Information Graphics

The Oxford English Dictionary simply defines an infographic or “information graphics” as “a visual representation of information or data”. An infographic can consist of symbols, timelines, maps, charts, diagrams and other kinds imagery along with brief amounts of text compiled together to communicate a topic in a simple and engaging way. Infographics are an excellent means of turning heavy data into digestible communication and can be a useful way to:

• Raise awareness about a brand or cause
• Explain a complex process or how a product works
• Show research or survey findings
• Create a synopsis of longer form content e.g. blogs and reports
• Compare and contrast services or options
• Map out a timeline of events

If you haven’t caught the infographics bug already, maybe now is the time to do so. Infographics could be a great benefit to your business for a number of reasons.

1. Visual Communication

The most powerful aspect of infographics is the fact that it uses visual communication to present information. The popular phrase “A picture is worth a thousand words” rings true in that fact that 90% of the information your brain receives is visual. Studies indicate that the human brain processes images 60,000 times faster than text, so it’s safe to say in a toss up between a lengthy written report or a simple and clear visual that tells the same story, the vast majority of people would choose to view the latter.

When viewing a web page, users only read 20% of it on average. The addition of a well designed infographic to a blog post or web page allows visitors to quickly skim the most important content and due to the fact that around 65% of people are visual learners, they are much more likely to remember the information and subsequently your brand long after they leave your website.

2. Infographics Work Online and Offline

Infographics are a very versatile medium and have the advantage of working both digitally and in print. Infographics can be displayed on your website and social channels as well as on posters, brochures and other printed media, making it a great investment due to its longevity. Using infographics on a variety of mediums also allows you to reach your audience on their preferred medium.

3. Drive Traffic to your Website

Infographics are a fantastic means of gaining more visitors to your website and have been shown to increase website traffic by 12%. By including embed code when uploading an infographic to your website, it introduces a portable aspect to your information. This allows your audience to easily share your infographic by embedding it on their own web page. The embedded infographic links back to your website, effectively bringing their audience directly to you.

When browsing the internet, users are much more likely to engage with content that they find valuable. Providing knowledge that your audience finds genuinely compelling can be perceived as share worthy and can even give you viral capabilities online. Not only does this increase the reach of your social media profiles, but can also have positive effects on your Search Engine Optimisation (SEO). When people click, like and share your infographic, Google’s algorithm will begin to see your content as highly sharable and index your website higher in search rankings.

4. Add Value To Your Social Media Content

As mentioned in the previous point, users love content that they find useful or interesting and nowhere is this more true than on social media. Trying to hard sell your products or services just doesn’t strike a chord with social media users and can often have negative effects on how people perceive your brand. By adding infographics to your social media strategy, your social media audience can feel you have their education and best interests in mind, allowing you to build a relationship with your followers and increase your brand awareness.

As well as being educational, the visual aspect of infographics makes them highly engaging on social media, as image based content is shared three times more than text. From looking at social media statistics, it’s clear to see that images easily surpass written content in terms of engagement on social media:

• Images receive 94% more views
• Tweets with images receive 150% more retweets
• Facebook engagement doubles with the addition of images
• Adding an image to a LinkedIn post results in a 98% increase in comments received

5. Show Off Your Expertise

As the nature of infographics is data based, they enable you to show a masterful understanding in your field. By using infographics with up to date facts, figures and industry trends, you can very easily position yourself as an expert in your area or add integrity to your brand. To name just a few industries where infographics can be very beneficial:

• Recruitment agencies can show employment statistics or summarise requirements for a specific position.
• Consultants can use timelines and statistics to show industry trends and topics.
• Educators can make their content easier to understand and remember for their students.
• Non-profits and charities can use data to increase the awareness and credibility of their cause.
• Governments can share census data and national statistics.
• Infographics can be beneficial to tourism by breaking down information on a location.
• Researchers can use infographics to present survey data.

Conclusion

Infographics can be a hugely beneficial addition to your online and offline marketing strategy alike and are a fantastic means of creating brand awareness or driving traffic to your website. If you feel infographics could help grow your business, contact our Creative Director Lee Grace today for further information on our graphic design services.