Visual content is playing a bigger role in brands' web marketing success, but data shows brands can't execute graphic campaigns without help.

It’s becoming clear the content marketing landscape has taken a turn for the visual. Consumers are watching upwards of 46 billion videos online and they respond best to social content that features photos. Marketers understand a picture is worth a thousand words, but they apparently don’t know how to create the visuals that drive content ROI.

A survey of B2B marketing professionals on LinkedIn revealed that videos are the most outsourced type of content on the web. More than 30 percent hire external teams to execute their video marketing efforts. Infographics weren’t far behind. Over 26 percent of surveyed marketers outsource their infographic content to professional designers. Outsourcing seems an obvious choice for companies that lack in-house designers and more marketers may be looking for external designers and video producers, soon.

According to the Content Marketing Institute, 70 percent of B2Bs already include videos in their campaigns and 38 percent use infographics. When outsourcing content, it’s important to focus on comprehensive marketing strategies – not just graphic or video production. This was the focus of Brafton’s recent webinar – Video Production vs. Video Marketing – and it’s important for brands to keep in mind to maximize their ROI on visual content.

Not only do visual content types garner more clicks and engagement (47 percent more) than standalone text, but they also have longer shelf lives. Brafton previously reported that viewers continue to discover and watch online videos three months after initial publication. On the other hand, Wise Metrics data found Facebook posts reach 50 percent of their total audiences in 30 minutes and 75 percent all impressions occur before updates have been live for three hours.

Lauren Kaye is a Marketing Editor at Brafton Inc. She studied creative and technical writing at Virginia Tech before pursuing the digital frontier and finding content marketing was the best place to put her passions to work. Lauren also writes creative short fiction, hikes in New England and appreciates a good book recommendation.