It’s In The Writing: Words Still Matter

It’s in the writing.

According to the marketing firm IMPACT’s blog, 60.8% of marketers agree visual content is absolutely necessary.

You can present this information in more than one way.

You could say: A small majority — less than two-thirds — believes in the absolute need for visual content. That means they’re in favor of including photos, graphics and videos to the words already presented.

You also could say: A sizable minority — almost 40%, or almost half — do not believe it. They think the words are far more critical than the photos, graphics or videos you could put out there. 

Or you could simply present the statistic: 60.8% of marketers agree visual content is absolutely necessary.

How would you present it?

The key here is words still matter. Visual content — photos, graphics, videos, charts, animations, etc. — don’t work without the words to start with.

That’s why just presenting the statistic means nothing: There’s no context. What does it mean that 60.8% of marketers agree visual content is absolutely necessary? What kind of visual content? Carmine Mastropierro wrote, “Perfect copy is not enough.” But he acknowledged the need for the copy.

So, which of the other two poll choices are best? You have to know your audience and write to it. Those that say “visual content” is the wave of the present and future probably want “a small majority,” while those that think the words are paramount would respond better to the “sizable minority.”

But the bottom line is that words matter, and you need to ensure you’ve got the right ones.