Seven seconds.
That’s how much time the average person can focus on a website before their attention is hungrily snapped up by the millions of other distractions vying for their concentration.
So, what does your business website have that’s gripping enough to grab hold of your visitors attention and hang on to it longer than seven seconds?
If you’re a business owner, you’ve likely heard the phrase “content is king” and come to know its truth. And while quality written content is incredibly important and effective—reading takes time (much longer than seven seconds). This is why visual content potentially has even more power to increase engagement, interactions, and actions on your business website. Visuals are faster and easier for the brain to process, and can drive better business results and more eyeballs to your page.
A few visual content stats:
- Over 40% of people respond better to visuals than plain text.
- People retain only 10% of plain text, but 65% if accompanied by a visual.
- Video is projected to make up 80% of all Internet traffic by 2019.
The visual elements on your website all communicate a message that will immediately be accepted or rejected by potential customers knocking on the door of your online abode. Your visual content develops that important first impression as to whether or not visitors want to stick around and see if your website is relevant to them.
If you can engage your visitors attention in seven seconds, that gives you more time to win another two minutes, five minutes, or even 20 minutes. If you can grab their attention in seven seconds, then you will get the chance to really tell your story.
How to tap into the power of visual content on your website:
Using Images:
Humans are visual creatures that like pretty pictures, so it’s no secret that the imagery on your website has immense attention grabbing power over you’re your visitors. Images transcend language and words and allow for a greater understanding of your brand, so tell a story with the photos on your website. And make sure the imagery displayed on your website is high quality, professional, and unique to your business.
Implementing Video:
If pictures are worth a thousand words, then videos are worth a million. When properly implemented, video can bring movement and life to your website. Videos engage your visitors and keep them around long enough to understand what you can do for them and why you are the best person for the job. Video is a powerful story telling platform with a great ROI for businesses who appropriately leverage it.
Applying Graphs and Charts:
The thought of looking over a long list of facts and figures isn’t anybody’s idea of a good time. A page full of data is hardly attention grabbing. But if you need to use some sort of dataset on your website to showcase your credibility, it can easily be spiced up by presenting it on a well designed graph or chart. This allows viewers to visualize what the statistics really mean and organize them in a more understandable way.
Your website has a lot of work to do in a short amount of time so make sure your visual content is working for you. Pieces of visual content are doorways to more valuable information. Don’t just tell your visitors what you can do for them, but also show them.
Now that you’re thinking it’s time to up your visual content game, Net Designs is here to help. Net Designs has a professional photographer, videographer, and graphic designer on the team that create high-quality visual content that will help solidify your brand. With the amount of competition online fighting for your visitors attention, business websites must step it up when it comes to visual content. Net Designs recognizes this and makes it a priority to go above and beyond by using interactive storytelling techniques that leave a lasting impression on your target audience.
If you want to know if you pass the seven second test, contact Net Designs today for an honest professional opinion!
Author: Kendall Dick, Net Designs Blogger
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