Do you want to increase your online interactions? Have you seen the huge increase in the use of visual content online?

Did you know that on Facebook, photos generate 53% more likes than the average post? And that videos are shared 12X more than links and text posts combined? (Source: Hubspot)

Visual content not only gets more interactions, it’s more interesting. We created this SlideShare to help you start gathering some ideas on how you can enhance your marketing using visual content.

1. Use varying content.

Using just one form of visual content will bore your customers. Mix things up, use different types of images and videos that appeal to different types of customers. Note which are successful and which are not.

2. Use Pinterest & Instagram.

Pinterest and Instagram serve two very important uses. They both allow you to share beautiful visual content and more importantly, they provide inspiration for your own content. Do not miss the opportunity to use these high-traffic social networks to find potential customers and get inspired. Check out these articles on Pinterest or Instagram to learn how to successfully use them to market your business.

3. Add text to your images.

Give your photos some character and put text on top of them. It makes your audience read exactly what is in the photograph versus scanning over the photo then possibly reading your caption. Call-to-actions in your visual content can be very powerful.

4. Take advantage of social network headers.

Your Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Google+ accounts give you some great flexibility in showcasing your brand. They make use of headers that allow you to display a large image. Use these spaces to instantly capture the attention of your audience and new users.

5. Use your smartphone.

That smartphone you carry with you everywhere, all the time. Has a powerful high-resolution camera on it, that works with hundreds of easy-to-use photo and video editing apps. With 99 cents a little creativity your smartphone can become and visual content powerhouse!

6. Get your customers to share their own content.

It’s not easy to keep a continuous stream of interesting visual content, why not tap your audience to share theirs? On Facebook you can allow users to post photos and links to your while, while on Pinterest you can create shared boards and invite others to fill them. Possibly start a unique hashtag (ex: #sonylove) on Twitter or Instagram to sort and share content with your audience.

7. Quotes work great.

People love sharing interesting quotes they find. Instead of just using a simple text post with a quote, create an image with the text and post it as a photo. Quotes are highly shareable and easy for your audience to understand and consume.

8. Create a collage.

There a ton of great apps and free online tools that allow you combine pictures to create a simple story or emphasize a point. Use these to showcase some creativity and use multiple photos in a single image.

Here’s a great free tool to get started: http://muzy.com/app/photobox

9. Use popular memes.

Ever hear of the “Harlem Shake” or “Grumpy Cat”? These are called memes and they reach almost unimaginable numbers of people. It is important to keep them relevant and timely. Do not try to force your business into a conversation and make sure you are not the last one to do it!

10. Watermark your original content.

When you post important images or pieces of content, for example images from an award ceremony or product release, how-to guides, etc. add a watermark of your businesses logo. This way your logo will travel with that image anywhere it is shared online.

11. Use how-to images.

Know how-to do something useful? Use images and overlay explanations to teach your audience something. If you want to create a short video or webinar explaining it, that’s even better!

12. Visualize data & numbers.

Much like the quotes, using an image to portray an idea is much easier. Create a simple visual to explain data and numbers that will ultimately make it more enticing and likely that people will view and share it.

13. Create an infographic.

In Powerpoint you can create simple infrographics to make a point or tell a story using numbers and visuals. Make sure yours is useful and well designed, a simple search on Pinterest will turn up a ton of great inspiration.

14. Connect all the dots.

Use every opportunity you can to connect your social networks to encourage users to follow and like you in multiple locations. Connecting social networks together will allow you to share one piece of content to multiple places. Other simple things like adding links in your email footer, using Facebook apps, or running a small pay-per-click campaign will increase your followers. Make your social networks easy to find on all your online networks.

15. Use SlideShare to make info more interesting.

Did you enjoy flipping through the highlights of this presentation using SlideShare? It only took us an extra hour or two once we had created this post. They get the point across quickly, are visually appealing and easy to share across multiple networks.

16. Think mobile users.

Do not forget that close to half of all social traffic comes from mobile users. It is important to understand they expect all of their content to be appealing and easy to consume. Overtime this audience will grow and in a year or two you will wish you had started focusing on that audience today. Remember with mobile, less is more.

What do you think? How do you use visual content to engage your audience and enhance your marketing? Let us know in the comments below.

Meet Brian Downard

About the Author >> Brian is a Co-Founder and Project Manager for Pocket Your Shop. Pocket Your Shop is a mobile marketing company that enables businesses to take advantage of mobile apps to get found by potential customers and build brand loyalty.

Original Article >> 16 Ways To Enhance Your Marketing With Visual Content [SlideShare]