How do marketers and creative professionals navigate the growing demand for visual content? What are their biggest challenges when it comes to creating, organizing, and sharing visual stories today? To help answer these questions, Libris and Contently have just released new findings in their 2018 Report: Engaging Your Audience with Visual Content. The report is based on a March 2018 online survey of hundreds of marketers and creatives who work with photos and videos every day.Use this report to check in on state of visual content today and see how you stack up compared to your peers in the industry.Here are four major takeaways we walked away with:

1. Visual content is not going anywhere.

The report reveals that 70% of marketers say their marketing results are better with visual content. On top of that, 75% say they always use a visual when posting to the digital marketing channel that best engages their audience.And what is the most engaging channel? Facebook came out on top, followed by Instagram.

2. Speed matters a lot.

We learn that speed is a major factor when publishing visual content, and the ability to locate and share these assets quickly is more important than ever.One question asked was: Compared to previous years, is the ability to locate and share visual assets quickly more or less important to your job? Here’s the breakdown.With almost two thirds of participants stating that the need to locate assets quickly is more important today, there’s no question that the ability to tell stories fast — and often in real time — is increasingly crucial to engaging an audience.

3. Most are sharing visual content at least once a day — if not more.

Another question posed was: How often does your organization use visual content to engage with your audience online (whether through social media, email, blog posts, etc)? Here’s how people responded: 65% of participants share visual content once a day or multiple times a day. And off those who share visual content daily or multiple times a day, over a third also believe the ability to find visual assets quickly is “important” or “very important.” 

4. Marketers have a greater need for video than photography. 

Another question was: Compared to last year, has your need for videography increased, decreased or stayed the same? The report reveals that the need for video has dramatically increased, and more so than photography (63% said their need for photography has increased).It’s also interesting that although 69% of participants say their need for video is increasing, 81% also say video (either custom or live) is the hardest content to create. The takeaway here is that although the need for video grows, producing this content still presents the biggest challenge.            The Big Takeaway                                                   The biggest takeaway in this report for marketing professionals is that the production, organization and sharing of visual assets may be central to your job that you realize.As the report itself states: “Creators  have to establish a clear workflow, communicate their approach to the entire team, and set up a system for testing and measuring performance. In other words, when it comes to engaging your audience with visual content, you need a strategic plan in place to help you get there.”    

Download the 2018 Report: Engaging Your Audience with Visual Content for deeper insights on how marketers are navigating the constant demand for visual stories today.