The average consumer scrolls through 300 feet of content on their mobile devices daily—equivalent to the length of a football field! That means your visuals may have only a second or less to catch someone’s attention.
Creating captivating visuals isn’t just about beautiful design; it’s about strategic creativity that interrupts the scroll, increases the attention span, and demands engagement. But how do you craft visuals that don’t just compete for recognition, but command it? At Blue Zone Marketing, visuals play a huge part in our online marketing strategies because we know that the online social world is often about pictures, not words.
Pause Psychology
The human brain is wired to notice what’s different, unexpected, or emotionally relatable. A 2023 study found that users usually decide to stop scrolling within 1.7 seconds of viewing content, with visual stimuli being processed up to 60,000 times faster than text. The short version: the more pictures, the better. Even more, research from Nielsen Norman Group revealed that images with human faces can attract 38% more attention and increase engagement time by nearly 30% compared to abstract visuals, making the human element another necessary marketing tool.
So, what does that all mean when it comes to creating content? Here are five pointers that can help you create scroll-stopping visuals.
1. Bold Color Psychology
The visual impact of your color choices can determine whether a visual successfully captures attention. Microsoft researchers concluded that high-contrast color combinations can reduce cognitive processing time by up to 24%, effectively forcing the brain’s visual attention. These high-contrast combinations create demanding and taxing tension on an already overstimulated brain. At the same time, unexpected colors can trigger the brain to relax, pause, and process. Further, the University of Winnipeg found that color influences up to 90% of snap judgments about products, with visual processing happening in just 0.13 seconds. In other words, colors matter, so be very conscientious and deliberate about the colors you use in your visuals, being sure to use sharp contrast and colors that convey the mood you are trying to create.
2. Visual Hierarchy
Arrangement determines whether a scroller ceases their scrolling and how they process the information. Beginning with a dominant focal point can institute a strong visual hierarchy in an image or short-form video, showcasing a logical visual exploration that isolates key items to maximize focus and attention for the viewer. Clear, compelling images that make it easy for the viewer to grasp the elements you want to emphasize limit viewer confusion and maximize engagement.
3. Power of Human Connection
Authentic human imagery is the best tool for stopping scrolling thumbs. Using genuine emotional expressions can engage a consumer’s empathy, framing human subjects in ways that create instant connection and drive authenticity and relatability. Even if your prime goals is to showcase your product or service, one of the best ways to do so is to show how they positively impact people. Your audience is more likely to relate to the person enjoying your product than to the product itself.
4. Storytelling Single Frames
Throughout cultures and generations, humanity has always shared the love of storytelling. Pictures can convey a wide spectrum of stories to a range of audiences. The best visuals do this instantly by creating curiosity gaps, using symbols for deeper meaning, or juxtaposing unexpected elements to let the viewer fill in meaningful connections. Cognitive psychologists call this the “information gap theory”—compelling our brains to find resolution when information is incomplete. Visual storytelling does not overtell, but leaves something to the viewer’s imagination, and that added intrigue and active viewing is intellectually appealing.
5. Platform-Specific Viewing Optimization
Every platform has its own visual brand. Designing for specific aspect ratios, considering how motion and interactive elements enhance pausing, and testing variations to determine what resonates with different platform audiences will help optimization. For example, facebook’s research indicates that the average user will look at video content 5x longer than a still image, so tailoring your visual content to each specific platform can help you obtain the broadest reach to your different audiences.
Visual Stopping Power Measurements
Thumb-stopping visuals aren’t just art; they are also science. Data analytics, such as tracking scroll-stop rates and view duration metrics, A/B test variations to identify high-performing visuals, and reviewing emotional response feedback will inform your ability to create successful marketing visuals. The most effective strategies evolve through continuous professional testing and refinement.
The Blue Zone Difference
Blue Zone Marketing helps our clients transform their visual strategy from scrollable to stoppable by combining creative innovation with data-driven insights. We create visuals that capture not just eyes but hearts and minds.
Your visuals aren’t just competing with rival brands for attention; they’re competing with everything else in your audience’s feed. Make every pixel memorable.
Ready to create visuals that stop thumbs and start conversations? Contact Blue Zone Marketing and find out how we can help you dominate the online visual space.