If you are in marketing or public relations, you likely know what “visual narrative” means—at least you should. But, if you’re a business owner or executive, perhaps you’re wondering, “what is this and why should I care?” And, that’s precisely why I’m writing this piece as we close out 2015 and look ahead to 2016.
When we think of storytelling, we picture a sage-like character reading to an attentive group of listeners (parents, children, students, employees, graduates, etc.) We expect there to be a lesson of some sort at the conclusion—like many of the books and movies we remember as children. Storytelling in business is similar and the same components of a great story apply—authentic, told by a fluent storyteller and appropriate for the audience.
A visual narrative is any story told through visuals such as videos, photographs, illustrations or graphics. Today, visual content is more important than ever, so let’s review the three reasons you should tell your great, untold visual narrative.
- Gets You Noticed: According to HubSpot, content that incorporates a visual element or graphic will get 94 percent more views than plain text content. Stand out from the crowd by sharing your company history via a photo timeline. Demonstrate how a tool or process works using a short video clip or illustration. You’ll find you have way more to say visually than you ever thought.
- Evokes Emotion: There is no doubt words matter, however video and images tend to evoke emotion much quicker, which is critical in today’s information-overload society. A compelling visual can stimulate the senses in ways not easily done with words alone. For example, a carefully cropped image can show precise detail that might be challenging to convey otherwise. A moving video that incorporates images and moments using light and sound can bring out feelings of nostalgia, fear, happiness, surprise, calmness and more.
- Demonstrates Truth and Authenticity: Sometimes, important information must be shared but logistics or circumstances prohibit it from being shared in person. The best alternative is to use video. There is something about seeing AND hearing a person speak that adds instant credibility to a message. It feels as though that person is speaking to you and with you—the best alternative to being in person. Consider this when your audience is in multiple locations—i.e., employees, customers or contractors.
Before you write another newsletter article, memo or email, think through whether you could better tell your story visually. Instead of sending an email message or posting on social media about a new employee, would a video introduction be a better option? If you have a complicated new procedure you need to communicate to employees, would a diagram or infographic help break it down visually? Would a photo tour showing the before and after images of a new office space get a reporter’s attention over a press release?
Before we had letters and words to communicate, there were pictographs—the earliest known form of writing using images. Some believe these date as far back as 3200 BC. Sometimes we overcomplicate things—whether over-thinking word choice or using too many words to get our message across. Perhaps it’s time to get back to the basics—after all, the human brain is hardwired for pictures.
If you’d like to hear more ideas for sharing your story, contact us for a free consultation.
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Hollie Geitner is vice president, client services for WordWrite Communications. You can find her on Twitter @JustHollieG
Photo credit: 6thsocialstudiesmcginty.blogspot.com
