If you run a B2B company, you know how crowded and noisy your market is. With so much content competing for attention, it’s tough to stand out. But here’s the good news – visual design can set your marketing apart and help you build your brand and convert more leads. 

Visuals are incredibly powerful, even in B2B. Well-designed visuals grab attention, convey emotions, and communicate complex ideas far better than text alone. When used effectively across your marketing, visuals get more eyeballs on your brand and drive real business results.

In this post, we’ll cover some killer visual design strategies to help your B2B marketing attract, engage and convert more of your ideal customers. Let’s dive in!

Why Visual Design Matters in B2B Marketing

You may think visuals are optional in B2B or only useful for the Instagram generation. Think again! Visuals are just as critical for B2B success today. Here are some key reasons why:

– Attention Grabbing: With content overload, visuals allow you to stand out from the pack and get noticed.

– Brand Building: Consistent visuals help people recognize and remember your brand.  

– Emotional Appeal: Unlike text, visuals trigger emotions that make people relate to your brand.

– Complex Concepts: Visuals allow you to simplify and communicate complex ideas and data easily. 

– Willingness to Read: Good visual design makes your content more scannable and inviting to read for time-crunched buyers.

– Conversion Rates: Pages with visuals have been proven to convert up to 400% better.

Clearly, visuals need to be a cornerstone of your B2B strategy, rather than an afterthought. When used effectively, they can significantly boost your brand awareness, engagement and conversions.

Choosing Visual Brand Assets That Align with Your Personality

Your colour palette and image style form the foundation of your visual identity. Take time to select visual assets that reflect your brand personality and values. This helps form an emotional connection with your audience.

Use Colour to Set the Right Tone

Colours evoke different vibes and emotions. Choosing hues that reinforce your brand positioning is key. For example:

– Blues and greens convey trust, dependability and professionalism.

– Reds and oranges come across as bold, innovative and exciting. 

– Purples and pinks feel more creative, thoughtful and imaginative.

Limit your palette to 2-3 core branded colours for consistency. Ensure enough contrast between hues to maintain readability.

Select Images That Communicate Your Values

Carefully choose photos, illustrations and videos that align with your brand identity and speak to your target customers. Authentic images showing real people at work come across as more genuine for B2B brands. 

Focus on visuals that bring concepts related to your mission and offerings to life – teamwork, expertise, innovation, support etc. Weave in branded colors, fonts and design elements for cohesion across visual assets.

Optimizing Typography for Online Readability 

While visuals grab attention, words still matter to communicate key messages. Typography refers to how text is formatted and styled. Optimize typography for easy online readability with these tips:

Choose Clean, Simple Fonts 

Prioritize simple, sans-serif fonts like Arial, Verdana or Helvetica. They’re easiest to read on screens. Avoid fancy decorative fonts that slow reading.

Font pairing a sans-serif heading font with a serif body font offers visual interest. Limit to 2-3 fonts maximum for simplicity.

Use Ideal Text Sizing

Finding the right font size ensures text is readable but still visually inviting. For body copy, 16px hits the sweet spot online. Headings typically range 24px – 36px. Subheads around 18px-22px.

Match font sizes and weights to the visual hierarchy. More important sections should be larger and bolder. Only selectively highlight key points with bold, italic or underlines.

Apply Ample Line Spacing 

Having adequate line height between lines, around 1.5-1.8x the font size, improves readability and reduces eyestrain. 

Additionally, use sufficient margins around text sections to reduce clutter. Left align body text in blocks for easy reading. Center text highlights like testimonials for impact.

Creating Compelling Visual Content

To break through today, B2B brands need to up their visual content game across channels. Here are some of the most effective visual content formats to focus on:

Infographics 

Infographics simplify complex data into digestible, graphical visuals that get shared. Use them to:

– Explain industry trends 

– Compare product features

– Map out processes

– Showcase data and stats

Interactive Content

Interactive content like assessments, calculators and quizzes boost engagement by letting visitors self-select information. They also generate lead contact data.

Photos and Video

High-quality photos and videos boost engagement on social media and web pages. Show real customers interacting with your solution. Create demo videos and educational content.

Presentations 

Visually compelling presentations and slideshares are commonly shared in B2B. Minimize text and maximize visuals and graphics for impact. 

Advertising

Paid ads need visual appeal to maximize click-through rates. Use striking images and clear messaging in display, retargeting and LinkedIn ads.

Designing Landing Pages That Convert

Converting your website visitors into leads and customers requires landing page optimization. Here are some key visual design strategies that work:

Hero Banners That Speak to Your Audience

Your homepage banner makes a key first impression. Show aspirational scenes of your ideal customers achieving success with your solution.

Clear Calls-to-Action and Wayfinding

Calls-to-action, sign-up forms, site navigation etc should be visually emphasized to guide visitors to convert. Use contrasting colors and weights to accentuate key elements.

Spotlight Social Proof

Prominently showcase customer testimonial videos and authentic reviews to establish trust and credibility using social proof. Overlay key stats on relevant images for impact.

Simplify Layout and Messaging

Avoid clutter. Use ample negative space between sections along with concise, scannable headings, subheads and bullet points to communicate value quickly.

Reduce Form Friction 

Minimize fields and friction in contact forms, calculators and assessments. Allow pre-filling with LinkedIn data to boost conversions. 

Creating Cohesive Social Media Visuals 

With social media predominately visual, ensuring design consistency across your branding and content is crucial. 

Optimize Profile Images

Your profile picture/logo and header image must align with your brand identity and display correctly on desktop and mobile. 

Post Visually Compelling Updates

Images and videos will gain more traction than text-only updates. Create natives videos and visual quotes tailored to each platform.

Maintain On-Brand Assets

Use branded fonts, colors and graphical elements consistently across platforms for cohesion. Create branded templates, stickers and filters to maintain your visual identity.

Show Real People 

Posts showing actual employees, customers or influencers come across as more authentic. Prioritize genuine faces over stock imagery.

Design Cohesive Ads

Your paid social ads should have a consistent look and feel aligned with your overall visual branding. Show clear imagery and messaging.

Tracking Performance and Continuously Optimizing 

To maximize your visual design efforts, actively analyze performance data to guide your strategy.

Monitor Social Metrics 

Assess social media engagement like shares, comments, and overall reach to identify well-performing visual content to replicate.

Review Site Analytics

Use heatmaps to see which page elements attract attention. Evaluate conversions by source to determine which visual content and campaigns drive the most leads.

Ask for Audience Feedback

Survey your audience directly to gain insights into how your visuals are resonating and influencing their decision process.

Let Data Guide Your Design

Double down on visual content styles that perform well, while eliminating those that underperform. Continuously test and refine your visuals based on real data and feedback. 

The Bottom Line

In today’s crowded B2B space, effective visual design sets your marketing apart. Compelling visuals across your branding, content and campaigns boost awareness, engagement and conversions. Carefully craft your visual identity and assets to connect with your audience and propel your business growth.

Focus on conveying consistent branding through color and imagery choices that reflect your personality. Optimize typography and create engaging infographics, social content, videos, landing pages and more. By making visual design a priority, you can make a memorable impact on your B2B audience and achieve real results.