Infographics: Visual Shorthand for Your Brand

Do me a favor. Think back to an article you recently read. Are you able to recall all of the important facts of that article? If you’re like most us, chances are, probably not.  Every single day, we process huge amounts of information that causes most of us to suffer from information overload. According to Wyzowl, people remember about 20 percent of the content they read. If that’s true, then how will you help your readers retain your brand’s identity and content? The answer? Infographics.

If you’re in the marketing world, you already know the importance of using visuals. However with the emergence of digital technologies, content marketers are exploring new, creative ways to present information to their target audience. Now, instead of using mere pictures with text, infographics have become the new trend for marketers. Put simply, infographics translate data into graphic visual representations. Because of their visual nature, they bring in more traffic for businesses compared to traditional, text-based articles. Research shows that people are much faster at processing visual information than text. They’re also more likely to be persuaded and engaged with data reported through visuals, images and graphics. As a whole, infographics reportedly increase brand awareness and make more of an impact on consumers in the long run. Here are just a few quick tips to help you create an infographic that may help your brand or products go viral.

1. Choose the Best Topic For Your Infographics

The topic should not be all about your company and products.  Most of the time, audiences easily get bored when you only talk about yourself or your product offerings. If you are aiming for higher brand engagement with your audience, consider topics relevant to your industry. Think of valuable issues that are either educational or inspirational for your market, then choose a topic that fits into the expertise of your company.

2. Write Good Content

Since an infographic is a data-rich visual content marketing tool, choosing factual data is one of the most crucial factors to having effective copy. Your company’s credibility depends on your content so always make sure that you get high-quality and accurate information from reliable sources. The goal is to make your audience think that you are an expert in your industry so the best thing to do is to research, research, and research some more. Put relevant statistics and quotes from known people in the industry to increase the value of the copy.

After collecting all the data you need, think of the narrative that you want to use. Creating a narrative allows you to connect and evoke a response from your audience. Infographics can elaborate a process, discuss trends, support controversial arguments in your industry, or simplify complex data. If you still don’t have any content in mind, you can start by reading related content for inspiration. Here are some sites that you can check out:

• Begin with Google. Search the keywords of your topic and find similar infographics and content.
• Use an RSS reader, such as Feedly to collate all relevant articles and information from different blogs and sites.
• Know the trending contents with high traffic using Trendspottr.

3. Create an Eye-Catching Design

The key to a successful infographic is the design. Hands down, this is the most important element. A well-chosen design layout will greatly increase consumer recall on your brand and help them digest the presented information quicker. Start your design by structuring the flow of the infographic. Decide where you will place each piece of data. Here are a few guidelines to follow:

• Use an engaging color palette for your infographic. Avoid a white background as it looks dull to your design.
• Limit the amount of text in the visual.
• Ensure the data is presented properly. Use pie charts, bar graphs, diagrams and pictograms to creatively depict your statistics.
• Choose the right font for the overall design theme that you want.
• Add headings, columns and shapes to break up the data and avoid looking chunky.

Now that you’ve created your visually engaging infographic, how will you ensure that people see it?  If you want to maximize your reach, you should continuously promote your material online. Start with releasing the infographic on your website, social media accounts and company blog. Do not forget to generate an embed code and to put an accessible share button on your blog for easy content sharing. You can also reach out to known influential bloggers in your industry and share your infographic with them.

Another good technique shared by Piktochart includes producing a series of infographics linked to each other. Think of a good narrative or story that will connect all your infographics and leave your audience asking for more. For mobiles and computers, creating small versions of your infographic will increase readability. Be consistent with the overall layout and use images that will stir the emotions within your audience.

Infographics require a lot of planning, research and implementation, but they’re worth the effort. They can easily place your company at a higher search ranking and increase your brand visibility. If you aren’t sure how to get started, reach out to us here at Made For Print — we would love to help. In the meantime, here’s a little visual inspiration.