Flashback a year ago, I was just telling my close friends how I thought there would come a point where Facebook would become A LOT more visual orientated. Or as I liked to describe it; more Tumblr-fied. Tumblr is a blogging platform that favours short-form, mix-media posts over the more traditional lengthy text-centric posts. As an avid Tumblr user myself (I first joined the site in 2009), this was the direction I thought internet users were headed conceptually.

Now here comes Facebook Timeline: a new visual revolution for the Facebook profile page. A conceptual life story told through a collage of photos, status updates and friendships.

While actual posts still differ in terms of content on these two sites, it seems like social blogging platforms and social networking sites are making the move towards a more visual and less text orientated aesthetic. This may very well indicate a shift in consumer “packaging” (or appearance) preferences.

And that to many firms, may mean a slight shift in their digital marketing strategy. This visual trend seems promising enough that venture capitalists are quickly putting their money into sites like Pinterest (a visually engaging social application that acts as a “virtual pinboard”). The business potential behind image-sharing networks is huge because of its content curation possibilities. Take Kate‘s success story for example: Kate is a hairstylist, jewelry maker and craft specialist whose business for the first eight months, had only seven readers. But between August 2011 and today, Kate has had over 10 million page views. How? Pinterest.

Pinterest is a great platform brands can use to connect with their audience. The increase in visual orientated platforms simply mean brands now have more to consider in their strategy to engage with consumers. Images have to create intrigue, a “backstory” to compel readers to find out more about the brand. I’ve always felt that consumers are becoming increasingly lazy or impatient, requiring short, “snazzy” images to capture their attention. Just as how brands now have Facebook pages and Twitter accounts, I feel like the next  step brands should take, is to follow where the crowd is heading – and that to me, is to visual centric sites like Pinterest.

I for one, am big on this “growth” of visual engagement. What do you think? Do you agree that internet users are moving towards a more visual orientated aesthetic? I would love to know how you think brands will be affected and how you think they should react.

(Sources: 1/2)
(Images from: my own Tumblr page / Facebook Timeline profile courtesy of my friend / Screenshot from Pinterest homepage)