In 2015 the English Dictionary declared an emoji as the word of the year. They say a picture is worth a thousand words, and it seems that on this occasion the English Dictionary agreed. Imagery has infiltrated our everyday communications; when words simply won’t convey the right meaning an image can help to reinforce the point, or add a whole new dimension to what we’re trying to say.
Our day to day lives are now ruled by the visual interactions we make on a daily basis. Whether we’re including an emoji in a text, sharing a gif alongside a Tweet or educating ourselves with an infographic – our lives are more visual than ever before.
A word no longer best describes how we feel or conveys the right message. We’re reliant upon including a visual to make our words even more powerful, using an image on its own to make an even stronger stance or sharing content in visual form to help educate ourselves.
But, how has the change from word to image impacted our lives and changed the way marketers are working?
Sharing emotions
Complex feelings are now communicated visually through emoticons, rather than awkwardly explained through language, increasing the digital intimacy we experience between those we know and those we do not. We can share happiness, sadness, anger, frustration, what we’re up to, what we had for dinner and our aspirations all through those now infamous little images.
While Google did remove the ability to search by emoji; Instagram, Bing and Yelp all enable you to conduct searches by emoticon. It seems that words have been replaced by images when it comes to how we discover content online too.
Improved, faster insights
We no longer have to trawl through endless amounts of information to gain the insights we really need to know thanks to infographics and other creative content pieces. Our media consumption has dramatically changed thanks to the rise of visual language and the communicative landscape will never be the same again.
The instant world we now live in means our attention spans are becoming increasingly shorter, and long messaging condensed into image short form allows us to consume content quickly and efficiently.
One of the largest changes in our everyday communications can be credited to instant messaging platforms. Apps such as WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger have now overtaken social networks in the growth stakes; increasing our connectivity and shaking up the language we communicate in. When text messaging was first introduced we began communicating in slang language, not bothering to type words in their long form. Nowadays, smartphone natives are using emoticons instead.
Brand intimacy
As consumers we’re all used to conversing visually, with marketers following suit to integrate their campaigns seamlessly into the lives we now lead. Brands now interact far more intimately and causally with their audiences than ever before, increasing the share-ability factor and allowing us to communicate on a more personal level than we ever would have done so previously.
The rise of visuals has meant our brand affinity is increasing. A brand which communicates with us in the same way a friend would do entices us to interact with them. It’s allowed brands to let down their barriers and open up in a new way to consumers.
For brands using creative imagery helps them to show consumers they’re part of the ‘in crowd’. There is no us and them mentality; brands want to be on the same level as their audience, resulting in higher engagement levels due to the casual nature of the communication.
If a brand can integrate its messaging and content so seamlessly into a consumer’s everyday life and content consumption. You’ll need to ensure the content you share not only resonates with your audience, but is also communicated in a way which connects on the same level with them too.
The right imagery
Far too often businesses use imagery which has relevancy to its campaign. If it doesn’t add value to your offering, then don’t post it! You want any imagery you do use in your strategy to blend into your brand and messaging, anything which sticks out like a sore thumb will start ringing alarm bells with your audience.
While stock imagery is a great and easy way to add visuals to your marketing efforts, it doesn’t always have the desired impact. You can end up using imagery which isn’t relevant to what you’re trying to say, as well as run the risk that your competitors are using the exact same image.
Business creatives shouldn’t be an afterthought. Investing in your own imagery may be costly, but when visuals are becoming more powerful than words, money is no object. Images create personal connections, something which textual interactions often don’t do as well.
A look to the future
Imagery is nothing new in the physical or digital domains, but marrying both worlds together has been somewhat of a challenge for businesses.
Twitter recently changed its character limit so that it doesn’t include images in the 140-character limit, as well as introducing gifs back in February 2016 – allowing users to express themselves in yet another way.
Snapchat allows consumers to become the image, using filters and faces to enable users to transform themselves into different characters. Their physical being is able to interact digitally and become the communication tool. Snapchat is blending the boundaries between what’s real and what isn’t.
If you’d have said 10 years ago that we’d all be replacing the English language with images, you’d have probably scoffed at the thought – yet here we are! Who knows where the next 10 years in language will take us.
By Richard LeCount, managing director of USB4Photographers
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