Three ways digital marketers can use 3D models to boost their business

How you use visual communications in your marketing is a strong indicator of your brand and how you plan to position yourself.

Compared to traditional imagery and stock-photos, animation and 3D models, in particular, are a more effective way to provide customer engagement and increase brand awareness.

Plain content, without any images or illustrations, won’t get you far as a digital marketer.

Did you know that 81% of people only skim the content they read online? The average person gets distracted in eight seconds, if not less. Posts that include images, meanwhile, produce 650% higher engagement than only-text posts.

What does this mean for digital marketers?

If you’re not using visual communication in your business, you’re missing out on engagement, potential customers, and conversions.

And if you really want to take things to the next level - using 3D models in your digital marketing is a great way to stand out from the competition.

People nowadays are being targeted by at least a thousand brands per day, with a lot of them using stock photos, if they use images at all. And all of them want something in return.

Customers have a reason to be jaded online now. They don’t like being sold to, and they most certainly don’t like being forced to sort through the same old content that doesn’t engage them visually.

Nowadays, if you want to stand out in a sea of faceless brands, you need to get visual.

But when doing so, you also need to think about your overall brand. Powerful visual effects have the advantage of being memorable. And if your customers remember your visuals, chances are, they’re going to remember your brand.

So, if you want to boost your business, here’s how to do it using 3D models.

1. Interactive digital content

Video content has a direct effect on your conversions as 85% of all millennials have purchased a product after watching a video.

If you’re selling a physical, tangible product, there are a lot of ways you can leverage visual communication to your advantage.

And if you’re in eCommerce, more specifically, you can use 3D models to offer a 360° product viewing experience.

One of the biggest disadvantages of buying online is that you never know what the product is going to actually look like in person. With 3D models, brands are investing in an online customer experience that can completely change the landscape.

What if your customers could look at and interact with your products in augmented or virtual reality?

This immersive “try before you buy” approach to online shopping completely changes how customers interact with products they want to buy. Thanks to 3D imaging and recent advances in AR mobile technology, retailers can provide a completely different product experience - one that is not only more engaging, but also interactive.

With 3D models, customers would be able to zoom in and out, rotate, view the product in their home environment and more - at will. All of these features become easily accessible in 3D and can skyrocket a brand’s conversions.

So, in addition to increasing your brand reach, interactive digital content can also increase your conversion rates and improve your brand perception.

Once the technology becomes more accessible, it’ll only be a matter of time until more eCommerce businesses start adopting it on their websites.

2. Building social proof

As mentioned above, 3D models provide an increase in engagement, interactivity, and potentially even the conversion rate.

But the benefits don’t stop there.

Visuals and graphics generate 90% more views than typical text.

And more views lead to more shares, and typically, more social proof. Nowadays, social media marketing plays a crucial role in digital marketing. As a result, sharing videos directly help increase your brand reach and visibility.

Depending on your business niche, you can create 3D animation to promote your product, or showcase educational content. When it comes to generating social shares, there is no better way to do so than by being genuinely helpful and providing value.

If customers enjoy interacting with your content and brand, they’re more likely to leave a positive review or a comment. This, in turn, leads to more people discovering your brand and increasing your social proof - which is essential in alleviating any hesitation potential customers might have.

Social Media icons by Mysticat

3. Standing out

With all that said, if you’re going to be using 3D models in your business, you’re guaranteed to stand out from other businesses.

3D models have a lot of commercial and industrial uses, depending on your niche, and it is very likely for there to be a relevant application for your website.

The bigger picture here is that though the industry is becoming larger, not a lot of businesses use 3D models on their website. In other words, it is easier than ever to stand out in your visual communications, as long as you adopt the technology first.

This technology also offers greater control over the technical details of any project.

For example, 3D rendering gives you the control to shape your offerings in a way that gives your customers a hands-on, and a more personalized experience than before. They want to feel like their projects and vision come to life according to how they imagine it, and through 3D models, you can live up to that expectation.

Car interior by Dennis Wormgoor

In terms of digital marketing, the more interactive the content is, the higher the engagement it will yield. Using 3D models, suitable for the specific need, can present products in the best light while maintaining personalization in each case. Also, instead of using that traditional paper visiting cards, you can try creating a digital business card — a great way to jump on the digital bandwagon. All this, while still being relatively cheaper and memorable for the customers.
With 3D design, it is easier than ever now to accomplish all of those things and boost your sales by providing these benefits in a truly unique way.

If you can do that well enough, you’ll have customers flocking to you and your brand. Instead of having to advertise to them, you can attract them through your visual communications in your digital marketing.

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Written by:

Uwe Dreissigacker is the founder of online invoicing software InvoiceBerry and also offers free invoice templates to businesses. Small businesses and sole traders can create, send and manage their invoices, quotes and credit notes with the tool.