You’ve thought about using images in business — but you haven’t because you’re “not artistic,” right?

See if my story sounds familiar …

When I was little, and my mother needed to keep me amused, one no-fail recipe was to sit me on the kitchen floor with a box of crayons and some brown paper grocery bags.

She’d ask me to draw pictures on the bags, and — since she then used the bags to throw out the trash — she’d tell me “the garbage men were going to love seeing my drawings when they picked up the garbage.”

I’m pretty sure it was my first graphic design job, come to think of it.

We were all artists once

All of us have stories about how we created art when we were little. Whether you enjoyed drawing, finger painting, creating clay creatures or making mud pies in the back yard, you made something from nothing all the time.

But at some point, you probably stopped.

It seems to happen most often around 8 years old. We become self-conscious, and suddenly begin judging our creations. We hold them up, compare them to our classmates’ work, and think we fall short.

A few people continue to make things, and — mostly because they’re putting in hours of practice — become more and more proficient at making art that’s interesting. They become the artists.

It’s not because they’re born with special talent. The main reason they’re artists is because they’re more obsessed with making art than the rest of us, and are willing to spend the time needed to become really good at it.

What does all this have to do with running your business?

Images in business are more important than ever

It turns out that one of the best things you can do for your business is to go back to expressing yourself visually. Marketing is — at its most basic level — communication.

People are attracted to information that’s visual first, the text comes second.

Content is still crucial, but adding relevant images will leave a lasting impression.

Images make people stop scrolling through their social media feeds.

They can help increase the time a visitor stays on your website, which is good for search engine results.

Well-made, branded images in business collateral — in digital form or print — will supercharge your marketing.

Here’s why:

• Written data is processed in a smaller — and more crowded — part of our brain than images, which means images are comprehended faster and more easily than words.
• In the social media arena, images are shared more often than text. They give your message wings, and help it spread.
• A well-chosen image can become associated with your business and will be remembered long after prospects forget your tagline or your “25% off!” coupon.

Related: Create Your Core Website Content

Visual content is shareable on social media. Great images can inspire your customers to become brand ambassadors — who doesn’t love to have their friends think of them as amazing social media curators?

In a distracted world, images make you stand out.

In a marketplace where attention is currency, you can’t afford not to use them!

Related: 5 Easy Steps to Create Stunning Content Marketing Images [Examples]

Want more design advice?

Check out my Classics: The Design 101 Series of videos on my YouTube channel.

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