While there’s no denying that words are an extremely powerful tool for building a brand or driving relevant traffic to your site, they’re just one piece in the overall marketing equation. Why does your brain crave infographics? As humans, we are very visual creatures. And in today’s society of online ADD, marketers need to be smart and cunning in how they grab the attention of potential customers.
While the digital form of infographics is relatively recent, explaining an idea in the form of an image is nothing new. Infographics are the smart new digital way to communicate ideas, data and insights.
Did you know that the information in the world currently doubles every two years? It’s no wonder people experience information overload.
The use of visualized information has increased dramatically.
– 9900% online (since 2007)
– 142% in newspapers (between 1985 and 1994)
From 2010 to 2012, search volumes for infographics have increased over 800%.
In 2013, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Gareth Cook was hired to edit the first volume of The Best American Infographics.
So why do infographics work?
1. We live in the information age: in one day we create 1.5 billion pieces of content, 140 million tweets and 2 million videos. But we have less and less time and attention span to read and absorb all the content we want. Most people decide to stay or leave a site in just 2-4 seconds. With infographics, your content is much more likely to be remembered.
2. We are visual: An infographic collects data, organizes it, and turns this information into an easy-to-understand image. A well-researched and well-designed infographic empowers readers by breaking down complex ideas into visual groupings. Impressive images or well-designed graphics simply make a bigger impression.
3. Demonstrate and convince: Do you want to learn how to moonwalk? I could read about it, but it would be much easier to see an infographic with step-by-step images. An infographic can also easily tell a story behind the stats of just about anything you can think of. They make it easy to understand even complex concepts.
4. Brand Awareness – Infographics have embedded company logos for instant brand awareness. And based on the same principles of content marketing components, you need to tell a good brand story.
5. Get Links – Due to visual appeal, infographics can be easily shared across all social profiles. They allow sites in niche industries with minimal natural links to get links from other markets. Infographics can provide global coverage, at a much lower cost than print media could.
6. Become an authority – The research required for an infographic will help you become an expert on the topic or industry.
7. Measurable Results: Infographics are bound to go viral. Good infographics equal higher search visibility and higher SEO. Infographics deliver quick measurable results from social shares, backlinks, and traffic.
Some fantastic examples:
1. 50 Years of Space Exploration – Huge infographic showing the last 50 years of space exploration. Designed by Sean McNaughton and Samuel Velasco for National Geographic.
2. Grand Mosque: This is an infographic press release from Gulf News (Dubai)
3. Slowest loading website in Fortune 500: Here are the loading times of all Fortune 500 companies.
4. The Big Questions of Climate Change: This detailed and data-rich infographic by Adolfo Arranz shows the true impact of climate change.
Information has to be digestible for it to go viral. Create a unique connection with visitors with creative, animated and educational infographics. After all, a picture is worth a thousand words.