I am a very visual person. I will take watching a movie over reading a book just about any day of the week, so the use of images in blog posts has a dramatic affect on how I interact with a bloggers content. On robbsutton.com, I try to find images on the web (legally) that compliment the blog articles content to further expand on the thought I am trying to portray with words. For me, it adds to the content and brings in another mental stimulus that you can really rap your brain around. As the blogging industry continues to pour more resources into multimedia, I believe that using key elements like images and video are going to become increasingly important as more “microwave generation” readers fall onto our blog content.
Awhile back, I wrote an article on How to Find Killer Images for Your Blog Posts and those techniques for finding images for your blog articles still hold so take a look over that one when you get a chance. What we need to ask ourselves as bloggers is what can we do to continually expand the way that we interact with our readers? Images and other multimedia outlets are a fantastic way to further engage your readers with your content.
What do pictures and video do to your blog reader?
When I draft up articles on any of my blogs, I am trying to pull the reader into my world. Blog readers enjoy blogs because they get to interact with the blogger. If they just wanted to absorb some content, there are other print and online publications that have huge financial backing that provide a mass amount of content…but no interaction. They choose to read your blog because they get to step into the world you are creating online through your thoughts and words. By complimenting your words with visual media, you are going further into the interaction and this creates more stimulating content for your readers.
You will hear time and time again that content is king and that is all you have to worry about! While a blog is nothing without great content, I do believe that by stimulating more senses with your readers, you will create a stronger connection and see more success in the long run. As I watch print newspapers over time, they are going away from the massive amount of text on a page and complimenting that text with large, engaging pictures. The newspaper industry has stumbled upon the same idea as they continually strive for larger circulations.
As you walk by a newsstand, what grabs your eye? Is it a bunch of text on a page that must be good because of how long it is or is it a dramatic picture with a catchy headline? The dramatic picture with a catchy headline grabs you in every time! Keep this in mind as you draft you next blog article and ask yourself what you can do to stimulate not only your readers thinking but their senses. The more interaction and feeling your bring into your blogging, the more you will gravitate readers that want to soak up all of the buttery greatness that is your blog.
Now…if they could just figure out how to get scratch and sniff on a computer screen…I would never leave the interior pictures on Ferrari’s homepage…
Newspaper image by Matt Callow
4 comments
I always find that I prefer the way my content looks with a picture to accompany it. Sometimes I search for hilarious pictures to set the tone of the article as light weight, and sometimes I try to find more serious pictures for creating a tone of professionalism.
I would definitely agree that a great image will grab the reader’s attention and make them click on the “read more” link, and whatever other links you wish for them to click on!
I agree.
When I first started blogging it was content. It was interesting for me, boring for my readers. Then it evolved to subtitles…it added a cool effect. Now I’ve got pictures, links, subtitles… I like it. It makes me look like I know what I’m talking about:)
Pictures can make all the difference for some readers. You have to appeal to people’s visual nature!
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