#492 Visual Communications

We are living in a visual world. And as a brand, every image you choose has to support the message you want customers to receive.  Jennifer Riley Simone of Fresh Figs Marketing joined me for a conversation about how businesses can do just that.  She suggested three simple strategies business owners should adopt:  Cohesion - There are many ways to make images cohesive.  For example you can use consistent coloring or style of photography or the kind of images you choose.  The objective is when the images are side by side on a page they fit together well. Cohesion begins with creating a branding guide Use a Professional - If you are serious about your business image, don't leave it to an intern. Turn to a professional graphic designer.  They are experts at creating visual messaging and that is what you're creating with all of your imagery and graphics. Then once you have a template or a particular look at a graphic designer has created you can turn to your team to replicate that look across your brand.  Making a Connection.  The whole point of your visual communication is to speak to your target market. So is what you are creating, connecting with the people that you would like to reach out to does it draw them into your brand story? Does it make sense to them? Can they see themselves in it.   Jennifer Riley Simone is the founder of Fresh Figs Marketing and a member of the faculty of the Kelly School of Business at Indiana University, Bloomington.