Content Marketing is on the Rise -- but there is Immense Potential on Images versus Copy

"Visual assets have taken on a broader role and are responsible for continually and consistently representing your brand, communicating your value proposition, and cultivating brand image on a daily basis, " so says Jerry Kane is an associate professor of information systems at the Carroll School of Management at Boston College and the MIT Sloan Management Review guest editor for the Digital Business Initiative.

If you have responsibility for SEO, or any aspect of web analytics, then the Rise of Visual Content Online is a must read. In a short space, Jerry summarizes a shift in content presentation that is drawing on visual content (photo and video) to graphically engage the reader.

Nearly 60% of all digital impressions are now driven by images. Unsurprisingly, 70% of marketers are planning to increase their use of original visual assets this year, meaning these brands are not just repurposing images and video, but creating new visual content.

I'm accepting Professor Kane's analysis, but it does seem an odd twist that many news outlets have culled out their professional photography staff. 

As we become more saturated with visual imagery, we also become much more sophisticated consumers of it. Defaulting to adding a stock image into a post or an email is no longer sufficient. Quality imagery is a must, especially in the face of the millions of iPhone owners turned amateur photographers. Visual assets demand more time and investment to stand out among the trillions of images competing for consumer attention.

Maybe the core news photography hasn't been keeping pace with the advancing discernment of the general public ?  So, just to be in the game, that click-bait image of a dragon is my own capture from visiting Diagon Alley in Universal Orlando.

Aguamenti !