Introduction: Using Images to Magnify Your Content
The Power of Visual Storytelling: How to Use Visuals, Videos, and Social Media to Market Your Brand
At one time or another, most of us have heard the adage that a picture is worth a thousand words. But those 1000 words that the picture represents, must align with its accompanying text for them to be effective. You have to develop the habit of using images to magnify your content, so that it is more powerful.
I have images on my mind because I am always striving to get more traffic to my blog posts, and captivating visuals draw more eyes to your content.
Additionally, I have been taking the course Research for Writers, and I was presented with the following reasons to add visuals to your content.
To use images to magnify your content add them:
- For clarity
- To explain a point
- To adapt information to your audience
- To tie your information together
- To evoke a strong emotional response
Have you read?
Designing Effective Visualizations
The Power of Visual Storytelling by Ekaterina Walter and Jessica Gioglio – Book Review
Social Selling, Visual Content, Social Media Tips and Other Musings
But where do you find the right image to pair with your content? You create them, already own them, or you use images that are in the public domain. And have you ever wondered where A-list bloggers find images that seem to be perfect for their blog posts? Many have indicated in blog posts that they use tools such as PicMonkey, a free photo editing tool and Canva another option that has templates that you can work with.
If you are the more artistic type, to add artistic effects to your images, you can use Art.Pho.To and VectorMagic. These four tools enable you to transform ordinary images into stunning ones.
Where to Find Free Images
- Pixabay.com (I use this one a lot)
- US Government Images
- Wikimedia Commons
- Unsplash
- Library of Congress
- Metropolitan Museum (Ones with the acronym OASC are free to use)
- Comic Book Plus
Final Thoughts: Using Images to Magnify Your Content
I plan to start experimenting by using some of these free resources, how about you? Have you used any of the tools and resources mentioned here?
The Power of Visual Storytelling: How to Use Visuals, Videos, and Social Media to Market Your BrandInfographics: The Power of Visual StorytellingDigital Storytelling: The Narrative Power of Visual Effects in Film (MIT Press)Stories that Move Mountains: Storytelling and Visual Design for Persuasive PresentationsIf It's Purple, Someone's Gonna Die: The Power of Color in Visual Storytelling
