Graphic design as a digital marketing tool

Source: [15].

The paramount business objectives that companies intend to achieve through the use of graphic design in their marketing materials are described below.

1. Capturing customers' attention: One of the main factors that motivate marketers to use graphic design is its ability to attract the attention of target consumers. Be it banner or digital marketing, good graphic design will help marketers capture customers' attention.

2. Increased sales: Gaining access to more customers will lead to increased revenue for the company. Organizations make sure to include graphic design in their marketing communications with the ultimate goal of increasing sales of a product or service.

3. Acts as a strong business identification: Graphic design is widely used in the design of logos, business cards and other branding materials. These materials act as indirect marketing agents and, in turn, create a strong perception of the business among target consumers.

4. Go viral easily: The number of digital marketing activities in Oman is picking up pace after the penetration of 3G and smartphones. The utilization of graphic design within the realm of web design and content marketing is experiencing a notable surge. The benefits of graphic design for business are that it helps marketers to distribute designs digitally, thereby encouraging customers.

5. Improved market positioning: Marketing positioning is concerned with presenting a product or service in a unique way to differentiate itself from other players in the market. Through the incorporation of graphic design, marketers have the ability to juxtapose and differentiate product attributes while presenting factual information.

6. Reduce time to market for more products and improve the return on investment: Although graphic designers invest a significant amount of time creating marketing materials, the enhanced potential of digital images and videos to circulate on social media platforms enables businesses to reach a larger audience with minimal marketing endeavors. Moreover, the cost of design and audience reach of digital media can be tracked quantitatively, which helps evaluate the return on investment in marketing [10].

With the rise in the quantity of individuals utilizing the Internet and their time spent on browsing, social networks are emerging as influential marketing platforms. Social networks are Web 2.0 tools, sites, and trends that allow people to share content, disseminate information, and build relationships. There are many forms of social media: blogs, microblogs, social networks, information sharing sites, social bookmarking and voting sites, review sites, forums, virtual worlds. Currently, this represents the most expeditious means of acquiring information. Given the presence of these platforms in everyday life, there is an opportunity to connect with consumers in new ways. Social media provides marketers with a platform to articulate their opinions and establish channels of communication with prospective customers. In fact, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and other social networks have become a new medium for promoting products and connecting with audiences; social media is used as a marketing tool. In this way, many marketing goals can be achieved. Social media allows for the following: rapid exchange of information and interactivity, stimulating the influence of direct marketing, improving the branding process, directing attention to specific products, improving the loyalty and trust process, conducting market research and monitoring competition, taking into account consumer opinions, etc. The advantages of employing social media marketing are highly cited, as a notable 86% of participants reported heightened brand awareness attained through their endeavors. The second most important benefit is increased traffic (78%), followed by leads generated (67%) and loyal fans (60%) [11, 12]. Accordingly, the ease of finding information online gives shoppers more options than ever. In contemporary times, it is imperative for brands to possess a social media presence. However, owing to the vast expanse of the social web, businesses are confronted with an abundance of information, which poses a challenge in establishing effective communication channels with their customers.

Brands use content marketing to create and share their stories. The Content Marketing Institute defines it as “a strategic marketing approach focused on creating and distributing valuable, relevant and consistent content to attract and retain a clearly defined audience and ultimately drive profitable customer action”. It is worthy pf note that the focus is placed on delivering value to the customer in the form of relevant information and ideas. Quality content drives social media engagement and plays an important role in a social media marketing campaign. Currently, brands are challenged to create and distribute content that generates and maintains visibility for their social media posts, they are expected to produce content that can answer all customer queries in a very attractive and creative manner. The art of graphic design holds a crucial position in molding the online consumers' expectations. It serves as a visual component that adeptly steers customers towards the intended messages. When reaching people on social media, brands need to prove they have something to say. Thus, adequate content can position them as an authoritative and active member of the social media community. Social media is inherently reliant on visual content, underscoring the criticality of thoughtful content design. Marketing and graphic design work together to create the social media space. With the help of graphic design, messages are presented through innovative design elements that ultimately create a stunning visual experience for the audience. Capturing customers' attention is one of the major factors driving marketers to integrate graphic design into their content strategy. Design defines the visual appeal and user-friendliness of social media. It serves as a conduit for executing visual marketing strategies through an array of graphical elements, including but not limited to infographics, videos, newsletters, and animations [13].

Contemporary society places a greater emphasis on visual communication, with printed and written culture being replaced by visual culture. This shift has resulted in graphic design becoming increasingly significant, as brands strive to visually represent their identity. Every time customers interact with a brand, they are exposed to visual stimuli such as logos, shapes, colors, characters, styles and other elements that define the brand's image. These elements are associated with the brand and help customers identify it. In contemporary business, social media has emerged as a crucial component, necessitating brands to augment their digital footprint. The Internet allows for greater brand experience and brand engagement in communities through interaction, which consequently leads to brand loyalty, encourages trust and creates greater value for consumers. In the online world, it only takes four to eight seconds to impress an audience, so attractive graphics play an important role in this process. Graphic design can influence the look, feel, functionality and message a brand intends to convey. The goal is to create a look and feel that harmonizes visual communication in a way that further introduces the brand to the audience.The field of visual communication design is undergoing a transformation in response to the evolving demands of individuals. Influenced by the advancements in digital media, graphic design has evolved into a multifaceted discipline with an array of online tools that facilitate the creation of captivating visual content. Using different design techniques creates a point of differentiation in the market, strengthens the brand image and increases customer loyalty. Consequently, compelling visual images connect the brand with the audience. They encourage discussion and exchange of information. In addition, it has been shown that visual appeal can influence the quality of consumer interaction with online stimuli [13, 14]. As design serves as a conduit for the interaction between brands and consumers, it is imperative that content be meticulously crafted to be both engaging and interactive. Providing engaging online experiences influences customers' purchasing behavior, and designing such experiences is challenging. Establishing the intended image and recognition are facilitated by effectively appealing to individuals; diverse online platforms enable the generation of compelling and impactful content on a daily basis. They help designers generate any type of visual content and make the process more efficient. These image creation and editing software provide the user with the ability to craft personalized visual content, graphs, charts, memes, infographics, providing for a consistent look across all channels. In addition to producing visually appealing graphics in a diverse array of formats, they offer the capability to effortlessly disseminate and circulate designs.

Conclusions

Visual communication is the cornerstone of contemporary and future digital marketing. High-quality content is an indispensable component of any successful digital marketing strategy. For sophisticated photo editing, exceptional free solutions include Pixlr and BeFunky. To craft unforgettable social media content, Canva and Fotor are unparalleled in their extensive range of features that cater to diverse platforms and audiences. Genially is a tool designed for a wide range of purposes, however it lacks some important features related to social media marketing. After evaluating the above tools for their efficacy in generating content for social media marketing (SMM) based on the established parameters, it can be deduced that Canva satisfies a greater number of these criteria. Nevertheless, alternative online resources prove more advantageous for certain functions. Given the shift of modern business to online, social networks have become the most convenient avenue for client acquisition. As visually-driven beings, humans tend to allocate a significant amount of time on the abovementioned platforms. That being said, to captivate an audience with advertising, a distinctive design must be created that sets itself apart from the rest. A compelling visual presentation is paramount and can be effectively achieved through user-friendly graphic design platforms that bolster marketing communications. Visual imagery resonates in the memory and elicits empathy, thus making it an ideal medium for expressing brand identity, promoting products or conveying messages all of which yield influential, interactive and meaningful impact on customers.

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