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Not many people remember the days before television or computers. Imagine a family gathering around the radio to listen to the latest “soap opera.” (Yes, these dramatic narratives were accompanied by live musicians and commercials about soap—well, laundry detergent.) Now imagine how most of this experience was enhanced by the tone of the readers’ voices and the sound effects.

Then television came along with visual images. Let us not forget the more recent additions called “infomercials” with their detailed demonstrations. These long-form ads are pretty compelling—be honest, how many of you purchased that copper-coated cookware you saw showcased on a television infomercial?

Online marketing followed suit with image-rich content and brief-but-informative demonstration videos that highlight a product’s impressive characteristics or a company’s exceptional service.

When you look at the stats from 2017, you can see why visual content is vital to effective advertising:

• 74% of companies who utilize social media also incorporate visual content
• 74% of all internet traffic consists of video content
• About 4 times as many customers prefer watching a demo video rather than reading about the product
• In general, readers are more likely to view and share infographics

Based on this information, this trend of utilizing visuals is only just beginning.

Why Add Images and Videos

Aside from the hard data proving that visuals work, another reason to include an image or video with your content is to have something more on the page than just words. You might possess the magic touch when it comes to writing, but it’s important to get your audience’s attention first.

Images are key to gaining a viewer’s attention, as well as keeping them engaged.

If the product or service that you’re selling requires more than just vivid description to convey its worth to your audience, then a demonstration video or a tutorial with screenshots is vital to gaining views and conversions. Remember, we most often learn by doing and viewing as opposed to just reading. Plus, engaging visual content will keep viewers on your site longer than text alone.

How to Obtain Engaging Visuals

So you might wonder how to go about finding some images or videos to accompany your blog or social media post. The surest way to avoid stepping on anyone’s copyright toes is to create your own images if you or a trusted colleague have some photography and filming skills.

However, in most cases, a person would have to look elsewhere for images that are available at little expense. Some sites that offer free or low-cost images include:

• Pond5
• YAY Images
• iStockphoto
• 123RF

Most of these sites also offer bulk pricing, which helps to cut down on cost while you stock up on images.

Other sites that offer assistance with video production are:

• Fotolia
• Shutterstock
• Prezi
• Common Craft

Again, you might need to pay a small membership fee, but the return, in terms of views and shares, makes this investment well worth it.

What’s the Proper “Netiquette”?

Some basic parameters to remember are:

• Learn about copyright laws and how to get written permission for use
• Give credit to sources even when using items from Creative Commons
• Be prepared to honor request to take down images or videos
• Follow content policy by avoiding any violent or crude content

Embedding images or videos can greatly enhance your content and even add to the number of views on your site. With the right strategy, this also leads to more shares by an audience who has already become familiar with and loyal to your brand.

Thus, this addition to your site could be the most inexpensive option, yet also one of the most effective.