Did you know that 94% of information transmitted to the brain is visual and they are processed 60,000 times faster in the brain than text? (Source: Creative Biz School)
Did you know that 80% of what you see is retained? (Source: Creative Biz School)
Did you also know that between 2000 and 2013 the average attention span dropped from 12 seconds to 8 seconds? (Source: Visualistan)
Visual content englobes photos, images, videos and infographics.
Visual content is important to building your business or organization engagement, because it reaches out to people more effectively than text and links. It also builds trust, boosts social media engagement and naturally motivates people to interact with content.
Current trends show that social media dominates web engagement, so adding visual content to your social media channels will increase engagement and direct traffic to your website.
Bottom line, if you are currently not using a lot of visuals in your overall online presence, you should start now. An online presence includes a website (your home base) and at least two social media channels. For some of you, it might also include a blog.
The good news is that you don’t need a graphic designer, extensive design skills or money to create quality visual content. You only need a little bit of time.
Let’s explore 5 easy tools that you can use to create good visual content. Not only it is free, but it also allow you to develop and integrate your own brand.
Canva is one of my favorite tools to create designs. It offers a library of free images, layouts, backgrounds and the option to upload your own images. Canva has templates ready to use such as social media posts, headers, presentations, menus or any custom dimensions.
When creating your own visual content, you are not always able to take photos yourself and when searching for images online, you need to keep in mind copyrights and permissions. FreePik is one of my favorite resources to get free vector art, illustrations, photos and icons. They have a great selection and provide the information for you to give proper credit.
Quotes generate great engagement. It is even better if you can make them eye-catching. QuotesCover is a favourite of mine as it takes only minutes to create beautifully designed quotes, and it is free!
If you think you need Photoshop to do basic photo editing, you will change your mind once you try Pxlr. It is a great free-to-use image editor that you can use for several purposes, including creating an image, layering images over each other, use a variety of effects, filters and level adjustments. You also can resize, crop or change the resolution of an image.
If you would like to create and publish infographics, Venngage is a great and simple tool. You can have access to templates, themes and hundreds of charts and icons. You also can upload your own images and background, and even customize or animate a theme.
I hope these free tools will make your life easier and help you create great visual content that will engage your audience.