Looks matter in many aspects of our lives. For example, you probably wouldn’t touch a bowl of mashed potato if it was a vivid shade of blue, but if someone handed you some blue candy, you would be less offended. The same principles apply in the online world. Large blocks of text are unappealing but if we break them up with other content it creates extra interest and holds the reader’s attention. So how can you make your blog posts more visually appealing if you decide to start a blog or make your own website?
Photo by Stuart Miles at freedigitalphotos.net
Visual content is becoming increasingly important. 63% of social media content is made up of images and 50% of internet users have re-posted videos or photos why found online. Visual content is easier on the eye and the brain reads it faster than text. If you make your blog posts more visually appealing people are more likely to share them with their friends, which will help to generate backlinks. If this sounds like a great plan, here are some easy ideas to transform your boring blog posts into viral masterpieces.
Photography
Photos are an easy way to make a blog post stand out. Ideally you should take and use your own photographs, but if this isn’t possible. Buy some good quality stock photos instead. There are plenty of royalty free photos available online, but you may need to add a citation and link back to the author, or ask their permission first.
Video
Video content is very popular on social media and if you use a really good video clip to illustrate a blog post, the post is far more likely to be shared online. People love video content, especially if it is amusing. Embed your video directly into a post and make sure you add ‘share’ buttons to your post.
Infographics
They say a picture is worth a thousand words and when it comes to infographics, they are definitely right. Infographics give the reader short bites of information in a highly digestible visual form. Use an infographic to get your message across in the best possible way. Like video, infographics are very share-friendly on social media, which is great for link building.
Screenshots
Are you writing a step by step ‘how-to’ post? If so consider including some screen shots in the text at each step to help your readers understand the instructions better. Screen shots are easy to take and edit using simple picture editing software.
Memes
Memes are amusing and very shareable, so if you can customize a meme to fit the content of your post, your blog will instantly be more visually appealing. And if it’s a very funny or topical meme, it could even go viral.
Data Charts
Data charts are perfectly suited to business or technical blogs. This type of blog can be a bit dry to read so visual references help the reader to digest figures and detailed statistical information more easily.
It’s not difficult to include visual media in a blog post and the rewards are well worth it in terms of increased blog traffic and backlinks.