Visual strategy 101
In the past, sales team targeted potential clients, delivered rehearsed elevator pitches, and used their tactics to close deals. Nowadays, the rules have changed, and your potential clients are forging their own impressions and opinions from what they find on you online.
To level-up and improve your digital presence, you should look for ways to add value, be informative and provide inspiration in order to build a community. To get customers to pay attention, you have to pay, whereas a grateful audience will happily give you their time and attention for free.
“All companies have customers. Lucky companies have fans. But the most fortunate companies have audiences.”
Jason Fried and David Hansson
Understanding that building a community is the best way to leverage your brand is the first step; but how do we leverage our digital presence to build a community? This is when having a visual strategy comes into play.
On a grand scale, visual strategy encompasses the creative and analytic decisions that inform any visual expression of a brand; it´s identity — its purpose, values and characteristics - in order to create a more engaging brand that leads to more exposure and thus, more sales.
But why visual strategy and not just strategy?
Well, it´s all about engagement. Attention span is narrowing due to the amount of information that is presented, and visual content has proven to capture users’ attention for a more extended period in comparison to any other form.
According to statistics;
People follow the purchase funnel 323% better with text and visuals as compared to text only.
Users are 80% likely to read your content if it’s presented in visual form.
People remember 20% of what they READ and 650% of what they SEE.
Conveying a cohesive visual strategy is essential for communicating your unique offering to your audience. But it’s so much more than that. Good design builds trust, credibility, and client confidence.
How can we help you build your visual strategy?
In order to create a tailored strategy, we take an integral approach to your needs in a five-step process.
1 - Analyze
We want to understand where you’re successful and, more importantly, what’s most challenging to your brand growth. In this critical step, we aim to define your aspirations to build a personalized roadmap for your visual strategy.
Good design has the power to enhance workflows, engage your audience, and portray authenticity.
2 - Conceptualize
With your goals in mind, we conceptualize a visual strategy that can be as simple as a logo design or as intricate as a multidisciplinary brand strategy. We propose the products and services needed to reach your objectives.
3 - Strategize
We assemble a team specifically tailored for your project. All creators are highly experienced and leaders in their respective fields.
4 - Visualize
With the team in place, we begin designing wireframes, mockups, and brand boards. A team leader facilitates the communication between you and the team of creators to keep the project on track.
5 - Optimize
With the designs in place and user data collected, we review what elements are working and which can be improved to reach your objectives.
Our final advice is to cultivate a brand that shows your true identity and is consistent but malleable. The core elements of your brand and identity should remain static, but depending on the project, audience & objective the content may be more flexible.
“Design without strategy is just art”
Jacob Cass