Abraham Lincoln Proved the Energy of Visual Advertising and marketing

“Four points and 7 years ago …”

These historical words have been reprinted and shared for over 150 years. But, according to President Abraham Lincoln’s own admission, the Gettysburg Address rejects the use of words.

I am not joking. Here is an excerpt:

“The world will notice little and will not remember for long what we are saying here …”

Abraham Lincoln did not simply dismiss his tapestry for the English language, he simply preferred pictures.

I’ll prove it to you in a moment. But let’s first take a look at the basics of communication, stories, words, and images.

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visual communication

Our minds think in pictures. Even as you read these words, multiple translations occur that a video does not have. When it comes to words, our brain has to translate the letters into words and the words into pictures.

Pink elephant.

The letters P, I, N, and K instantly create a word, and that word creates the actual color in your head, as does the word “elephant”.

This translation between symbols, words and images seems to be instantaneous. However, there are milliseconds (ms) that elapse between the time the reflection of the words on your screen translates into these cute pink pachyderms.

Years ago we were a more patient species. We sent letters, drove across the country to visit loved ones, cooked our meals, and shared lively family dinners that could last for hours.

Today, instant messaging, jet travel, and Uber Eats dominate our lifestyles. Not only do we move faster, we also expect faster.

Visual communication in today’s world is not just a good idea. It’s vital.

Speed ​​matters

This old press just can’t keep up. However, we still rely on the written word and translation that must be in our minds in order to communicate with one another. It’s not that slow, of course. Reading and understanding a 25-word sentence takes just a few seconds. When that phrase has been visually communicated with an image, the processing time in our old noggin ‘is much faster.

Related: 5 reasons why you need video in your marketing strategy

The Abraham Lincoln case

In a well-documented case in 1861, President Abraham Lincoln did was fixed with a card. This card was about three feet long and etched with shades of gray. The slopes reflected the number of slaves living in each district.

It was said that Lincoln studied the map frequently. It’s even in the background of a portrait of Lincoln. The map was powerful because it gave him an instant visual overview of a divided country.

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Video as a powerful visual, explained

The fact is, we understand images faster than text. As an example, here is an eight step process that examines how you can use video to your advantage:

1. Vlog. Create a video blog. Pictures are nice, but video is better. In fact, raw video from marketers who simply chat often outperform slick, expensively produced content.
2. Transcribe. Convert the video to text and post the transcription on YouTube. You can paste the transcripts in the transcript area and add annotations and some of the copies in the description.
3. To edit. Revise your transcription to make it read well. If you don’t edit it, it is unlikely to be read well.
4. Syndicate. Share your video on multiple platforms for extra reach. If you want to stick it to the man and get away from YouTube, share your video on Vimeo, Daily Motion, and dozen other channels to give yourself an extra boost.
5. Rest in peace. Remove the audio from your video and post it on platforms like Spotify and iTunes. The explosion in audio learning, like live streaming, is in the double digits. All content providers should include audio in their content plan.
6. Thumbnail. Create a powerful visual for your video. YouTube picks a still image from the middle of your video so you might end up showing your yawn if you let the platform do it.
7. live. Broadcasting your video live has a greater SEO reach. At first glance, it might seem a bit scary to go “live”. There’s no way to edit, and most people tend to keep droning on. Keep it to the point and you will be rewarded with rave fans and potential customers.
8. 360 degree content. Virtual reality may not be a fad. According to kioskd, 360-degree panoramic mobile ad units are 35 times more effective than their traditional display counterparts.

Honest Abe was known for his wisdom and healing a broken nation. His map story was just a breadcrumb on the way to a visually communicative world. While your words and text are not unimportant, there should be visual elements added to your content, books, and marketing strategies.

You only have a few milliseconds to make a first impression. Use them well.

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