The Superior Visual Content for Attracting Consumers

by Juan Villagomez

Another beautifully cloudy day at CSULB featuring the Walter Pyramid, perfect 70-degree weather and endless opportunities to learn.

It is likely that by the end of this blog post you will have forgotten some, most of, if not all of the caption to the photo above. As time passes by you will be more likely to forget. On the other hand, the visual content itself you will retain for a longer period of time and that's why knowing which to use is important when it comes to using photos or videos.
I personally chose to use a photo over a video simply because it was easier for me to do so and not because it is more effective. I had the image on file and it was exactly what I needed to demonstrate my point.

Now for the topic at hand, should you use videos or photos, which one is the best and most effective? Well the short answer is both of them are and in terms of when to use them, it depends on a variety of things. One of the most important variables is your consumer. They are the ones who will be viewing your content, so it is important that you do your research. Where do they get their content from, how do they get it and what are they more fond of between photos and videos?

Another thing to keep in mind is the file size. Video files are larger in size and take longer to post. If a video is too large in size, then it may buffer for some people and if that happens, most of them will just move on. You want to use the photos and videos that attract consumers and help tell your story. So choose the one that will be the most effective for your consumer and for the particular message that you are trying to send them.

Take other things you can learn from research into account, like the time of day for instance. Maybe there’s a certain time when your consumers prefer a photo over a video and vice versa. You also have to take into account the platforms they are on and what is popular on that platform. If your consumer prefers videos while on Twitter and your particular message is best suited for Twitter versus say Instagram, then it would be more effective to use a video at this time versus a photo.

The key thing to ask is, which one best tells your story. Is a photo enough to do so or do you need to use a video? Sometimes you can use both. Always make sure both are of high quality; no one likes a blurry photo or a bad video. If you want followers and observers to perceive a top brand, deliver top content.