Marketers must establish an engaging and emotionally effective visual vocabulary to accompany their messaging. To accomplish this goal, marketers should shape their visual content strategy in order to account for – and optimally deliver on – these three concerns: authenticity, targeting, and tonality.
Authenticity
Visual content must be in line with (and communicate) the values of the brand. A brand’s visual identity should derive from the larger branding, with easily recognizable elements effectively conveying at-a-glance brand recognition.
Targeting
Visual content must reach the correct audience, be thoughtfully framed, and arrive via media or platforms that showcase a brand’s familiarity and belonging with the audience. This targeting must consider all the established norms of what the audience expects to see on a particular platform.
Tonality
It’s critical to recognize how a brand’s visual communication will find greater success the more aligned it is with the emotions of the subject matter at hand, and to the specific needs and expectations of the audience. For guidance in navigating this requisite for the right tone, take into consideration the norms of the existing audience and look into benchmarking the activities of peers as you develop visual content.