When we think of improving our content marketing strategy, we usually think of bettering our content and copywriting skills or finding better ways to promote the content we have already written. Rarely do we consider improving the design of our content-centric pages to achieve better results.
However, we can’t ever overlook the synergy between content marketing and web design. A well-designed page is certainly more memorable, and it can also help you draw attention to certain elements, among other things.
Let’s take a look at seven ways good design can help you boost your content marketing strategy.
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Provide a Deeper Meaning
Words are one of the most powerful mediums you can use to promote your brand. However, there is still only so much they can achieve.
They require a commitment of time – time to read your copy and digest the information provided. Needless to say, you may also need to use a significant number of words to evoke a certain emotion, as you will need to set the scene, so to speak.
On the other hand, with a simple design solution in the form of an image or video, you can achieve a much better effect. Both of these mediums drive your message home in a fraction of the time, and they are able to convey multiple layers of meaning as well.
Take a look at the video playing on Aura’s homepage.
It’s designed to have you instantly make a connection between an astronaut heading into space and the kind of stellar results you can expect to achieve. It’s much more effective than any copywriting slogan could have been.
Focus on What Matters
Clever design can also help you highlight the most important elements of any page, ensuring that the information that is most valuable to your visitors is seen first.
Quality content pays a lot of attention to hierarchy, and it is organized from top to bottom. The more you read, the more you will learn about the topic at hand, but you should never need to read an entire page to get all the most vital information and facts. This is why partnering with a specialized ppc services agency can help you focus on what truly matters in your marketing strategy
When this information is broken down in a meaningful way, it’s also easier to digest. Scott’s Cheap Flights, for instance, has taken the utmost advantage of a minimalistic design to highlight their key message and selling point.
There is no excess of content, and the design has highlighted both the emotions you can be expected to feel and the most important aspect of the service visitors will care about.
Provide a Memorable Visual Identity
The best marketing campaigns are the ones that remain true to themselves and establish a memorable identity across all platforms. When your content is served in a different format or accompanied by different kinds of images or illustrations across different platforms, people will have a harder time connecting it with your brand. Therefore, it’s essential to maintain a consistent visual identity, which can be achieved through various means, including tools where you can draw online to create cohesive graphics and artwork.
This is where design comes in to help you stand out and remain etched in your audience’s minds. Whenever they see an image or a video online, if they recognize it as yours instantly, they will also immediately feel all the emotions they usually associate with your brand, taking them less time to connect with the marketing message.
Birchbox has done a great job of improving their content marketing campaigns with the help of their design team.
Their online identity is memorable, unique, and present across all of their products. It strikes just the right tone, perfectly in line with their ethos and values.
Highlight Your CTAs
Your call to action is most often the single most important part of your page. All of the other elements on it merely contrive to inspire a visitor to perform that one specific action.
CTAs that don’t stand out, no matter how well-envisaged they are in the copywriting department, will usually not perform as well as CTAs that have also been designed well.
What the term “well” will mean for you will depend on your industry, your audience, and the message you’re trying to communicate, as well as the rest of your page. You never want the CTA to be in sharp contrast with its surroundings, nor do you want it to seem abrupt. It should be a natural continuation – a logical conclusion – both in the copywriting and the design sense.
Flamingo offers a great example of the perfect blend of content and design. The page flows very naturally and seamlessly, while both of their CTAs are engaging, vibrant enough (but not too much), and likely to inspire the desired action.
Elevate Your Blog Posts
Without a doubt, blog posts play an incredibly important part in your content marketing strategy. And in order to be read and shared, they need to be not only well-written but also visually appealing.
When it comes to blog post design, your goal is simple: create bite-sized chunks of text that readers can easily skim and digest. Provide plenty of appropriate, high-quality imagery, and make sure you tell your story with more than just words.
Jar of Lemons is a blog that does this incredibly well. All of their posts are accompanied by excellent images, and their layout is very user-friendly.
Each page is also dynamic and engaging enough without becoming overcrowded and cluttered.
Help You Tell a Story
Design is also a great tool for conveying your brand’s story. It will allow you to streamline and shape the information you are trying to share.
As we’ve already concluded, visuals sometimes speak louder than words, so the color story and design elements you choose to feature can highlight the kind of business you are.
For instance, a vibrant design will showcase your laid-back and modern side, while a more streamlined, monochrome design can speak of your more traditional values.
Take a look at Skillcrush, and you will instantly notice what they are passionate about: empowerment, sharing knowledge, and providing an atmosphere where everyone feels equal and ready to participate.
Show Off Your Customers
Finally, design can help you incorporate user-generated content into your marketing strategy and showcase your customers and their stories.
User-generated content is not “just” a great way to add some social proof to your pages. It is also the better way to highlight your best features, as it is inherently more trustworthy. After all, your customers have no ax to grind, so they can be trusted to be honest in their reviews.
A simple yet effective design solution can set just the right tone for this type of content. For instance, Future Kind has a section of their homepage devoted to reviews. They don’t take away any of the spotlight from the rest of the page. Instead, they complement it in a magnificent way, further elaborating on some of the points that have been touched upon.
Final Thoughts
When you next consider improving your content marketing strategy, start by analyzing your current design. Then, work on finding a way to embellish it. You’ll be surprised to see how effective even the smallest changes can be.