Visual Mastery: How to Create Impactful Marketing That Drives Engagement

Salespersons and copywriters know that the key to conversions is emotions.

People make an emotionally-based decision at first and then rationally justify their decision.

It is almost never the other way around.

So, if you want to drive higher conversions like more email signups, more social media followers, or more sales, creating an emotional impact is key.

And images are one of the most powerful ways to achieve this.

When you use the right imagery in the right way, you can improve conversion rates and grow your business faster.

In this post, I’ll cover some of the top ways you can leverage visuals to convert. Let’s go.

Add Human Faces

Think of the last time you downloaded a game or clicked on an ad because they included a person in the thumbnail.

You’ve likely done it more times than you care to admit.

Adding people’s faces to your home page, social media post, or some other area is certain to drive up engagement as well as conversions.

Here’s what you should know about what makes faces and people so appealing to our psychology. (The following points are referenced from a post by Highbrow.)

• Smiles

• Eye Contact

• POV

  
  

In general, images of people smiling have higher conversion rates than pictures with neutral expressions. Likewise, photos where the subject looks directly at the viewer will connect more. Finally, POV or Point of View has to do with the angle at which the viewer sees the image, i.e., an image of a person looking upwards at the viewer will create different impressions than one of an image where a person is looking away or downwards at the viewer.

What you should know is that the type of expression, face, and image you choose should depend on your goal and audience.

Do you want to convey professionalism? Then, a sterner expression and folded arms might be suitable. But if you want to invite people to visit your site, a smile would work better.

As we’ll point out later, you need to test which images work best to drive the best results.

Leverage Color

There are many theories on the impact of color and while it is clear that color does make an impact on buying psychology - there’s no consistent information about what works in every scenario.

Much depends on the purpose for which you use a color and where you apply it.

In branding (which is related to conversions but also different), there are clear links between color and brand image.

For example, browns and greens convey calmness and are often associated with greenery, energy, sustainability, and related concepts.

Black is associated with professionalism and seriousness. Red is said to have the best performance in terms of driving leads.

However, this doesn’t mean that if you use the color green in your content, it won’t convert. More than relying on a specific hue to get people to buy, you need to look at context and placement.

For example, as long as your call to action button stands out and has a complementary color on a website, it will draw the eye and entice people to click on buy, sign up, or some other conversion metric. 75% of people judge a business based on its web design - so you want to ensure that you’re leveraging how your site looks and feels to keep a steady stream of customers.

Here are some factors to consider when using color to ensure higher conversion rates:

• Contrast: Make sure that areas where you want the most attention have contrasting colors.

• Consistency: While colors are powerful, using more than 3-5 in any asset is a surefire way to lose customers. Stick a fixed number of specific colors and apply them consistently on all marketing assets.

• Cultural associations: Be mindful of how different cultures perceive colors. White may imply purity in some places but mourning in others. Do your research before you use a color in any geographical location.

• Complementarity: Never pick out colors randomly. Make sure that your palette of colors complements each other. Fortunately, there are free online tools where you can add colors you like, and the tool will automatically generate suitable colors that complement them.

  
  

With these principles in mind, you’ll be better able to apply colors well in your assets to boost conversions.

Think of Typography

We’ve all played with changing fonts on documents as kids. We’ve used elaborate, unreadable, cursive fonts for stories. Or we played around with Comic Sans to convey fun and play.

We have an intuitive understanding of the role that typography plays in conveying emotions and messages.

Typography is the art and science of arranging letters to make them appealing and impactful.

You should look at words and letters as visual ornaments and not just for the semantic meaning they convey.

There are many ways typography can support conversions:

• Your choice of font will support your brand and the values consumers hold - leading to a higher likelihood of conversions
• Good typography creates a better user experience since it removes dissonance and ensures customers navigate an app or website easily.
• The choice of typography can attract a user’s attention to specific words and areas, which in turn can guide people to join an email list, buy, or take some other action.

These are a few ways that typography can support higher conversions. They are visual mediums and must be leveraged to the fullest to create an impact on your audience.

Use Icons and Symbols

If you want to understand the power of icons and symbols, think of the emoji. It’s a standard part of modern communication where we rely heavily on text, and without emojis, we’d experience significant miscommunication and ruptured relationships.

Today, icons and symbols play a big role in website and app design and they’re a powerful visual asset that can drive conversions.

For example, research institute Baymard found that a ‘made-up’ symbol like a padlock icon or security badge created a greater sense of security.

So, if you want to improve your payment checkout conversions, consider adding the little padlock symbol to your form in the right place.

(Another interesting finding from Baymard is making the checkout process ‘robust’ by adding an outline or a line to contain the checkout form. This simple visual tactic contains the payment form and implies greater security during checkout.)

In this way, make sure you use a carefully designed set of icons and symbols to make navigating your site easier and to convey ease and security on your products.

Whitespace

A user’s visual journey is not just influenced by the number of images on your site or app but also by the whitespace or the empty space around elements on your platform.

Whitespace allows your content and features to breathe and keep users from getting overwhelmed. And when used correctly, it can draw attention to important parts of your site.

So, don’t neglect to use whitespace as wisely as you do the other elements mentioned here.

Carry out A/B Testing to Verify Your Design Choices

No matter how experienced a UX/UI designer is, you must always test your design choices through user testing.

This means presenting important visual content to your target audience base and asking for feedback.

A good methodology to try is split testing or A/B testing. Give users a choice between two designs, A and B. And the one that wins the majority vote should be your design choice or improved and tested further.

Only through testing can you figure out if your visual assets are impactful and create the right impression on your audience.

Over to You

There you have it: a breakdown of how to make your visual elements have a greater impact.

Try to implement these aspects into your design, product development, and more. You’re certain to see a rise in conversions, which will lead to overall business success.