Everyone knows that visual solutions are the way to go, don’t they?

I think if one was to conduct a poll with marketing leaders and communication specialists, most would acknowledge the prevalence of visual solutions, infographics and data visualizations, in business communications and most certainly they would affirm how media outlets have adopted visual solutions when presenting more technical or data-rich content to their audiences.

And most marketers would agree that content-marketing, in stark contrast to discount and promotional offers, provides timely and relevant content that “surround sounds” the value of your solution is a more enlightened way to engage audiences these days.

And without going into the cognitive psychological details level, most marketers would affirm that visuals engage quicker and make audiences retain the message longer.

We have our own case study regarding the power of visual solutions with our “8 Reasons to be Visually Centric” Infographic.

So why the reluctance to go visual?

I don’t want this to come off too much like a self-help program, but I have a confession to make.

At one point in my career I myself was reluctant to embrace visual solutions.

But during my years on the client side I saw the gradual upswing in visual-based solutions creeping their way into media channels… and then into training… and then into marketing… and finally sales channels – which is when I saw the light.

So won’t you join me now in a trip down memory lane? I can recall why at first I was reluctant to jump onto the visual solution bus and maybe some of these obstacles sound familiar in your own organization.

5 Reasons Why You Are Not Deploying Visual Solutions (even though you know you should!)

  1. It’s a Black Box – you know how to write copy and design for brochures and online with stock photos, plus you can set up blogs and email programs, but these eccentric custom graphics and data-driven visualizations stand out as odd to you. They are foreign and like anything new, the learning curve seems too intimidating.
  2. Too Cartoonish – You have spent a lot of time developing a sophisticated brand and you are worried that you are going to dumb-down your identity with a cartoonish or a comic book look.
  3. Too Complex to be Visualized – How can you differentiate the merits of a debian kernel in a linux-based operating system on the back of a cereal box without being surfacey or insulting.
  4. Integration Issues – Visuals seem to play well on the back of New York Times or in an InfoWeek article, but how do you integrate them with tactical content and lead generation programs?
  5. Art is Not Measurable – All of us have budgets with certain metric-driven business goals – leads, opens, conversions, followers, visitors – but how can you wrap your budget and ROI goals around information design?

Time to Turn Obstacles into Opportunity

A major reason I formed Frame Concepts was to speak to these concerns and provide solutions to these obstacles in a meaningful way.

So lets look at that same list now with an opportunity-orientation:

  • Think Outside “the Black Box” – With a trusted partner, like Frame Concepts – the learning curve is eliminated and all focus is on the creative process. Solving a digital content challenge starts with a humble pencil sketch. Through several iterations, a final visual is developed. You get to guide the process every step of the way.
  • Too cartoonish, no. Easily accessible and professional, yes! – Visuals may start from a pencil sketch, but their end result need not be overly simplistic. They can be abstract, graphical objects, even sophisticated icons lush with your branding guidelines. On the flip side, think about what is easily accessible to an audience already overburdened with ads and marketing.

Sometimes what is needed is a simple, well-crafted drawing that can cut through the clutter and deliver a compelling message.

  • Too Complex to be Visualized? – Never. And anyway that’s our problem. Not yours. You can see from our Case Studies that we have tackled some of the most complex and nuanced subjects. We like tough nuts to crack and we have proudly cracked them all.
  • Integrate in Current Programs – Not only do we create custom visuals for things like slide decks, marketing automation programs, print, webinars and whitepapers – we offer an integrated inbound marketing service that is bundled with our visual solutions. We can help make the most of your visual solution investment by offering the best ways to implement them in your marketing strategy.
  • Art is Not Measurable. OK, but Digital Art is! – In the digital domain, we can measure everything. The whole point to Frame Concepts and the reason clients come to us with white flags is that their current metrics around audience engagement and conversion are either unknown or just not good enough. And in the case of clients that retain us for full inbound marketing programs around our visual solutions, we include a metrics dashboard and monthly reporting as part of the service. Visual Solutions at their core are all about improving relevant online business metrics: traffic, leads, conversions and sales.

We’d love to hear from you

Now that we’ve hopefully alleviated some of the reluctance you may have had around visual solutions and shown how the obstacles can turn into opportunities to better your bottom line – we’d love to hear from you.

How are you overcoming obstacles in your organization in regards to visual solutions?

When the time is right for your organization, we’ll be here when you’re ready to onboard your visual engagement program. A free consultation and demonstration is one click away.