There is no doubt that we live in an increasingly visual world, and the use of graphic information on the Internet has increased by 9,900% in the last seven years (a huge increase).

Today, more and more communicators and marketers are adopting the use of images as an integral part if not the centerpiece of their 2015 strategy.

And why do you think that's happening?

The fact is  visual cues are like shortcuts to our brain.  For example a blog post with an image is way more striking than text alone.   And with this regard,  content may be king, but the supporting viual is definitely the proclaimed Queen.

If you put visual power of an image next to a related textual content, your more likely going to hit the spot with your audience than without it.

At Visme, we know what you're thinking, because we used to like most of you too: "Great, but how in the world am I going to create visual content if I'm not a graphic designer, and don't have the budget to hire one!."

That's why we're going to share with you 5 tips to choose the right graphics to support your content, and you do not need to be a designer to create them.

1. STUNNING PHOTOS

Use quality photographs, especially when creating blog posts or writing for e-mails or websites. Either you do it with a professional photographer, or you just search for them on free copyright online banks - it depends on your budget.

A good picture will make your content stand out. There are pictures that have been overused, try to remain away from those. You want these photos to be as unique as your content.

Here are a few great resources you can tap into for your images:

1. Unsplash.com 

This is a great resource of free images for business or personal use.  Every day photographers add a series of new photos in high resolution format which you can use for pretty much anything.   It's not a huge library but quality of images are great and grows daily.

2. iStockPhotos.com
A site of Getty Images has millions of images and other visuals at a low cost.  It's not free but the photos are affordable.

3. Visme
Visme doesn't just give you the ability to create visual content, but it also has a library of millions of free images from Flikr that you can search and use on your projects.

There are of course many more resources, but these are a few to get you started.

2. SCREENSHOTS

Illustrate your post with screenshots. If you want to explain how to do something, it's easier if you show it!

Take a screenshot for every step of the process, after you're done you can create a collage with all of them to make it more appealing.

The important thing is that you keep the entire process very simple for your audience to understand.

Here's how you can take screenshots:

- Learn how to take a screenshot on your Mac

- Learn how to take a screenshot on your PC

- Learn how to take a screenshot with your iPhone 

3. PRODUCT SHOTS

Are you planning to start a campaign to promote your products? Or do you need to present a new strategy to your boss or client?

There's nothing better than using an actual product shot.

This way you'll be showing your audience exactly what you want them to see, plus they will start to feel familiar with it.  You can present screenshots of your product (if it's digital/software related)  or images taken of your product.

Either way, make sure your product looks clean and professional.  Avoid using poor quality photography / screenshots of your product.

4. INFOGRAPHICS

Infographics have a tendency to go viral over other types of content (assuming they have the right content and informative) and users like sharing them.

Overall statistics show that sharing an infographic can help boost your traffic by about 12%.

Creating a professional infographic would take more time than other types of visual content, in particular because they are composed of multiple objects and pieces of content.    But it can be worth the investment.  With that said it doesn't need to cost an arm and a leg and you can save a lot of time by using infographic tools that come with templates you can fairly quickly edit and populate with your own content.

We have an extensive post on how to do it correctly and of course Visme comes with a nice selection of infographics to choose from.

5. VISME

Work with online design tools, made for "non-designers". Visme is an intuitive and easy to use choice that allows you to create banners, presentations, infographics and custom size images in a simple and efficient manner.

It's basically drag and drop and gives you the flexibility to make it your own without being a professional designer.

There you have it.  Of course we could dig a lot deeper, but these should give you a good starting point.

Feel free to share other ideas with us and refer to other articles  from our blog to inspire your next creation!