Wednesdays are when I try to do a bit of industry catch up – you know, read up on trends, stats, who has moved where, what campaign has struck what chord etc. It’s also a chance for me to do the reading and collecting the most interesting takeaways so that you – who very likely have better things to do – don’t have to. My latest reading: “Engaging Your Audience With Visual Content 2018” by Contently and Libris. Definitely worth a read.
We all know visual content isn’t just decoration for your posts and tweets. It’s an amplifier, a booster. Gets more eyes on your info and engages viewers more fully – thus increasing the likelihood that they will take action on your info or offer. So, we know that but how is the use of visual content taking shape this year? This goodly sized report is full of lots of interesting info about what’s being used, by whom and how. Here are a few of what I see as key takeaways.
They asked their respondents what their method for sourcing photography or video was (they could pick as many as were relevant) and I’ll be honest, I was shocked by the results (which I will do into individually in comments below.
62% said they most often used stock photos and video – that wasn’t the part that shocked me. Stock photos are getting better and better (not to mention more widely available and diverse in topical coverage). No, what shocked me was that 51% said they shot their own photos and video. Over half? Wouldn’t have thought it. I mean, Modern Parlance uses a combination of stock and self-shoot. But half of Modern Parlance is a photographer. See!
Apart from the marketing agencies specifically – and these respondents come from a range of industries – who keeps a photographer in-house these days? I wonder if this is because phone cameras are getting better and better, people are becoming more adept at producing better results than mere snap. Interesting and worth pondering.The rest of the sourcing –
- 42% use freelance photographers,
- 24% use crowd sourced/user generated material,
- 16% used an external agency
- 4% say they don’t source photos or videos at all.
Truth be told, I would have thought crowd sourced/user generated material. But I tend to see that most often in retail so perhaps my own view is skewed. Modern Parlance offers several photo sourcing services so if you’re in need of something specific or want to build an image library for ongoing use – get in touch
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I wish I could say I was shocked to learn that 25% of those asked to describe the system they used to organize imagery and video assets answered that they didn’t. But sadly, I have seen this in action more often than I care to admit. It’s not good, people. The more you use visual content (and you will continue to use more and more), the more of it there will be – and if you don’t have an organisational system in place – you won’t be able to find what you need, when you need it – and you’ll waste time and money trying scrabbling to get a replacement/duplicate.
One day I shall regale you with the story of the major educational non-profit who had – but could not for the life of them find – historical imagery of Eleanor Roosevelt putting up one of their signs. It was SOMEWHERE we knew (because it had been used several years before) but no one knew where or in what format. As far as I know, it remains a hidden treasure in some folder of some filing cabinet in one of their offices. Irreplaceable – and lost for no good reason.
Happily, among those who do have a system in place – 33% use something cloud based (especially useful for distributed teams working collaboratively) and 29% use internal servers. So most of those surveyed ARE being organised. And I salute them. If you are one of the 25% – we can help.
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I’ve got a massive ‘to be read’ pile to get through so stay tuned for more of my top takeaway summaries over the next few days.
And remember, if you want to discuss any more of this in detail, find out how it applies to you or explore the possibilities, get in touch with Modern Parlance for a coffee consultation and let’s see if we can’t get your content working as hard as you do.