular keyword, your website might not be included even if it has the word embedded in an image.

To work around this, be sure to include text descriptions on your website, taking note of important keywords. Provide alt-texts for all your images so search engines will have something to index.

Target Audience Considerations:

1. Age Demographics:

Younger audiences, especially those between 18 and 24, lean towards visuals, particularly videos. Older generations prefer text-based content.

2. Virality:

Visuals, especially when accompanied by concise text, tend to go viral more often. They are shared more than text, contributing to increased brand awareness.

For many businesses, it’s not enough just to get traffic to their websites. The key is to get targeted audiences to visit the sites. Once you have your target audience’s attention, visual elements can increase your online engagement by up to 37%.

Businesses that rely on customer loyalty will surely benefit from this increased engagement. It builds customer relationships, which will affect revenue and brand awareness down the line.

As a plus, product videos also help generate revenue. Studies have shown that website visitors spend more time on websites that have video elements. More importantly, online shoppers are 85% more likely to act on a product offer after watching an explainer video.

Finding the Right Balance:

1. SEO Considerations:

A balance between visuals and text is vital for SEO. Text descriptions and alt-texts ensure search engines can index your website effectively.

2. Audience Engagement:

Visual elements increase online engagement by up to 37%, fostering customer relationships crucial for businesses relying on customer loyalty.

3. Complementary Roles:

While visuals excel in capturing attention and aiding recall, text provides context and makes websites more accessible.

In many aspects, visuals do trump text. However, images and videos still have their limitations. Visuals allow people to remember more details. Words can provide context for the visuals.

Tailoring Content to Audience Needs:

Consider your target demographic, product type, and the nature of your business when deciding the content mix. A strategic blend of visuals and text optimizes your website for diverse audiences.

In the end, you want your website to include images and videos that explain your business effectively. But you’ll also want to accompany them with text that explains the visuals further.

Use good quality visuals to break up long paragraphs of text, and vice versa. Several images on a single page might be too distracting for a reader, so adding some text can help create clear sections.

You also need to consider your target demographic and your product. Younger people tend to favor visuals and respond better to them. Older people prefer reading text descriptions. Additionally, the text is easier for people who use assistive devices such as screen readers.

Your business and products likewise affect your marketing content. Products that are highly specialized and technical need more descriptions. Of course, products that appeal to the visual senses need more images, such as in the fashion and beauty industry. Finally, products that need simple how-to instructions will benefit from videos.

Conclusion:

This blog gives you content writing tips for beginners. In the realm of content creation, the challenge is to strike the right balance between visuals and text. Understand your audience, product, and business goals to create content that not only captures attention but also provides meaningful information. A thoughtful blend of these content types forms a robust branding and marketing strategy, ensuring your website resonates effectively across various platforms.

Make sure next time you’re writing, use what you’ve learned from content writing tips for beginners.