Many of the same “industry insiders” who predicted the demise of email as a marketing tool were saying the same thing about infographics not too long ago. But the fact is that infographic content, which dates back to the 1700s in its earliest form for business purposes, is hotter than ever.
But why? For starters, MIT points out that 90 percent of the information that’s sent to the brain is visual. More importantly, visual content is what matters most to online searchers today – so much so that nearly 30 percent of all online searches are image-based.
In fact, it’s estimated that nearly 90 percent of consumers seek visual content prior to making a purchase decision. And infographics alone can boost online traffic by more than 10 percent, according to a Demand Gen report.
Now that you know the potential impact of presenting data visually, the next step is to actually do it in a way that will benefit your brand. Up your odds of seeing meaningful results with your infographics by keeping the following dos and don’ts in mind.
Do Have a Theme and Target Audience In Mind
The whole point of an infographic is to connect the dots with your facts in the form of a compelling narrative. You also want a visual presentation on a topic likely to be of interest to your target audience.
Not sure what kind of story to tell with your infographic to your target audience? Get some clues by:
- Looking at what comments are being made on your social media accounts
- Seeing what articles are generating the most interest on your blog
- Posing random questions for your customers on your social pages to get a better idea what topics are most likely to spark conversations
Don’t Forget to Cite and Use Trusted Sources
Infographic content is meant to be viewed and shared. So, the facts presented will likely be tweeted, posted, and even referenced in other blogs and articles with a link back to your infographic.
This can definitely be a good thing for your brand. But your infographic will be nothing more than a fancy poster if you don’t cite sources and double-check your facts. An easy way to do this is with links back to reliable sources. This also gives credibility to your brand.
Do Keep Graphics Simple
Your infographic content isn’t going to pack much of a punch if the graphics are too complex or cluttered. This is more likely to occur if you use charts or graphs as part of your design.
Unless you are specifically targeting other experts within your industry, assume people seeing your visually-presented data are coming across this info for the first time. Clarify the “graphic” part of your infographics by:
- Not having multiple lines or bars showing different data unless you are doing a comparison (and even then, your comparison should be limited to two things)
- Making it clear what the numbers mean by using things like dollar signs and percent marks
- Using top and side labels when showing relationship data (e.g., number of “whatevers” produced in the U.S. per decade) to increase readability
Don’t Rely On Images to Tell the Story
No matter how awesome your images happen to be, they’re not going to do you any favors if there’s not sufficient text explaining what it is you’re actually presenting. At a minimum, an infographic should have a short, compelling and descriptive title that plainly clarifies its purpose.
Further emphasize your narrative by presenting your facts in a logical order. Also, make sure the data you include is actually in line with the title you use for your infographic.
Do Explore Color Theory
You don’t have to be an art major or graphic artist to have a general idea of what color combinations typically mean. For instance, most people associate red and green with Christmas and orange and black with Halloween.
If you do want to explore colors that enhance the impact of your infographic, do so sparingly. You don’t want your window dressing to take away from your facts.
Need some help with color selection? There are plenty of online tools that can give you guidance. Also, don’t forget about color blindness when considering how you’ll use color in relation to your facts.
Don’t Get Too Complex with Your Facts
This is another one about readability. Nobody likes to read an infographic that looks like a cram sheet with every single possible fact stuffed into it.
Choose the facts that best fit in with the basic theme or narrative and save what’s left for other content or another infographic. And finally, review, edit, and read your completed infographic out loud before presenting it to your intended audience.
Just from 2015 to 2016 alone, the use of visual content by marketers increased by 130 percent. As for potential results, there’s another estimate that suggests publishers who use infographics experience an average 12 percent boost in traffic compared to those who haven’t yet discovered the potential of content presented this way.
Realistically, a comprehensive content marketing strategy isn’t going to revolve primarily around infographics. Still, there is no denying the possible impact of well-prepared and researched visual presentations on a brand’s reputation, visibility, and, in some cases, profitability.
