What is Infographic Marketing?
As a business owner or marketing professional, have you noticed that infographics seem to be everywhere these days? With social media taking the helm in today’s online marketing industry, infographics has become the new source of valuable information. And why shouldn’t it? We all know that today’s online users are visual more than anything else.
Probably the great thing about including infographics into your content marketing strategy is that it makes data more digestible for the common internet user. If you’re going to think about it, technical data like numbers and statistics can be difficult to market as content, but once you package it as a nifty infographics, it becomes more relatable. This form of data visualization encourages visual thinking, which then makes it more understandable.
Infographic marketing is often used in technical presentations, research content and annual reports. It can be marketed in newsletters or blogs, depending on the medium that your target market consumes. The great thing about integrating infographics into your marketing scheme is that it opens a creative avenue for you to get your message out there. Through this new form of storytelling, you’ll be able to attract new attention to old content. Your consumers won’t have to struggle looking at the statistics and numbers anymore because you can make it more appealing for them. An infographic is considered to be user friendly not just for your audience, but for your business as well. Still not convinced? Then here are a few more reasons why you need to include infographic marketing into your content strategy.
Easy to Create
Did you know that an infographic is much easier to create than a blog post? All you need is a few statistics, a great design idea and you’re off to a good start.
Attention Grabbing
An infographic can help you get attention, even for the most mundane of topics. As long as there’s a story to tell, you’ll be able to get the attention of your target market. When words fail, infographics can present a visual picture of the message you want to convey.
Can be Optimized for Search
Post-Hummingbird, infographic marketing provides content producers a friendlier way to get crawled by the search engines. If someone posts your infographic on their site and links back to you, you get the benefit of natural links. And we all know just how important those links are in the SEO game.
Can be Used to Improve Brand Awareness
You can improve your brand awareness by including your brand, website and logo to every infographic you release. It’s an easy way to market your company without having to pay big money on advertising.
Has the Potential to Become Viral
Infographics are designed to be easily shareable so if you want your message to be shared, it’s important that your infographics are both intellectually and visually attractive. You goal should be to go viral in order to reach out to a wider audience.
Develops your Brand as a Thought Leader
Infographic marketing can also help develop your brand as a thought leader in your niche. When you produce interesting content consistently that people look forward to, you can position yourself as an expertise on the subject.
Guidelines on Creating Awesome Infographics
Ready to get started? Then here are some guidelines you need to keep in mind in order to create awesome infographics.
Research, research, research
Never underestimate the value of good research. Research can make or break the success of your infographics marketing scheme so it’s important that you put time and effort into getting your facts straight. No one wants to see any inconsistencies in the information that you’ll be presenting.
Create a Storyline
Next, you need to create a storyline for your statistics and facts. The best way to make facts more digestible is by using a storyline that your target audience can easily relate to. There’s a difference between presenting facts and actually telling a story. Don’t ever forget that.
Keep the Design Clean and Simple
Look for popular design trends that you can incorporate into your infographic. Aside from the overall feel that you want to convey, you also need to make sure that all visual elements are presented in an organized manner. Don’t let a sloppy design job get you down.
Have a Coherent Colour Scheme
Next to a seamless design and layout, it’s also important that you pick out a coherent colour scheme for your infographics. We all know that colours have an effect on our emotions so make sure to use that to your advantage. If you could change how a person feels about a topic just by using colours, why integrate it?
Make the Information Digestible
Avoid presenting facts and statistics that can come off as intimidating or pretentious. The goal of infographics marketing is to make information easy to digest and not put off your target market. Present facts in short paragraphs and sentences. If you’re translating a blog entry into a blog, there’s no reason to put all the words there. Just pick out the most important points.
Lay it on Neutral Ground
Try not to be too controversial with your Infographics. It’s okay to present a different view on an issue, but don’t use it to blatantly offend anyone. Your argument should not only be grounded on truth, but it should also be relevant to your target market. No use stirring emotions the wrong way.
Have a Stand
It’s also important for your infographic to have a stand on an issue. Draw conclusions on the facts that you presented and don’t leave your readers hanging. Nothing worse than a piece of content that clearly has nowhere to go.
Provide References
Last but not the least, don’t forget to provide references for your work. Always remember that you’re not at this alone. unless you conducted the study yourself, it’s important to give credit where credit is due. Provide links to your references at the end so that your readers know where you lifted the information you’re presenting.