What comes to mind first: the last article you read or the most recent video you watched?

It’s probably the latter.

That’s the power of visuals — they capture the audience’s attention, create lasting impressions, and have greater recall power.

As a freelancer looking to attract clients, you have to create the right kind of content to engage with your target audience and improve brand visibility.

While you might rely on text-heavy marketing materials, it’s not enough. People gravitate toward visuals, making it important to use visual storytelling in your marketing strategy in order to stand out and get noticed.

Let’s take a look at some visual content marketing tactics to attract freelance clients and grow your business.

Establish a strong visual brand

Whether it’s Coca-Cola’s red-and-white logo or the golden yellow arches that are synonymous with McDonald’s, every leading brand is characterized by a strong visual identity. That’s what makes them memorable.

The same applies to your freelance business.

It’s important to define a strong visual brand identity that sets you apart from your competition and reflects your personality.

The four key elements of a visual identity are:

• Brand logo
• Color scheme
• Fonts
• Imagery

Establishing a strong visual brand starts with knowing your business’ purpose and what it stands for and gaining an understanding of your target clients. The idea is to create a cohesive identity that’s relevant to your niche and resonates with your target clients.

It’s a good idea to document your visual identity and create brand guidelines to be able to offer a unified experience across all marketing channels and touchpoints.

Freelance UX/UI designer Patrick David’s website design establishes a strong visual identity — you’ll notice the color scheme and typography appear consistent across the website.

Use infographics to inform and educate

Are you looking to provide a quick overview of your freelance business, share your working process or compare your service packages?

Why write about it when you can create an engaging infographic that communicates the same message, but more effectively?

Infographics are powerful visual tools that can explain complex concepts, making them easier to understand and digest.

However, creating an infographic is about more than just putting text and images together. You have to tell a story, break down the information, and structure it visually to reinforce the message.

Infographics can be used on landing pages, blog posts, pitch decks, social media channels, and email newsletters.

Product designer Daorong Fang used an infographic to illustrate survey findings, as part of a client case study.

Win clients with pitch decks

So you’ve been asked to submit a pitch deck. If you think sending a PowerPoint presentation (dull) will help you seal the deal, you’re mistaken.  

Your clients are probably going to get several pitches sent their way. The only way to make a strong impression and get noticed is by sending a well-designed business pitch that provides an overview of your services, establishes trust, and, most importantly, keeps the reader engaged.

Dedicate each slide to a single topic, and visualize information using infographics, charts, icons and graphs to capture and retain attention.  

Make sure you get a complete understanding of the client’s business so you’re able to tailor the pitch and quote to their requirements.

Here’s an example of a well-designed pitch deck — it has a consistent design and uses icons to reinforce points without being text-heavy.

Create engaging social media graphics

Social media is a great platform to build brand awareness, share valuable content, and make meaningful connections.

Whether it’s on Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, or Instagram, strong visuals are sure to boost your social media presence.

Here are some visual content ideas for social media:

• Behind-the-scene images
• Quotes
• Mini infographics showcasing facts or statistical data
• Charts and graphs
• GIFs
• Memes
• User-generated content

Take a look at freelance book ghostwriter Carol Tice announcing a boot camp for freelance writers on LinkedIn with a fun illustration.

Don’t feel you have to be part of every social media platform. Focus your efforts on the ones that are frequented by your prospective clients and are relevant to your freelance niche.

Include videos to build trust

This list would be incomplete without mentioning one of the most effective types of visual content, the one we started this article with: videos.

Videos have the power to attract, engage, and convert, giving you every reason to incorporate them videos into your content marketing strategy. Videos also build trust because you get to show your authentic self, making it easier for your audience to connect with you.

You can create informative videos to establish authority, curate client testimonials to gain confidence, or even host Q&A sessions to connect with thought leaders and influencers in your niche.

Video creation might seem like a long process, but when done right, it is sure to help you expand your reach and attract new clients. You can use a video creation tool such as Vidyard to create videos.