Copywriting Vs Imagery

What is More Important: The Copywriting or the Imagery

*Copy is a derivative of the latin “ad copies” meaning “to provide” which in turn may be traced back to Greek “ad copium” meaning “to nourish” or “to give”. In a modern context it was adopted by the advertising industry as a means to describe the process of writing text with the intent of “providing” the consumer a particular service or product.

When it comes to high volume engagement with your audience, is copywriting more important or image being used?  When you see an ad or post that grabs you, is it more about the message, the visual imagery, or both?

To really generate views and engagement with your posts, it is important to know your audience and what they come to expect from your product or service you offer.  If you want to learn more, peruse some of our recent blog post to learn more about engaging with your media. When you have that down, you will want to get familiar with how tests are done with the “Creative” [image/s] + the copy pr message used.  First, let’s breakdown what copy and content means in today’s traditional context.

How the End User Receives the Message

Communication theory philosopher Marshall McLuhan famously coined the phrase, “The medium is the message.” Whereas, the “medium”, affects how the end user perceives content, the “message”***. The medium Mr. McLuhan describes can be either the copywriting or any other medium- visual or audio that will portray a message. Most importantly, how the end user receives the message.

Providing meaning is relevant in most marketing campaigns.   To win them over, to have your audience “call to action,” go to a site, an offer; The copy of an ad should provide meaningful engagement to the piece of content.  In other words, the copy should complement the image viewed.

When it comes to provoking copy, there are some great research tools to source to find out what type of posts go viral **.  From emotional and inspiring stories, puzzles & riddles, motivational content to case studies, there are many types of creative content to explore. 

Post Analysis: How Well Your Copywriting and Imagery Performs

It is also a good idea to look into the posts that have done well in recent years.  Headlines that evoke emotion. They can also challenge users to take action. Let’s take a look at some successful engagement.

Successful Engagement

We can also examine the posts that were extremely successful engaging with their audience.  The simplicity of the beige shaded egg that hit 60 million of views, comes to mind. A simple stock image of an egg and the copy encouraged people to like the post. The Instagram post copy was,

“Let’s set a world record together and get the most liked post on Instagram. Beating the current world record held by Kylie Jenner (18 million)! We got this”

In short, the importance of content is equally as important as the copy if done right.  While the image stops the viewers from scrolling, the copy provokes the response or call to action. Provide value, provoke emotion, stump their minds with a brain teaser.  Knowing your brand, content strategy and having goals to your strategy is instrumental.  You can fine tune that message and experiment with the pieces creative [content] that will resonate with your audience.  You will never know until you try. 

“Let’s set a world record together and get the most liked post on Instagram. Beating the current world record held by Kylie Jenner (18 million)! We got this”

Anderson Seal is an award-winning filmmaker & owner of Seal Media since 2007. A graduate of Cal State University Long Beach, community advocate, father, & husband.